The Secret Meditators Won’t Tell You
Meditation is everywhere these days. With COVID on the wane, we now face the onslaught of pre-pandemic life — work travel, children’s schedules, going back to the office, eating and living well — not to mention fitting in hobbies and self-care. While meditation can be an effective strategy for overcoming these anxieties, how on earth does one find the time? If you feel overwhelmed by both your life and meditation this article is for you.
Meditation gurus like to lecture, it's part of the gig. There are usually instructions for how to sit, how long to meditate, and what to meditate on (or not). This is all offered with the best of intentions. If it works for them, it will work for you, right?
I don’t buy it and neither should you. Everyone’s experience on this planet is unique, and so too are the resources at our disposal. While some may have plenty of time to meditate, or the resources to attend a silent retreat, many do not. So then how can anyone recommend any specific method of meditation? These gurus are holding out on you. There is a secret to meditation that’s vital to cultivating internal calm.
The Western Condition
In the U.S. we are consumed by our minds — driven to obsess relentlessly on everything from why Bob didn’t say hi to us to that extra cookie we ate during lunch. These thought patterns are most commonly recognized as anxiety, and our medical industrial complex treats the condition with pharmaceutical remedies and talk therapy. Despite the proliferation of both resources, our anxiety continues — as does the growth of social media, the digital avatar of our minds. This mind worship is what drives the frantic search for solutions.
In other parts of the world, survival is a daily task. Food insecurity is a thing and violence is common in daily life. If formal meditation via fancy cushion and an empty room were required for a peaceful internal life — the world is f*cked. And yet, it is not. People are still able to cultivate rich inner lives without “formal” meditation, both in the U.S. and in the rest of the world.
The Secret to Meditation
There are many roads to meditation. One method involves a floor cushion and an empty room — many others do not.
In this series, we’ll investigate how to detach ourselves from the concept of meditation, and craft a personal roadmap to cultivating inner stillness.