Monday Monday Mondays

Hope everyone is being gentle with themselves on this exciting and, admittedly challenging, Monday.

I try to meditate everyday during the workweek (and I use that term loosely as, sadly, these days, especially for many lawyers, that term does not just apply to Monday-Friday, even sadder, I think its becoming a relic for most of America-but that's another blog post).

As a lawyer, you may feel that your life is too busy or too stressed to find time to take up a serious meditation practice,  but I implore you to reconsider.

The benefits of meditation are plenty- it's a service not just to yourself but also to your clients.
Mindful lawyers are better lawyers.  Check out this groundbreaking article that helped to spurt the growing trend in more lawyers turning to meditation to deal with not only the stress of law, but to improve their skills as mediators:  http://westallen.typepad.com/idealawg/files/contlawhnlrpdfriskin.pdf

So how do you start?  Easy!  Tomorrow wake up a mere five minutes earlier.   If you like music you can go to youtube or some other site, type in meditation music, and you'll get a great selection of zen-type music to which you can meditate.  Sit down somewhere comfy and just listen to your breath.  This may seem easy, but just try it and see just how antithetical this is to our stressed up, always on the go nature.  It's hard to do nothing (also something for another post, but I digress).  But meditation encourages just that, and when you get up, you'll hopefully find that you've cultivated a seed of peace in your day- a seed which hopefully keeps growing as you keep practicing.  But just remember.  Be gentle, accept that sometimes we get distracted, and sometimes it's harder to "unfocus" on one day then another.  Just be where you are, because that's exactly where you're meant to be.  :)  (Love that quote).

But for more tips on beginning meditation check out:  http://zenhabits.net/meditation-for-beginners-20-practical-tips-for-quieting-the-mind/

Its got some great points for starting out!

So for now, Ill say, Namaste and wish you nothing but great things in implementing these tips.

Take care.