Many people would agree that today’s world can feel a little topsy-turvy. With nonstop news, busy schedules, and constant distractions, it isn’t always easy to quiet the mind or make sense of everything happening around us.
One way many people are finding greater calm is through meditation.
A quick online search describes meditation as a practice that helps focus the mind, calm thoughts, encourage deeper reflection, or cultivate spiritual awareness. It involves training your attention, remaining relaxed yet alert, and allowing thoughts to come and go without judging them.
Meditation can take many forms. Some people simply sit quietly and focus on their breathing. Others repeat a word or phrase, listen to guided imagery, or take a slow, mindful walk. Whatever the approach, the goal is often the same: reducing stress, improving focus, and creating a greater sense of peace.
Anna Fugitt, a certified holistic nutritionist and owner of Holistic Life Delaware in Lewes, has been leading meditation groups for the past six years. She took over a group that formed during the COVID pandemic, when people were searching for ways to stay connected despite social distancing.
“It helped bring a sense of community while people felt isolated,” Fugitt said. “After things reopened, people still wanted to continue because they enjoyed both the connection and the practice.”
Fugitt says she has been meditating for most of her life and emphasizes that there is no single “right” way to meditate. Many forms can easily be practiced at home.
Some of the most common include:
- Mindfulness meditation: Observing thoughts and emotions without judgment.
- Breathing meditation: Focusing on and counting each breath.
- Guided meditation: Following an instructor through breathing exercises, relaxation, or visualization.
- Walking meditation: Walking slowly and intentionally while remaining present in the moment.
- Mantra meditation: Repeating a calming word or phrase.
- Visualization meditation: Creating peaceful mental images or being guided through them.
- Insight meditation: Observing physical sensations and emotional experiences with awareness.
- Coherence meditation: Helping bring the mind, heart, and emotions into greater balance.
- Transcendental meditation: A structured practice taught by certified instructors using personalized mantras.
According to Fugitt, regular meditation can improve concentration, reduce stress and anxiety, quiet the mind, and lift your mood.
“These emotional benefits can also lead to physical ones,” she explained. “People may experience better sleep, lower blood pressure, improved heart health, and even relief from chronic pain and inflammation. Meditation can also foster gratitude, compassion, and a greater sense of inner peace.”
Rehoboth Beach resident Phyllis Dillinger has experienced those benefits firsthand.
In 2014, after helping sell a company, ending a relationship, and recovering from major ankle surgery, she realized she needed a chance to slow down after more than three decades in Corporate America.
She attended a four-day retreat, Spiritual Solutions, at the Deepak Center at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
“It was an amazing experience,” Dillinger said. “It helped me become more aware of everything going on in my mind and reconnect with myself.”
Today, meditation remains part of her daily routine.
“It helps me look inward when I’m facing challenges,” she said. “It helps me let go of things that no longer serve me and encourages surrender, forgiveness, and compassion for others.”
The recently retired chief financial officer for The Washington Home in Washington, D.C., begins each morning with meditation.
For anyone interested in learning more, St. Peter’s Church in Lewes will host an Introduction to Meditation workshop on Saturday, August 29, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The workshop will be offered both in person at St. Peter’s Community Hall and online via Zoom. Meditation teacher Sue Greer will introduce the foundations of Insight Meditation through short guided practice sessions and group discussion. The program is appropriate for beginners as well as those with meditation experience. A suggested donation of $10 is requested.
Whether practiced for five minutes or an hour, meditation offers something many of us could use a little more of—an opportunity to slow down, breathe deeply, and find a little more calm in our everyday lives.
By Mary Jo Tarallo, Resident Journalist
Mary Jo Tarallo spent much of her career in public relations with various non-profits and spent 40 years involved with the ski industry as a journalist, public relations director for a national trade association and as executive director of the Learn to Ski and Snowboard initiative. Prior to her ski industry involvement she worked for the Maryland International Center in Baltimore and United Way of Central Maryland. She won a Gold Award for TV programming for a United Way simulcast that starred Oprah Winfrey. She has been cited for her work by numerous organizations. Mary Jo grew up in Baltimore, attended the University of Maryland and Towson University, lived in Washington, DC for 21 years and has been a full time resident of Rehoboth Beach and Milton since May 2019.
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