go and sin no more!

"now that you are aware; you are changed"

tell me you also read that in “go and sin no more” baritone voice?

one of the greatest revelations I've had recently is realizing that some of my best "aha" moments come when I'm in conversation with myself. I think a big reason for this is that I don’t have a very large social circle.

so, when I do get the chance to engage in conversations, they often leave me in a better place than where I started. These interactions either spark new ideas from what the other person says or lead me to insights as I process my thoughts in response to what’s being shared. There’s something about speaking through ideas, in real-time, that brings clarity.

recently, I had a chat with Badiana (

Badiana Badio Eckstrom

). It wasn’t an in-person conversation, a phone call, or a video call—just a text exchange. But it was still an eye-opening experience. It showed me that I don’t need to wait for a face-to-face meeting to have those breakthrough moments; even a text conversation can be just as impactful.

during that chat, I stumbled on a realization about meditation. I used to see meditation in a rigid, black-and-white way but now I understand that it doesn’t have to follow a set pattern all thanks to Badiana. Not until she asked me a question that unlocked it all for me:

it felt like someone opened the curtains inside the dark basement in my head and let some light in.

apparently, I had been practicing a form of meditation for a long time without even knowing it.

my responses were:

• whenever i’m recording my thoughts in this folder, like every freaking thing falls away in that moment and i only focus on what’s coming through my body:

everything and anything you’ve ever read from me started as a recorded audio conversation with myself first.

• sometimes when i write.

• when i’m discussing about life philosophies with a friend. this majorly happens with 3 people i know.

• when i’m playing podcasts while i have my bath. Listening to the podcasts while the shower hits the center of my head creates this magical portal where i enter briefly and have conversations with myself about an idea i just heard by one of the speakers or a different idea i had been thinking about and then i go all in talking with myself or talking in my head.

I now know I need to consciously create the space for these activities to happen so I can get into that state often.

so, even if my method doesn’t look like traditional meditation, it’s my way of reaching a state of clarity—where distractions disappear, and I’m entirely immersed in the present action.

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at this juncture, i’ll like Badiana to share somethings.

just like me, I’d assume when

Badiana Badio Eckstrom

first tried meditation in the past she must have hit a mental wall where she almost quit. So i was curious how she got over it and found her way to where she is right now, and what are meditative practices look like right now.

over to you BB:

I want to rewind a little and share the exchange of dialogue between Tobi and I. Seeing how that conversation unfolded as naturally as a Tobi and B conversation unfolds I think is an important part of this exchange. It’s highlighting the importance of communication and connection. 

Do we overthink our connections with each other? 

Do we read into each other’s words and make assumptions instead of asking questions or clarifying? 

As much as this is about an aha moment, it’s about authentic communication and friendship and this is what that looks like. No edits, just genuine interest in each other and authentic human interactions. 

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Tobi: that’s important. Having other things that bring us joy outside of work. Whether it’s activities, hobbies is truly necessary. Speaking of which, i’ve been thinking of doing meditations either first thing in the morning or anytime during the day to see if it’s my cup of tea.

Baddie: I co-sign trying meditation. Such a wonderful practice to get into. I also think if traditional meditation doesn’t work for you. Sometimes meditation via movement like when I take my weekly hikes unplugged fully from technology/phone aside from a camera 📷 that is meditation via movement for me. 

Tobi: wow! i appreciate you keeping that window to explore open for me. i’ll keep this in mind.

Baddie: I wanted to mention that because I think sometimes when we try something new 🆕 we are also trying something in a specific format that someone told us is ‘THE WAY’ to do it and when ‘THAT WAY’ doesn’t align with us then we discard it and say it ain’t for me. BUT spiritual practices or maybe let me not insert my beliefs here. Practices that help us understand our mind is FOR EVERYONE.

We ALL need to learn it but understand that there is a method to it that aligns with you, you just have to find it and it might not look like what is traditionally sold as ‘meditation’ your meditation might be the state you go in when you are writing. Does everything else fall away are you locked into the present moment?

If so that is all meditation is trying to get us to be able to do. To be so focused in the moment you are in and be there for as long as your mind will allow and the more practice you can get the longer you are able to stay in that state.

Baddie: When you read this, feel free to share activities or moments you have felt like everything else fell away and you were so present in the moment. Would love to hear 👂🏾 about them. So let this foray into meditation lead you down a path of discovering what meditation works for you, ya know?

Tobi: wow!! wow! wow! wow! wow! wow! wow! i need a few minutes to take in all i just read. Because i defo didn’t the airplane coming my way when i looked left and right to cross this road of self discovery. 

i could have sworn the coast was clear when i looked left and right but the plane hit me right at the center of my head. 

let me take all i just read in then i’ll respond.

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Tobi asked me how I came to this conclusion and it is rooted in my journey of untethering myself from this idea that there is one way of doing something. When you are a kid, you are told this is how things should be done by your parents, then that message seems to inevitably sync up with what society then tells you is the way to be and do things and then before you know it your a cog in the wheel detached from your own voice asking yourself, “How did I get here?” when your life is nothing like you thought it would be. 

So as part of my journey, I began challenging everything I was taught and deciding if I wanted to take it or leave it. Around that time yoga became a big part of my life and yoga in the simplest way I can put it is meditation through movement. That was my first exposure to meditation through movement. 

I have tried the sitting with my legs crossed traditional idea of what meditation is and it just isn’t for me, but I knew how valuable meditation is through my own yoga practice. The point is I knew not to throw it away because I did not want to do it the way so many are teaching it.

I meditate regularly.

Photo by Darina Belonogova

On my family hikes. Being immersed in Mother Nature and syncing my mind, body and soul with the rhythm of the woods and my steps in nature creates this meditative state with movement and I feel everything with such depth, with such clarity, with such peace and joy.

I meditate during my yoga practice. 

I meditate in the shower, so I’m with you Tobi on that one. Something about the water cascading over me syncs me with myself and the present moment. 

Which then results in some of my best internal dialogue in the shower. 

I meditate while I write. It’s syncing into the present moment. I am usually in my Sun room upstairs with a perfect view of the lake my house is on and the movement of the water puts me in this flow. 

Then I put pen to paper or finger to keyboard with a message for myself that is then shared with my audience/community and then the eyes and ears who need it receive it. 

“e go down in the DM”

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Unmute your mic:

what’s an activity or moment where you felt like everything else fell away and you were so present in the moment?