@ecotrain started this 7 day meditation challenge that started on the 21st of January until Sunday the 28th.
We were going to share our experiences starting on the 28th.
I wanted to dedicate a post to the subject alone, but since I've been off-line pretty much the whole week due to some private issues, I haven't really thought about it much. But I would like to share my thoughts here now.

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Those who meditate on a regular basis and even those who only meditate every now and then can attest to the benefits it has. For me meditation has pretty much always been part of my daily life. I teach my kids to meditate, even though in the beginning all I got was giggles. But still, they will do it now and I can always see the difference in them afterwards.

A couple of years ago, I had a day where everything seemed to go wrong. I was a bit stressed and rubbed this off on the children. They in turn, took this and turned it into a day of arguments, fighting and there were tears running down their faces more than once.
It sucked all the energy out of me and then there was the moment when I had a clear mind and decided I would try meditation with them. Man, I wished I would have thought of it sooner!

How to meditate with kids

My experience with kids of all ages is that it works best to keep it simple.
If they have to think too much about what is going to happen, it simply won't work.
Especially with younger kids.
Mine range from age 3 to 16, so in our case, it is better to use an easier approach that all can follow.
All I did was put on some nature sounds, told them to sit comfortably and close their eyes.
I asked them to keep breathing deeply and listen to the sounds while they kept breathing in and out.

Of course, there will always be the hypnotist in me that will stick its head in. And that is fine.
In fact, hypnosis is meditation, but just deeper and mostly with suggestions, where meditation is not.

After less than a minute I saw and felt the energy shift in the room.
It felt much more peaceful, while only a few minutes ago, there was a hostile, energy due to all the arguments.
It is amazing to see with your own eyes just how powerful meditation is.

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We stayed in this state for about 15 minutes after which I slowly brought them back into the now.
The result: refreshed and happy kids. The rest of the day there were no issues and they played together without arguments! Just WONDERFUL!
We now do this on a regular basis, but especially when the fuses pop or someone is having a bad day.
It works wonders!
And it is not just good for my peace of mind, but also theirs. No one wants their kids to be sad or angry or upset.
We all want our children to be happy and joyful. So if your kids drive each other and you up the wall. If it's just one of those days: I can recommend trying this. Chances are: you and your kids will love it and the giggles will stop 😉.

You don't have the time for meditation? BS!

I understand like no other that life happens and especially if you are working a full-time job, running a business or running a household, it can be very hard to find even one minute to yourself, let alone 15 minutes to meditate.
I used to come up with excuses all the time.
Until I realized that these are excuses that your ego will give you. The ego doesn't want the meditative mind, it likes to stay in conflict mode. It is literally your ego that will tell you: I don't have time. I'm too tired. I will just fall asleep.
And so on. DON'T fall for the tricks your mind plays with you.

My solution for meditating despite our busy lives is the following:

Shower meditation

I meditate, sometimes more than other times. It is a daily ritual and sometimes I even have a short meditation while I'm working and can't seem to concentrate.
But my favourite meditation for busy lives is shower meditation.
In fact, it is my favourite overall.

Whether you shower in the morning, evening, middle of the day, once or six times a day: meditation is easily implemented during a shower. Even if it's one of those 'two-minute-because-I-am-late-for-work' showers.
Water has a calming effect and it can help you get into a calmer, meditative state fast without much effort.

What I usually do is my shower ritual first. Washing hair etc. so I am perfectly clean.
This way, you can step out of the shower right after meditation and be ready to get on with the day.
After I have that done, I just stand up straight in the shower while I mind my breathing.
I let the water run on top of my head, but of course, it's up to yourself how you want to do this.
For me, this water running on my head and down my face helps me to quickly let go of any stress, thoughts and 'mindfuck' (often, but not always, these are destructive thoughts the ego comes up with to confuse and make you doubt yourself). I then just stand there while the water washes all these interfering factors down the drain.
You could visualize, but for me, just being in the moment while I watch my breathing is enough to help me through the rest of the day.
When I step out of the shower meditation, I ALWAYS feel calmer than when I started and at the same time I feel the power inside me that knows it can handle anything that comes on our paths.

So if you're one of those busy people who has no time: give this a try. It won't hurt to try.
If you don't like the shower, try the bath. Either way, it is an easy way to meditate without having to find a time slot in your agenda.

Challenge Guidelines
You may choose any style of kind of meditation
You should meditate for at least 15 minutes each day
Post once at the end of your challenge, or every day, and tell us all how it went!
In your post, let us know if you will continue the challenge for another week ;-)
Your first tag should be 'meditation-challenge' so we can all find your post. You can use any other tags you like.
Copy These Guidelines and the Recommended Meditation in your post.
Nominate one person to do the challenge
Please Re-Steem this post to encourage others!
You may start this at anytime. This challenge continue indefinitely!