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I’ve been told by many, many, many people that it is important to meditate. I have taken courses and forced myself to sit quietly and watch my mind. You may be able to imagine that training to be a yoga teacher I had a lot of opportunities to learn to meditate. You know what? It annoys me incredibly.
I was recently at a retreat center where a multi-day silent meditation retreat was taking place. I witnessed a small tragedy, one I have seen unfold over and over again. One particular participant left the program early, in great distress. I worried about how this person would view “flunking” out of a silent meditation retreat. It is extremely common, and it says nothing at all about the person, except that it won’t help them to sit and watch their mind.
A particularly fast moving mind will predictably speed up when its owner sits and watches it. Anxiety attacks are common for this type of mind. I know this, I have one of these, I have experienced the unpleasant experience of being hijacked by my physiology – not fun. There is nothing “wrong” with my mind. Everyone’s mind has tendencies; mine is fast.
Over the years, I have learned to work with my mind and found techniques that work. I have learned to quiet my thoughts, and have not had anxious thoughts or feelings in many years, but I would not have gotten here by practicing silent meditation. Believe me, I tried. For years. When I discovered techniques to reset my brain, I very rapidly became able to sink into a meditative state, without effort. I think that many people who do not like silent meditation could be more readily served by different approaches.
And you know what else? After I learned to meditate, I discovered that I did not need to learn how to meditate, I already knew how (and so do you).
Here are some important things to understand:
A meditative state arises naturally out of doing something you love. For me, biking, running, horseback riding, yoga asana (physical practice), back-country skiing, and creating something, naturally puts me into a meditative state. You can increase your ability to maintain and deepen a meditative state, but you will no more learn to meditate than you will to sleep. It occurs naturally.
Attaining a meditative state, however, is one of the most profound pleasures of life. Finding your own path into a meditative state is an important task. Here is an article that will help you identify your easiest path to a meditative state.
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