Patience Meditation: Cultivating Patience in Your Mindful Journey

Dear Seekers of Inner Peace,

In the beautiful meditation journey, it's natural to desire quick results. After all, we live in a very fast-paced world where we want and expect everything in a heartbeat. So why would our expectations toward meditation be any different? Yet, some things require time, and I think it is an essential lesson to relearn and embrace. We all wish for instant calmness and serenity, but just like a flower blooming in its own time, true peace requires something called "patience" through patience meditation.

Is patience meditation even a thing? Yes, it is, and today, I will discuss it. But before we move to that part, it is important to understand the root cause of the problem.

What Makes Us Impatient?

Impatience often arises when something is delayed or when we feel we are not progressing quickly toward our goals. For example, it can happen when waiting in traffic or struggling to learn something new, like music.

Impatience can make us judgmental and critical of ourselves. That said, if you are a writer and going through writer’s block, you may start judging your abilities and get impatient. Feeling impatient brings negative emotions like annoyance and anxiety, leading to poor decisions.

On the other hand, patience brings peace, perspective, and better relationships, making it valuable for many.

What is Patience Meditation?

Patience meditation helps people become more tolerant by paying attention to their thoughts and feelings without reacting quickly. The practice involves noticing any frustration or irritation and letting it go without judgment.

People use techniques like deep breathing and visualization to stay calm and handle their discomfort better. Through practicing patience meditation, people learn to deal with tough situations calmly and become more resilient. This meditation can

·       bring inner peace,

·       better control over emotions, and

·       stronger relationships

by helping people handle life's challenges with patience and grace.

How to Develop Patience Through Meditation?

Have you ever taken a trip out in the woods or somewhere isolated? I remember going out of the city for a few days to a beautiful place in Oregon called Breintenbush with a couple of friends. It was such a relaxing experience. The trees created a powerful, relaxing experience, and the broken phone connection helped us "unplug."

When we returned to the city, the noise and speed of everything felt like aggression in our inner peace. We all looked at each other, wanting to turn around.

Most of us live in that noise daily, and we don't even realize it. Yet, it's seriously impacting our well-being and capacity to slow down and be patient with ourselves. So, here are a few ways to cultivate patience through meditation.

1.      Cultivating Inner Stillness

To truly unlock the benefits of meditation, we must learn or, more accurately, relearn to embrace the art of patience.

Here's a quick exercise: Take a few deep breaths, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. As you do so, picture a serene lake, its waters undisturbed by ripples. That stillness within you is waiting to be discovered, but it requires some time and gentle practice.

Note that when I say little time, I am talking about taking a few minutes every day (a few times a day if possible), and after a few days, you will find more ease.

Remember, just as a tree grows slowly but steadily, your inner growth will unfold gracefully. Be kind to yourself, and allow your practice to develop quickly.

Make sure to try my meditations here on Insight Timer or Aura. They take as little as a few minutes and up to 20 minutes for a longer journey inward.

2.      Nurturing Your Inner Garden

Meditation, like tending to a garden, requires loving care and attention. Each session, each breath, is a drop of water nurturing the seeds of peace within you. With time, these seeds will sprout, and you will witness the beautiful transformation.

Release the need for instant gratification. If our modern world and social media have proven to us anything, it is that instant gratification not only provides us with nothing of substance but also has a highly negative impact on our brains and our capacity to find peace and happiness within.

So try something new! Bring delayed gratification into your life and let your practice be a sacred space where you connect with your true self. In this stillness, you will find the answers you seek.

3.      Accepting What’s Out of Our Control

Impatience and frustration are byproducts of trying to control everything in our lives. The truth is that we simply cannot control everything. We can only learn to let go of things that we cannot control. When we accept what we cannot control, we reduce our stress and anxiety—it brings calmness to our lives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does meditation make you patient?

Meditation helps us realize many things about patience. It helps us let go of our impatience and deal with frustrating situations with calmness and resilience. However, it is important to note that it takes time and practice to see the effects of patience meditation on our lives.

Why am I so impatient with meditation?

There can be different reasons for being impatient during meditation sessions. It might arise when we feel rushed due to other obligations, leading to skipping a step in the meditation process or feeling that our progress isn't fast enough. However, it is important to recognize that impatience is merely a passing thought we can let go of.

Summing it up

Remember, dear beautiful soul, the journey is as important as the destination (if not more important!). Trust in the process, and let the power of patience guide you towards the profound benefits of meditation.

With love and light,

Amandine LRH

You might also like to read: "Carving Out Time for Inner Stillness: Overcoming the Lack of Time Barrier in Meditation."