OH! Magazine - Australian Version February 2016 | Page 21

HEIDI
DI SANTO

www.heidi.com.au

( Emotional Fitness )

THE BIGGEST

MEDITATION MYTH
Emotional fitness expert Heidi Di Santo, sets the meditation record straight!

Do you find it hard to meditate? If you do,
you’re not alone! It’s common knowledge
that meditation is beneficial. It benefits
your physical, emotional, mental and
spiritual well-being. But knowing something
and actually doing something are two
different things. At the heart of why many
people don’t stick at meditation is a big
‘meditation myth’, which I’d like to shed
some light on.
Years ago when I first learned to meditate, I
thought I was a failure because every time I
sat down to do it, my mind would become
‘busy’ and I thought I was doing it all wrong.
I held the mistaken belief that ‘I should’
find peace and become ‘still’ whenever I
meditated. But my actual experience was
the exact opposite. I’d be bombarded by
thoughts and ‘noise’ and chatter and I’d
often feel worse after meditation because
there would be a ‘fight’ within me throughout
the entire meditation practice. But this fight
need not have occurred. I hope the
information I’m about to share in this article
helps take the pressure off you ‘having to
get it right’ because there are no rights or
wrongs when it comes to meditation.
There’s just acceptance.
If you’re like me and hold a mistaken belief
that you ‘should’ become peaceful and
quiet whenever you meditate, this might be
the reason you don’t enjoy meditation. It

might also be the reason why you’ve given
up or don’t meditate regularly.
So here’s what you need to know about
meditation:
Meditation is a process of accepting ‘what
is’ and not judging it. If your mind becomes
busy, it’s really important to allow the
busyness to be there. Meditation is about
observing your thoughts without attachment
or judgment, allowing them to come and go,
(even the disturbing thoughts)! Your
thoughts aren’t you. They are just thoughts.
Sadly many people get scared by their
thoughts and create more stress inside
trying to control and get rid of them.
It is also a process of feeling into your body
and allowing everything to ‘be okay’ without
trying to change it. Yes this means accepting
all the aches, pains, swollen glands, tingling
and th robbing and actually sending love and
healing to those things. It’s welcoming them
in rather than trying to push them out. It’s
moving towards your physical problems
rather than distancing yourself from them.
This is how you truly love yourself.
It’s about stepping into your witness
consciousness (or real self or observer self)
as opposed to your ego self, which enables
you to ‘allow’ as opposed to ‘control’. This
‘observer’ part of you notices how thoughts

and sensations come and go and allows
everything to ‘be’ without trying to change
or get rid of anything. It is the part of you
that surrenders to ‘what is’ as opposed to
judging and controlling everything.
Meditation is something you can do
anywhere anytime. Whilst it’s great to set
aside time each day to practice ‘going
within’, you can actually treat life as one big
meditation. When I’m standing in a
checkout queue, I take a deep breath, look
within, observe and allow. When I’m driving
and stuck in traffic or waiting at a traffic
light, I take a deep breath, look inside and
allow all the thoughts and sensations to be
there. The more you can become aware of
YOU and what’s going on inside, the better
life will become because the more present
you will become to life.
So if you really want to benefit from
meditation, stop trying to become peaceful
and just start accepting whatever’s there.
Once I realised what meditation really was
and I allowed myself to surrender, trust and
let go. I even started to enjoy my ‘inner’
time. I hope you do too!
If you want to learn more about creating
more peace within, have a read of Heidi’s
book I Should Be Happy But I’m Not or
download Heidi’s free meditation from
http://heidi.com.au

( OH! MAGAZINE ) FEBRUARY 2016

21