The contemplative practices have been a bit of a rollercoaster for me. At first, I did not like them at all. I did not think they were engaging, I had trouble focusing during, and I did not learn any great insights into myself. I often turned them on as background noise during other tasks. In preparation for this post, I decided to do them again. My second experience was much different. I set aside a specific time for the exercises, watched the videos attentively, engaged with the material, and listened to the practices without distractions. This significantly altered my opinion of the practices.

I have never been very good at meditating, I have a hard time turning off my brain and only thinking about one thing at a time. At first, I was not invested in the practices because I just assumed I wouldn’t enjoy them. However, after forcing myself to engage with them wholly, I gained a new appreciation for calming your thoughts.

I liked the practices that had preparation videos more than the ones that you dive straight into. The videos allowed me to ease into the right mind frame and they evoked emotions that helped guide my thoughts during the contemplative practice. The videos made me want to engage with the topic which helped keep my mind on the topic throughout the entire exercise.

The practices allowed me to look at my eating habits more critically and systemically. I can’t say that I gained any extraordinary insights into myself, but I do think that it is useful to take the time to really think about the foods that seem so normal to us. We all need to slow down and contemplate the world around us to appreciate the privilege we have.

A picture I took in New Zealand that makes me feel contemplative.