The idea of meditating and doing so successfully brings a lot of feelings to many of us. Most of all, the feeling of it being difficult, time consuming and unattainable. Who can sit in a lotus position for hours with a blank mind without one’s feet falling asleep and addressing every itch possible?
The first time I attempted to meditate was at the age of 11 or 12 years old. I have always read everything I can put my hands on and read a book on meditation and the benefits of meditating a couple of times per day. To this day I have no idea who the author of that book was but it instructed how to sit in a lotus position and meditate twice a day for an hour each time, which would do wonders. Reading this, I decided to give this meditating thing a try, sat down, crossed my legs and closed my eyes. Yes, I was a serious kid growing up, curious about most things and with a great interest of learning. The hour seemed more like two days and no matter how many times I tried, I just couldn’t sit for the full hour without itching everywhere, my feet falling asleep, my back starting to hurt, and a mind racing with thoughts. For many years I put meditation aside and thought I had already tried it.
Many years later, when disscussing something with a friend, she asked if I meditated. My answer was naturally that I have already tried that and it doesn’t work for me. That’s when I found out that there are many different ways to meditate and that one doesn’t have to sit in a lotus position in order to be meditating. One doesn’t have to sit quietly with one’s eyes closed for an hour either in order to call it meditation. This certainly peaked my interest and as I began practicing meditating this way, I experienced some of the benefits. In the beginning it was quite a challenge to sit through my impulses with closed eyes without getting up. My mind would tell me what I needed to do, the starving plant that needed to be watered, the phone calls I needed to return, the laundry that needed to be done etc. Little by little I began to be able to sit through those five minutes and enjoy them which brought rewards. The five minutes of meditation every day contributed to slowing my mind down and it became more comfortable and less stresfull being in my head. I slowly began dealing with situations differently and responding to people differently because I wasn’t always tired and stressed out. The quiet mind gave me more room to see alternatives and options and to not act out before getting a chance to see things from a different perspective.
Many of the great teachers of all times, speak of meditation and the benefits in our lives. If you would like to get started meditating or have come to a halt in your meditation practice it can be picked up wherever you are. I’ve become more gentle with myself while meditating and do not expect a quiet mind without thoughts anymore. Instead, when distracted by my thoughts I observe them with as open of a mind as I can at the moment and let the thoughts proceed without holding on to them or judging them. That has helped me to enjoy meditating without feeling like I’m failing every time because I still haven’t reached the blank mind.
However challenging it might be to get started and even more challenging to be disciplined enough to continue meditating consistently it’s definitely worth the benefits. Many teachers will tell you to sit comfortably and to start small. I challenge you to sit with your eyes closed for five minutes every day for 30 days and see what might change in your life. It helps to keep a journal to remember and take note of things while practicing meditating. How it feels, what seems to be challenging and the new ideas and inspirations that might come. I would absolutely love hearing about your meditation experience and what it has done for you. There is nothing more inspiring than other people’s experiences, successes and failures because our failures are sometimes what brings us to the place where we are able to succeed!
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