Sacred Silence - Post Week 5

With May at its end, Sacred Silence reaches the victory lap. Five weeks down and one to go. 7 days of 20 minutes of daily meditation, and it's clear the finish line will be passed. However, while every athlete can argue that completing the run is what matters most, and while every high schooler might argue that getting that 99 or 100 is more important than how you got it, the same cannot be said for meditation. Or any Make or Break habit for that matter.
Picking up a habit is more than trying it out for 6 weeks, it's about approaching it with wisdom and integrity, sincerity and love, for that long. What our participants take away from meditating daily, and how they feel about it as a habit - a new part of their routines - is key, and perhaps their in-process thoughts, one week before the official finish line, can reveal just that.

What do you connect with the word "meditation" now? (i.e. thoughts, concepts, objects, feelings, images)
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "I connect the following with the word "meditation:" peaceful, quietness, grounding yourself, yoga, stretch, getting to know your mind and body."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "Peace. Awareness. Silence. Balance. I don't necessarily feel warm on a day I'm feeling cold and craving some heat, or coolness on a day I'm burning, but meditation does make me feel safe and relaxed - at home. With my surroundings and with myself."

Describe the most prominent, and not so prominent stressors in your life currently
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "The most prominent stressors in my life currently are always wanting to do the best in school and trying to fit into society. I feel like many of the stressors are on the same level so there are not many no so prominent stressors, but things like lack of self-esteem and lack of self-love can create stress too."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "Oh school! Assignments and projects popping up out of nowhere to be due next week, along with major tests I know I should start studying for now (and have, thank goodness). I'm also clearly not getting enough sleep. I've been falling asleep in my classes and it's terrible! I know I need to start sleeping more, but it's not helping that the work keeps piling up and I get trapped in this vicious cycle. I did take a nap today though (more like a crash, actually, since it was an hour long) and I think it helped because otherwise, I'm a walking zombie.
I guess there's also this underlying stress that I'm not the only one in need of help at the moment. Cooking dinner and helping my sister with her studies are just a few things I've neglected, and feel immense guilt toward.""

How do you cope with stress now that you have gotten the hang of meditating? Is it different from the approach you would have taken if you hadn't taken part in this challenge?
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "If I had not taken the challenge, the way I coped with stress was ignore and suppress. Now I know through different activities related to meditating, its good to take some time and identify stressors in the life. As well, doing things like deep breathing exercises to let out the stress and calm my mind."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "I'd like to say I'm calmer and more clear-minded. Only, it might be that I'm so darn tired I don't have the energy to stress loudly (i.e. act snappish, cry). On the other hand, it might be meditation combined with my fatigue that enables me to see my problems with more empathy. I no longer procrastinate on assignments, projects, or test prep, so at least I'm back in my productivity cycle in some way. I'm also more flexible and receptive to criticism from others. I broke a dish accidentally this morning and while that's nothing to be proud of, I'm glad I didn't panic at all. I cleaned the mess and even filled a bucket and washed the floor for good measure."

What was it like meditating for 20 minutes in one sitting?
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "Once I started I felt like it immediately ended. Going through this challenge, I have started to get used to meditating and understanding what to do during the time to get the best results. Meditating for 20 minutes in one sitting resulted in me being very calm and less stressed then before I started the session."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "Nice. It was nice to just know that I was spending 20 minutes not doing work, and that I was actively enjoying those 20 minutes, and that I could look back and not regret enjoying those 20 minutes the way I did."

Do you think there's a valuable or significant difference in between meditating for 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes?
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "Between 1-5 minutes, there was no major differences. However, the longer I started to meditate the easier it got and the less antsy I got during the session. Though, I noticed a significant difference between 10 and 20 minutes but I felt like every period of time provided valuable results."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "I think between 1 and 20 minutes, honestly, more is more. There's just so much that can happen between each passing minute - revelations, feelings, sounds - and each minute you spend meditating through it all is a minute spent in complete awareness of it. However, I would stand to argue that meditation, whether it's 1 minute or 20, is better than no meditation, because following that same logic, one minute is an entire minute step up from zero."

How would you define an optimal meditation practice?
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "Ensure you are in a quiet(er) place, watch some videos to identify what practices work for you, then try them. After, do it for a little bit and after every few days increase the amount of time. Also, it's great to always end a meditation session with a few deep breathing exercises."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "I think the beauty of meditation is that as long as it's sincere, it's perfect every time, with all the variations you might bring to your practice depending on the day."

Between sleeping earlier/in or taking a nap, and meditating for 20 minutes, which would you choose?
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "Before the challenge, and even know, I would choose sleeping in over anything because its just so... I don't know how to describe I just love the act of waking up late in the day and seeing the sun shine so bright."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "Oh sleep. I know I should say meditation but I'll be honest, right now, I'm so tired, I just want sleep."

Make a wish. (can be related or totally random!)
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "I wish to have a significant other by the end of high school."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "Please let the weather not go over 35 degrees again for the next two weeks."

Use one word to express how you feel right now. (doesn't have to be in English)
Troy Saldanha-Martins (Grade 10): "Tired."
Misheel Batkhuu (Grade 11): "Hot."

Well, does it look to you like a habit's being made? Do you feel disgusted or inspired by the idea of meditation as of now? Stay tuned to see what changes in our participants' meditation, and what does not, in a sixth and final week of meditation, 20 minutes daily!

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