Booking time to make a decision

Things have been very busy lately; between long days at work, the upholstery course at weekends, trips down to The Paddock, socialising and family I haven't had time to stop and smell the roses (hence my Yoko Ono inspired Day-In-Bed on Sunday).

And now I've come to realise that I have a nagging feeling inside that is letting me know it's time to make some decisions and figure out if I'm still travelling on the right path. I try to do this kind of check-in regularly and it's only when things have been this hectic that I forget.

I don't formally meditate everyday (that is, I don't take time out of my day to sit and meditate) but I do try to meditate in the moment at least once during each day. That gets tricky the more you have going on in your mind, the less likely it is to stop the jibber-jabber and relax. 

So I've determined to book out some time to practise contemplation meditation; one hour will be a long time to sit for the first time in a while, so I might book in incremental sittings of 30, 40, 50 then 60 minutes so I can work up to an hour of seated meditation.

When it's been a while since my last long meditation, bringing in habitual ceremony also helps the mind 'remember' the practice. So making a quiet place to sit, lighting incense, ringing a bell all help to clear the mind in preparation for the contemplation.

I'm not expecting to resolve any decision from my first practise, so booking in a few or several meditations will help me relax as it takes the pressure off finding an answer in a set period of time. In my experience, any expectation (of a result) will make the contemplation more difficult.

Now I just need to check the calendar, book in my sessions and commit to them! I'll let you know how I go.