I believe most people, when asked, will tell you that they would love to be free (whatever that means to them). Some people even have a great grasp of what that would look and feel like. Then there are those (maybe you are one of them) who are truly living their dreams.
No matter where you are in your life, though, there are times when we all feel fear, uncertainty, and self-doubt.
We wouldn’t be humans if we didn’t experience difficulties, and even tragedies, in our lives and have these kinds of feelings come up. However, what is sad to see, and yet so often happens, is when fear and unresolved trauma unconsciously become the guiding forces of our lives and derail us from living life to our fullest potential.
For me, having a meditation practice has given me a transformative way of moving through difficult emotions while keeping me aligned with my highest purpose. It has been invaluable to see myself so intimately, although scary and painful at times.
Gautama the Buddha said that enlightenment is seeing things as they are; not as we would like them to be.
In meditation, we are not there to try to stop our racing thoughts. We are not there to arrive at a calm state. We are not there to solve our issues.
In meditation, we allow whatever is there to be there. We allow the truth of that moment to speak to us. We allow our mind to link up with our breath.
All that is asked of us is to observe what is going on. The process takes care of itself. We don’t need special lighting, or silence, or even a certain kind of cushion to experience this.
WE JUST NEED OURSELVES and the intention to observe.
When we see things for what they are and don’t try to make certain feelings go away or become other feelings, we arrive at a certain, natural homeostasis. Through the process of acceptance, we unleash whatever has been at the root of our resistance. Where we have been previously blocked or disturbed, we allow a flow to take place.
Now, just to be clear, acceptance does not mean we don’t make changes in our lives, nor does it mean that we’ve just given up. Not at all. Acceptance means allowing the truth of the moment to be our guide for intuitive action. Many times in meditation I have received a call to action and a vision for how to do something that was previously unknown to me.
When we are in sync with ourselves in this way, we can access infinite possibilities. Some people call this being in the zone, or the vortex. Some may even call this freedom.
So What Next?
If you already have a meditation practice and want to enhance your commitment in some way, that’s really great. I encourage you to start today. If you are brand new to meditation and something is telling you to give it a shot, that’s awesome. Again, start today. And, if this just doesn’t feel like your cup of tea; hey, that’s cool too.
If you are interested in pursuing meditation, of course there is no substituting working directly with a meditation teacher. I personally find value in someone who can show you a variety of practices and provide compassionate, constructive guidance.
However, there are a whole host of simple ways you can get started.
Even just a couple minutes of conscious breathing in the morning and at the end of the day can dramatically shift how you experience your day. You can think of this type of practice like book-ends for your day.
Another thing you can try during the day is to set your watch or computer for every hour (or however many times you want), and when the alarm goes off you commit to stopping what you’re doing and watching your breath for one minute. Can anything be that important that one minute could not be spent in this way? You can have fun with this one too, and see if you notice the quality of your work change after that one minute.
Finally, you can try watching your breath as you move through daily chores like grocery shopping, washing dishes, or waiting in line at the post office.
Soon you may find yourself naturally increasing your time spent in meditation. Just take it slowly. There is no goal or pressure to get to a certain place.
Let the practice guide you. After all, I’d say it’s done a pretty good job at that for the last 5000 thousand years.
As my friend and fellow yogini Gretchen says, “This practice is not going anywhere and it’ll be there whenever you are.”
I’m missing Melissa sooooooooooooooo much!
Glad you are reaching so many people with your wisdom.
Ellie
Ellie!
How great to hear from you. Thank you so much for those kind words. Hoping you are well. Warmly, Melissa
This post caught my attention as I recently picked up my roommate’s copy of “Introduction to Tantra” by Lama Yeshe. I am only a few chapters in but one of the themes I am picking up on is “You already have what you need within you.” This strikes me as a core part of being free… we are not dependent on outside circumstances, we already have everything we need at our disposal to be free. I always appreciate a reminder.
Hi Brian,
I appreciate your comment. So true. So wise. Thanks for sharing.
Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….
Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….
; )
Little Missy,
When are you going to come to Corpus and work with us on all this stuff. Something all of us here at the Shelter could use.
Hi Dorothy,
You know I’m in! Let’s talk!
i’m currently at a zen monastery practicing meditation (long story) and it’s great!! we do sitting meditation for 30 min. but we do other forms of meditation like walking meditation, and even eating. i’ve come to realize that every moment is an opportunity for meditation. meditation is just the practice of staying present. is there a “right” or “wrong” way to practice meditation? they tell you to focus on your breath. one technique is counting your breathe 1-10 and over and over… but what happens if your mind wanders, is that “wrong”? it’s hard to still the mind. meditation is very hard and sitting still for that long even hurts your body! i’m of the mindset that there is no right or wrong way to meditate, though. if your thoughts stray, watch your thoughts. where are they going? observe it. and let it continue, but then let your thoughts go. don’t hold on to it. through my wandering mind, i’ve actually find ‘solutions’ to problems i’ve been having.
all in all, i think meditation is great 😀 some of the most successful and happiest people practice it.
Hi Floreta,
Wow, what an experience you must be having. Would love to know the journey you took to get to the point of deciding to go to the zen monastery. Do you know how long you plan to be there? Or are you just taking it moment by moment?
I couldn’t agree more with your comments. Absolutely right on. I remember the moment I was o.k. with my mind running and racing, and it was just such a surrender. Knowing I didn’t have to fix that; or do battle with that, freed me.
