Settling Down or Settling In?

Meditation is about keeping the mind clear; thinking deeply about reality.
~Dalai Lama via Twitter

A great way to work through negativity and fear is meditation. When we go into mediation, we allow ourselves to move from a place of doing to a place of being. In other words, we are 'settling in', we get comfortable within ourselves, not forcing anything, but allowing everything to be just as it is. Instead of 'settling down', where it is easy to suppress or control our present moment experience, we become aware of what our mind is doing. Through our awareness of our own minds activity, we free ourselves from the grip we usually allow our mind to have on us. We are the observer of our mind, but we, the observer, are truly free.

This freedom of simply 'being' gives us the ability to recognize and disengage from self-perpetuating patterns of negativity and fear. Mental chatter dissolves and through stillness, we get to listen to our inner wisdom, which in return helps us to move forward in our world.