With my eyes closed, I can’t see the patchwork of brown leaves and fallen twigs covering the forest floor before me, the pale green lattice of lichen peppering the trunks of upward-reaching trees, or the waters of Fisher Creek rushing over a bed of weathered rocks.

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor | I wrote an article called Meditation: why time & place matter that you can find on my website sabrinamathenydesigns.com. In that article I suggest how to go about setting up your meditation practice. Today I want to focus on why we set up a meditation practice. 

Being in the moment does not come easily to many of us. When we hear advice on being “present,” let’s face it…we roll our eyes. Who are these hippy dippy people that have time to enjoy the moment? In my meditation this morning, my team of guides offered me a new view on being present and why everybody should make this their intention each day. 

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor | How we feel in a space makes a big difference in our ability to recover from life’s stressors. By setting up a place designated for meditation, we build up the energy in a room making our time of meditation practice there more powerful. The physical body spends less time trying to relax and expand because the space already offers a heightened vibration. By implementing a few items and adjusting your schedule you will reap even greater rewards from as few as 5 minutes of meditation.  

There was once a young girl in Southern India who lived in a house with no electricity. A coiled water hose sat in a corner of the room where she slept. Each night when the sun went down, she convinced herself it was a snake.

Meditation looks different for everyone and that’s OK. There’s no right way or wrong way to meditate — if you do it regularly, you’re probably doing it right. 

Last October, I turned 40. It made me evaluate where I was physically, emotionally and personally. About a month after this pivotal birthday, I had my wellness visit at the doctor. I be-bopped in, assuming labs and vitals would be just fine like they always are, but a couple days after the visit, I received a call saying my iron, B12 and hemoglobin levels were all significantly below normal. My mom passed away from a blood cancer so issues with blood and hemoglobin terrify me. 

It was close to Christmas 2015 when Mark Stein and Randy Doster opened The Meditation Center in Sylva, an oasis of calming music and inspirational décor in a small white house along N.C. 107.