I am more than halfway into my March 31 in 31 Meditation Challenge.

I'm hoping this month will set the foundation for a mediation habit.  I have had an on and off love affair with meditation since my dad passed away in 1995. Meditation was  a comfort to me during that difficult time.

Some months I will be doing a challenge just for the sake of doing a challenge, not necessarily to create a new habit. But with the meditation challenge, I am hoping to use it as a kickstart to create a habit.

The best way to form a habit is to start small. For the first week and a half or so I was mediating 2-4 minutes a day. Two minutes is enough to create a shift, it really is. But more importantly, it is enough to keep me in the habit groove. Repetition, no matter how large or small, is what it takes. It's that "just show up" thing again.

Another good way to create a habit is to decide on a trigger. For instance, brushing my teeth in the morning could be a trigger to get my buns over to the meditation cushion. This would help me remember to show up and by linking a second habit to a first, I have a better chance at habit creation success. The layered habit approach.

In an ideal world this would be an awesome thing for me to do. I prefer to meditate in the morning. It makes me calmer and more patient with Kyle from the get go. I really do feel a difference in myself though it's hard to say exactly what it is. More like a feeling, an attitude. No doubt, meditation starts my day off in a solid, positive way.

HOWEVER, I don't live in an ideal world. Often, Kyle needs me right away in the morning. Sometimes even before I brush my teeth.. no kidding! Perhaps some of you parents can relate.

In my real world, it often happens  that I am not able to meditate first thing in the morning.  Therefore, I have not been able to use the trigger approach to forming this habit. However, my intention has been powerful enough so that I search for opportunities later in the day. It has been random but I've found that has added to the challenge of it, and to the fun. One of my favorite spots has been on the mountaintop behind my house. Exercise and meditation, spiritual vitamins that make my soul happy. When administered together, they are a recipe for a really great endorphin boost.

I've heard from readers doing their own challenges. Month 3 and life has thrown a bunch of curveballs to one of my friends. She has gotten way off track losing focus with her challenge. It would be easy to give up entirely. Her solution has been to start fresh in April. Regroup and start over. I think that's an ideal approach to have.

This is life. We start things with gusto, maybe even with a high level of commitment. Life steps in for a little intervention, some altered plans. We falter... how could we not? The key is to keep redirecting ourselves to the path, whatever we have decided that is. To get back on track as soon as possible and begin moving forward.

There is no ideal world. Today I get to "just sit". Not sure exactly when, but sometime today, in MY real world, I'm going to make it happen.

PS

Recently, I wrote an article called Thinking Inside the Box for the new Autism OZ digital magazine. It's about Kyle's volunteer work making toiletry shoeboxes for the homeless. I have written about this project in previous blogs. We are always in need of donations :-)

In case you haven't caught it, here's the video that accompanied the article:

http://youtu.be/vIXKw-NsFZk

Autism Oz iMagazine is a digital magazine designed to inform, inspire, support and entertain all those across the world touched by autism. It is a fantastic magazine with an international flare.

Subscription is available on either a magazine by magazine basis for $5.49 OR 12 month/12 issues for $43.99 which comes out to just over $3.60 an issue. PDF versions are available if you don't have an IPad.