I’ve Meditated… Now what?

We call it “Post-Meditation Panic”.

In other words, Welcome to the REAL work!

So you lit the incense, sat your butt down on a cushion, stared into the abyss of your closed eyelids, and boom—five minutes later, you’re still a human disaster with thoughts screaming louder than a toddler on espresso.

What nobody tells you is that meditation isn't a magic spell that turns you into a blissed-out monk overnight. It's more like flossing for your brain—painful, necessary, and kind of gross at first.

I always find it so ironic how the hardest part about it is that I have to do nothing. Our productivity-obsessed society treats time spent NOT producing as though it was wasted. Or money was lost in the timebeing. In reality, I think more productively, connect creative ideas together much more efficiently, and can be more present to the great loving experience of this world after I let my brain recharge!

So if you’re looking into becoming a meditator, start small. Set a five minute timer. Also, early mornings are recommended. It’s lower resistance for the physical and mental parts of you.

I know you may be thinking, “Okay, Angela, I’m sort of convinced but I’m gonna need a bit more of a morale boost. Give me something worth grasping onto if I’m going to do this.” What’d I’d like to add, then, is that consistent meditation literally rewires your brain. We're talking increased gray matter in areas responsible for memory, learning, and emotional regulation. It chills out your amygdala—the part of your brain that handles stress—and boosts your prefrontal cortex, which helps you continue making decisions.

The best part? Like going to the gym, it gets easier and shows faster results the more you do it. So you should’ve started yesterday!

* 10 days later * …

So yeah, you meditated.

Now what?

…

You do it again tomorrow.

And then again. And then, one day, you don’t spiral after someone cuts you off in traffic. That’s the real magic.