This Blue Dot Helps Me Meditate

3 min Article Meditation, Rituals & Ceremonies

Every time I see the sticker, I stop and take one breath. It brings me back to this place of presence

Text by Ceasar F Barajas

Fifteen years ago, if you'd told me I'd be meditating 15 to 20 times a day, I wouldn't have believed you. And yet that's what I do every day — but how?

Morning

There's an awareness of breath as soon as I wake up. Regardless of my environment, I take a moment to focus on my breath just as I'm transitioning to wakefulness. I do this because it's a gift to be given each day. It sounds cliché, but my background was pretty troubled.

I've been shot at and locked up; I've done a lot of terrible things in my life, so finding that turnaround was huge for me. I like to honor that and start the day by saying, "OK, today truly is a gift, so let me take several deep breaths."

Daytime

I am also a huge proponent of moving meditation. How many of us have time to sit in stillness for half an hour? Not many, and I'm a New Yorker, so a lot is happening. I use a blue sticker to find ways to meditate throughout the day.

For example, inside my wallet — a Han Solo carbonite wallet because I'm a huge Star Wars fan — is a small round blue sticker. That same sticker is also on my laptop; it's on several of my journals, my water bottle and the fridge. Every time I see the sticker, I stop and take one breath. It brings me back to this place of presence, and through that practice, I probably meditate 15 to 20 times a day.

Night

At the end of the evening, before I lay down, I have a ritualistic routine to allow myself to arrive. It's a habitual pattern of finding an awareness of breathing — and that's meditation. Meditation is mindful thinking; meditation is not stopping what you're thinking about; it's just slowing down enough to go, "OK, I have a lot happening. How do I take the next steps to handle that right now?"

I'm meditating from my first to last minutes of wakefulness — and plenty of times in between. My practice isn't fancy, but I hope it shows others that you don't necessarily have to clear your calendar to meditate. With a bit of effort, you can create small moments of mindfulness throughout every day.

Learn how you can Meditate on the Go in this guided session with meditation teacher Almeiri Santos.

Header image: Grant Faint/Getty Images

About the Teacher

Ceasar F Barajas

Growing up as an abused, angry kid, Ceasar F. Barajas suffered multiple traumas. After spending seven years in the U.S. Navy, he found meditation when he was experiencing PTSD, anxiety and depression, and he credits his practice with being the stabilizer for both his personal and professional life — which has involved everything from working as a classically trained dancer with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Will Smith to leading fitness classes of all kinds. “Meditation doesn’t mean to stop thinking, it asks of you to slow down," he says. "Slowing down then enables you to listen, really listen, to yourself. Meditation is just mindful thinking." Having found his calling as a trauma-sensitive certified yoga instructor, meditation teacher and breathing techniques instructor, Ceasar specializes in mindful resiliency for trauma recovery and compassion fatigue. He’s taught all over the world and served as a guest panelist and instructor at Columbia, Rutgers and Fordham universities.

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