How many times have you heard how important it is to spend some time each day meditating? I hear that all the time and I can’t stand it. For years, I turned away from any sort of meditation. I even hated the word. Why? Because I couldn’t meditate like everyone else. I got up and did laundry or made my grocery list. Sound familiar? There is nothing fun or exciting or relaxing or healing about sitting cross legged on the floor in a darkened room and trying to clear my mind. What does that even mean? Have you ever tried not to think about anything? Have you ever tried to force yourself to be happy meditating? That is not happening in my world.

Well, come to find out, that’s not what meditation is all about. Meditation is the practice of seeing the moment for what it is without judging and without trying to change anything. For example, after a bad day when someone happens to take frustrations out on me or the daggers are out and people are just grumpy (hypothetically), I come home and sit on my favorite chair and close my eyes. I think about what happened without being angry and I begin to accept it for what it truly was – someone else had a bad day and decided to talk to me in a tone that was less than flattering and use words that were not kind. It had nothing to do with me. I feel it, I understand it, and I let the feeling go. I move on with my enjoyable evening. That’s meditation.

The states of stillness and quiet are not the goals of meditation, and neither is sitting cross legged on the floor which, let’s be honest, is totally uncomfortable after about two minutes. Meditation isn’t a pose or a posture. Meditation is the process of being present, it is a time to process and a time to integrate into your life. Meditation is unpredictable and surprising. Meditation is accepting of your present moment and feelings. This is what makes meditation interesting and why it is so important.

One of my favorite books says it perfectly: “Meditation is neither a means to an end nor something to perfect.” Done incorrectly, meditation is a perfect mirror of your life and how you are resisting or refuting the present moment for what it is, how you are judging it, or attaching to it. However, done correctly, meditation is an expression of reality, there here and the now, and not a path to it.

There is no perfect way to meditate, the goal is to be present without judging or rationalizing your feelings. It is simply to feel present in a judgement free fashion. Right now, I feel there is a lot of crazy happening around us, whether it is our personal lives, the industry we work in and around, or just the political atmosphere of this country. We can all use some meditation and some down time. I hope this has cleared up some myths to meditation and I hope we can all take some time during the day this weekend and meditate. Then, I hope everyone can start Monday feeling more grounded and relaxed.

Meditation myths

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