6 Ways To Get Creative With Meditation

Laqwanda Roberts-Buckley, MSSW 

Executive Director

​For many of us, the day can come and go without a memory of what really happened. We are often left with the side effects of daily stressors and wondering how to move from point A to point B.

During these moments, it becomes vital that we find our calm.

There are many ways to do this; however, meditation serves as a natural avenue way to relax the mind, body, and spirit. It provides a much-needed rejuvenation from the outside world.
Although a simple practice, for individuals such as myself meditating can be boring and difficult to maintain. I often thought I was failing because I could not stay still or keep my mind focused long enough. After a while, I would just stop altogether.

Feeling disappointed, I decided to change things up a bit and get creative. I no longer wanted to attempt to fit myself into a definition of what meditation was or was not.
In order to improve things, I decided to incorporate things that were important to me in order to establish a routine. Here are the steps I took to make an experience for myself verses and activity.

1. Create a soothing environment. I needed to identify a space for myself to meditate within my home. I decided to use my bedroom. It had everything I needed because I designed it to be that way. However, I added special things such as lighting, alters, and tapestries for soothing effects.
2. Create a mood with music. When I first began meditation, I listened to chimes. However, I longed for a stronger connection to the universe. To address this, I switch things up and started listening to African tribal music. It calmed my spirit but also energized it. One thing I learned was that the music selection did not have to be slow in order to set the mood.
3. Add a calming activity. In order for things to work, I had to have a meditation experience. Adding something calming as coloring did wonders to how I felt during the moment. You can choose anything that you like. Whatever it is ensure that it speaks to you and your energy.
4. Dance. Dance. Dance. For some, meditation is all about staying still the entire time. This did not match my personality at all. Neither my mind nor body wanted to be still so I stopped trying to force it. Since I listened to African tribal music, I decided to dance to it throughout my meditation experience. I normally end up in a trance-like state. You can start and stop whenever you like. There does not have to be a rhyme or reason to it. Simply go with the flow.
5. Have little “still” moments. To be fair, meditation does involve a level of “stillness” whether mentally or physically. For me, this meant merely closing my eyes during a song. I allow myself to listen to the beat of the drums or the layers of sound within the voice of the singer. Any thoughts either float away or dance along. You can do whatever form of being “still” you like. Remember this moment is about you not what some book or guru says it is.
6. Make your nose smile. Adding scent to a room is a very common thing to do for meditation. People have been using aromatherapy for centuries to usher in calm and peace for years. I love burning incense. You may use essential oils or candles. Regardless of what you choose introducing scents can assist in grounding you in the moment.

As you can see, meditation does not have to be a stereotypical event. By incorporating everything listed above, mediation truly became an experience for me. By no means do you have to follow my path. You are free to create whatever you need for connection to occur. At the end of the day, don’t worry about getting it right. Just start.
 
Roberts-Buckley, L. (2018). 6 Ways To Get Creative With Meditation. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 31, 2019, from https://blogs.psychcentral.com/self-care/2018/11/6-ways-to-get-creative-with-meditation/

Laqwanda Roberts-Buckley, MSSW 

​​Laqwanda Roberts-Buckley, MSSW, is the Founder of Healing Black Women, a Certified Life Coach, Reiki Practitioner, and Mental Health Advocate. She has served the mental health community as a public speaker, crisis line counselor, and therapist. She routinely opens the doorway to her emotional self to encourage the hearts of others through lifestyle video blogs for her Youtube channel Laqwanda’s Heart with nearly 32,000 subscribers. It is her desire to simply inspire others to discover peace along their journey in life. You can follow Laqwanda on Instagram @Laqwandasheart