Again, thanks so much for chiming in here and sharing.
no problem! monks have wi-fi 😉
haha, well I plan on blogging my way through this..eventually (blog on a bit of a hiatus for now). But the gist of it was that I found this posting on Lonely Planet for a 4 month zen retreat practicing meditation, learning Mandarin Chinese, and Buddhist way of life. It’s basically like a school scholarship because we have classes, a steady schedule/routine, and all for free. It is 4 months with the opportunity to work or study in Taiwan afterwards (i’m currently in the Philippines). This year has been one big career break for me as I try to figure out my next step in life (hopefully involving starting my own freelance business)… so I moved to Philippines to be with my family and no set plans. Just the idea that I wanted to travel Asia, learn my local dialect, and be open to new experiences/ wherever the wind blows me. 🙂
Hi Floreta,
“Monks have wi-fi”……………brilliant.
Again, what a grand journey…both into the self and with your travels…not to mention learning Mandarin Chinese! I really appreciate how you took this leap. I look forward to the blog later. Thanks again for sharing.
Awesome post. I know that our deepest desires nest in the space of an inhale and exhale. I recently began practicing MerKaBa (light spirit body) meditation again and it’s feels amazing. It’s increase my immediate information field and awareness tremendously.
Thanks again.
Hi Freel,
Thanks so much for your comment. Very interesting….MerKaBa….I’ve never heard of it. Would love to hear more. I will also look it up too!
Hi Doniree,
Yes, sounds like great timing!! Totally normal to be a little nervous. Like you said, in Boulder there are tons and tons of opportunities. Might I suggest the following: have fun with this…shop around…seek out at least three different places…and allow your instincts to guide you to the right spot/ right people. This way the newness and nervousness are somewhat offset by the fun journey you get to experience.
Good luck! I would love to know how it turns out!
Hi Sonicsuns,
Great comment and insight. I appreciate the careful reading. I would agree with you and your tweeking of the language.
One of the aspects of meditation that I’ve been so fascinated by is this sense of paradox that can often happen. When I am o.k. with the mess, or the lack of any solution, and allow myself not to cling to a problem-solving mode, I am much more poised to receive guidance and ultimately the best answers for my issues. This to me is quite paradoxical, in that I have to give up the wanting-to-solve mode for a listening mode with no expectation of result. Then sometimes, if I’m lucky, I am (paradoxically) shifted to a place of receiving those answers naturally.
Thanks again Sonicsuns…good stuff…
“If you are brand new to meditation and something is telling you to give it a shot, that’s awesome.”
I’ve been compelled to add a meditation practice to my life for MONTHS ever since the completion of a yoga training course I went through last fall. I moved to Boulder and it seems like everyone I meet has a lifelong history of such, be it one or the other. There are opportunities everywhere to get started, and I’m a little nervous (new things! ah!), but am feeling more drawn in than ever, and then read this post today 🙂 Good timing.
Doniree,
Welcome to Colorado! I moved to Fort Collins last summer. I do agree, there’s a bit of a new-agey feel to Boulder where everyone seems to have been involved in the Eastern arts their entire lives.
Meditation certainly has benefits. It helps one to be calm, and to focus properly.
However, I’ve never been comfortable with language like “We are not there to solve our issues.”. This probably boils down to semantics, but I’d like to point out that our eventual goal *is* to solve our issues (or it should be, anyway) , to improve ourselves and thus the world. So perhaps we should phrase it as “we are not here to force immediate solutions…we are here to observe clearly, so that we may understand, and once we have understanding we become capable of solving our issues”.
You seem to imply as much, with your comments on action etc.
See what I’m saying?
I love just going off into the woods for a few hours and just let the whole world melt away for a while. I’ve always found that getting away from civilization and other people for a while and just letting myself be a part of nature is very relaxing and invigorating.
Hi Edward,
I couldn’t agree more! It’s amazing how nature can reset us. Sometimes with all the go-go-go of life we forget that we’re actually nature ourselves. Coming back to nature to understand ourselves and feel ourselves again is such a gift. I’m glad you have some woods nearby too…that’s cool!
Actually, I don’t any more. I did for the past 20 years until I moved out to Colorado. It’s one of the things I miss most out here in the high plains, the lack of woods.
As strange as it may seam, I find myself able to do this when I get deep into a coding project. I’ve had quite a few times when I’ve basically blocked out the world and just wrote code for hours on end, and it felt like minutes.
Hi Norcross,
That is super nerdy cool! I love that. I can relate to that in the sense of making art, which for me can be a meditative activity. In art making, I can lose myself and sense of time. All that is happening is effortless, yet all I have to be is present. Just to be nerdy in my own way here, I do like to differentiate between a meditative activity (such as these) and meditation. In meditation there is no doing. Both of these are valuable; yet inform us in different ways I would say…
On a separate note, I’m looking for a web developer and programmer right now. Maybe we should talk!
great post! i’m trying to make mediation more a consistent part of my life so this was very encouraging 😉
Hi Nawala!
Thanks so much. I appreciate you reading the post and commenting. I am very happy to hear that you have a meditation practice and that you are making it a more consistent part of your life. In my experience, when I went from casual meditator to consistent meditator, life turbo-charged in a very positive direction. I am very excited for you!
Good luck!!!