20 Sep Meditation is a gift - Sebastian Smeenk

“Meditation is truly a gift that everyone should be able to give to themselves”, says Sebastian Smeenk, our Mindfulness Hero of the month. We got in touch with him to know more about his experience with meditation hoping you will find some inspiration from his beautiful thoughts.

Why did you start meditating?
For me, personally, the first moment that I came in contact with meditation, it immediately showed me all of its benefits. At that point I knew that I had to integrate this in my life somehow. It came after a difficult stage in my life, when a close friend showed me the basic techniques. At that point, it wasn’t all that easy. But it became the start for a more centered, aligned and self-aware life which eventually helped me to overcome great obstacles such as anxiety and depression.

How has meditation helped you in becoming a better person?
Meditation has helped me in becoming a better person through the way it has helped me to be more present. This seems as a fairly simple thing, nowadays spoken of widely. Though, it was never something that I fully experienced, even today it remains a challenge, but through the habit of daily practice I am capable of finding my inner balance. This leads to a life where I am capable of making the right choices from within and thus connecting on a more spiritual level with people I encounter; may this be family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues or others.

What made you stick to Aware?
To me, Aware is the perfect app to help me in continuing my habitual path of meditation. The combination of the friendly & clear voice of the teacher and the minimalistic design of the app makes this an absolute winner!

What has been your life-hack to make meditation a habit? Share some tips for beginners.
Habits are always hard to fully integrate, then again with all of the scientific evidence which is available on the subject of mindfulness one can simply see that the results speak for themselves. Meditation is truly a gift that everyone should be able to give to themselves. Surely it asks for an adaption in your current life, but once you reap the benefits of this experience I’m sure that you won’t be missing out. Just try it for 21 consecutive days, science tells us that it takes this many days to create an habit. Before you know it, meditation is part of your lifestyle. Keep it up, you deserve no less!