Susan’s Introduction to Meditation
Hello, I’m Susan Wilk. Welcome to my blog. I hope you will like it, return often, and that you will find some food for thought – and some food for the heart and soul. This blog begins as I launch the website for my meditation and stress management businesses, Focused Mind Dynamics and No Place Like Aum, LLC. Through them, it is my aim to utilize Meditation to help people dealing with stressful issues – and who isn’t, these days?
A little about me… Meditation has been part of my life for over 25 years. I came to meditation when searching for comfort after the sudden and premature death of my Mom. My Dad’s own search for comfort led him to a wonderful meditation teacher. I began to take classes with him, and the rest, as they say, is history. Thanks, Dad!
Through Meditation, I discovered not only comfort in my grief, but an astounding feeling of calm and peace, like a “coming home.” That “coming home” feeling has been described as remembering who we truly are at the core of our beings. I found a great relief and a refuge from pressures, worries, and stress. During the toughest days of my life, meditation helped sustain me. Often, it wasn’t until the storm was over that I realized how much it had helped. Over the years, my practice has gone through peaks and valleys. I’ve had lapses and dry spells in my practice and times when that peace was so very hard to find, even for a minute. But even in those times, those “meditations of distractions,” it was still helpful to sit in meditation, even for a few minutes. It’s important to remember that the benefits are there even when we can’t see or feel them.
I decided to pursue teaching when encouraged by one of my teachers and members of my meditation group. I studied and have two certifications in teaching. I have never enjoyed anything so much as teaching, and no other occupation has ever provided me such a sense of fulfillment. So, when I lost my job, I decided to apply the “one door closes and another opens” philosophy to my life, to follow my passion, and take teaching from part-time to full-time. I know from personal experience the ways in which meditation can enrich our lives, how it has practical applications in business and our personal lives, how it helps in so many areas of our lives. I’ve seen how it helps us grow personally and spiritually (regardless of your denomination or lack of one). More on these topics to come in future postings.
I’ve been privileged to teach people in a wide range of settings and circumstances. I’ve taught people in their 20’s and people in their 70’s; people dealing with health issues including high blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety, and recovering from cancer treatments; people searching for relaxation, finding inner calm and a remedy for stress; people who needed to sharpen their focus, get past workplace pressures, and accomplish the task at hand; and, I’ve taught people who just want to see what meditation can offer them. One of my most memorable students was a woman whose son had just returned from the Iraq war, injured. During our meditation, she wept tears that had been held inside since before his deployment. This release not only helped her, but it tapped the kindness and compassion of people who just an hour before had been strangers to her. I taught women who were emerging from emotional trials and in the process of re-entering the workforce. There was a visible change in their attitudes and confidence within the time of our workshop. I am grateful for every single one of my students. To see how meditation worked for them is a tremendous thing. I highly recommend the practice of meditation to you!
How can meditation help you? Stay tuned for more blogs…
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more. I welcome your comments and questions, or suggestions for future topics.