When I think back to the first time meditation caught my attention, it wasn’t in a classroom or a formal meditation program. It happened in front of the TV. I must have first seen it in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, where Donatello was meditating, and there was this aura around Splinter. Later, I noticed Piccolo meditating in Dragon Ball Z. I didn’t understand the meditation techniques or the specific mindfulness practices being shown. Still, something about inner strength, calm, and Eastern philosophy sparked my curiosity. That planted the seed.
As I got older, mindfulness meditation became more of a part of my everyday life. Some of my high-school friends would go to the beach to meditate, and I would wonder what exactly they were doing—how sitting still and taking a deep breath could reduce stress or bring mental clarity. Eventually, I bought The Great Courses series on meditation practice to gain a clearer understanding.
The professor left a real impression on me. He explained how he turned to meditation when the people around him were drinking, using substances, or dealing with negative emotions in destructive ways. Meditation, he said, was free, accessible anytime, and supported good mental health. He shared a story about giving a wedding sermon when a bee flew between his eye and his glasses. Instead of reacting with fear, he stayed grounded and present. That moment showed me how mindfulness practice can shape thoughts and feelings in a practical way.
Later, when I was training to become a therapist, I realized that meditation isn’t just a personal ritual—it’s rooted in clinical psychology and evidence-based therapy. Mindfulness-based stress reduction, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy all use forms of meditation practices to help clients cope with stress, anxiety, depression, and distressing thoughts. Research, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and even review and meta-analysis papers, consistently shows that meditation reduces stress, supports emotional regulation, and improves overall well-being.
Businesses teach meditation for stress management, schools integrate mindfulness practices into daily routines, and therapists use body-centered meditation, walking meditation, moving meditation, and even body scan meditation to help people reconnect with their physical sensations.
Curious to expand my meditation techniques, I explored different teachers and traditions. I remember watching David Lynch’s MasterClass where he talked about creativity and mantra meditation, describing it like diving into a deep ocean of stillness. That visual stuck with me.
One of the most helpful sets of practices I found came from PositivePsychology.com, which offered three guided meditation practices I still return to today:
1. Eye of the Hurricane
A grounding exercise that teaches you to see yourself as the calm center of a storm, observing emotions, thoughts, and stress swirling around you. This connects beautifully with the ACT idea of the “observing self.”
2. Leaves on a Stream
A classic ACT mindfulness practice where you place each thought on a leaf and watch it float away. It reduces the power of distressing thoughts and helps with cognitive diffusion.
3. Wheel of Awareness (Dan Siegel)
A structured practice that guides you through the body scan, senses, inner experiences, and the larger world—helping you stay rooted in the present moment.
These practices complement one another and highlight how flexible meditation techniques can be in daily life, therapy, and coping skills. They strengthen problem-solving skills, help with emotional regulation, support people with eating disorders, and improve overall well-being.
Looking back, it’s funny that my journey started with Ninja Turtles and anime characters sitting cross-legged. What once seemed mystical has become a practical part of my life and an essential tool I use with clients in one-on-one therapy. Meditation isn’t about escaping reality. It’s about being more present for it.
What Is Mantra Meditation? My First Real Experience
When I was 25 and newly in recovery, I fell into a heavy, sinking self-pity. I didn’t know how to deal with the weight of my thoughts and feelings, so I called someone from my sober network. He said he had something that might help: a burned CD. On it was Meditation for Manifesting by Dr. Wayne Dyer.
I put it in my CD player, and soon his calm voice filled the room. He asked powerful questions about life, change, and healing—questions that encourage awareness and understanding of what you truly want moving forward.
Then he introduced me to mantra meditation, focusing on the sound “Ah”—a sound found in names like Yahweh, Buddha, Krishna, and Ra. He described it as the sound of creation.
When I tried it, matching my voice to the frequency he described, I felt the vibration through my whole body. The resonance created a noticeable shift. By the end of the meditation, the heavy emotional fog had lifted. Even my stress and anxiety softened.
If I hadn’t embraced meditation, I think I would have fallen back into destructive patterns. Instead, it gave me a healthier way to reconnect, recover, and stabilize my mental health. That single practice gave me a greater sense of grounding—a healthier sense of self.
I’m not a guru. I don’t pretend to be a self-help salesman. I simply share what has genuinely helped me. As a therapist today, when I introduce meditation, I see it the same way someone once saw it for me: as planting a seed.
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