“Magic mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all?“- Evil Queen
If you know me personally, you know my family (particularly my mother) are really into mirrors. We use them for everything. Mirrors can be used for grooming, glamour, self affirmations, meditation exercises, summoning, divination, love spells, and downright binding, breaking and hexing a person. For the past week I have been doing my morning routines using this song as a wonderful self-affirmation in front of my bathroom mirror. Let me show you how you can add some mirror magic into your daily routine.
For this mirror meditation, go grab a medium sized mirror, notebook and pencil. You’ll be on the floor so go grab a cushion to sit on as well. Position the mirror onto a table at eye level. Do not cheat and use an iPad or any such devise. Matter of fact go unplug yourself from the internet for the day. Now for this meditation, you can do it for 10 to 15mins a day. If you want candles and essential oils for ambience, go for it as long as it’s not distracting. NO MUSIC. Just silence.
The first week just focus on your breath and maintain eye contact with yourself. Stay present and resist distractions. Be open to your thoughts and feelings. Let them come and go. meditation is not easy. Everybody would be doing it everyday consistently if it was. It takes time. So don’t beat yourself up. Even if you’re rusty, haven’t done it in years and you’re finding your mind is everywhere. That’s fine. It’s a starting point. You happen to fall asleep, that’s fine too. Sleep means growth. It also means that your body and mind were that tired to begin with.
The reason we focus on the breath in meditation is because breath is thoughts and feelings. On Henson’s Sesame Street, Elmo teaches this technique to children helping them to manage and be aware of their feelings like anger for instance. When we are stressed we tend to take shallow breaths. When relaxed they are much deeper. So I want you to focus on your breathing for starters. When you inhale, I want you to take your breath down to your belly to a count of five. Nice and deep. Hold it for a count of five then release to a count of five. Do this in repetitions of five or ten. Whatever is comfortable for you to start. Watch yourself in the mirror as you do this.
And when you are ready, I want you to speak aloud your affirmations with no judgment whatsoever to yourself. Do this in reps of five. When you are done, come back to center and focus again on your breathing. Watch yourself. After your mirror meditation is done, jot down the thoughts, feelings and impressions you gained from the experience. You’ll notice over time maybe a pattern that you never knew about yourself. Do not pass any judgement though. Just notice, acknowledge and say to yourself, “ah interesting.” Then let it pass.
Like any working, it takes practice and the effort of time put in. You will notice things changing and shifting for you.
Rhonda Schaller was one of my post-grad teachers at SVA. She held classes both at universities and privately on mindfulness. I loved being part of her meditation groups and miss it everyday. I defiantly recommend reading her books and getting your hands on any recordings on YouTube. I still practice the things she taught me when I am feeling down or out of sorts … especially now.
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. Looking for similar posts on mirror magic? Check out this previous post I wrote.