Meditation: basic mental-emotional-spiritual hygiene
“Real meditation is not about mastering a technique; it’s about letting go of control.”
— Adyashanti
Here are the notes behind the Meditation Conversation.
Got questions? Submit them here: Ask Alison
3 Simple Steps to Begin Meditation
Step 1: Assess your Intention
Step 2: Choose your Method
Step 3: Commit to a Program
Aim is Everything. Method is driven by intention.
First, assess your goals, intention, aim for meditation. Is it:
Focus, clarity, feel-better-parasympathetic activation? Guided meditations through apps can be a great resource.
Develop your relationship to Self and witnessing awareness? You’ll need silence and solitude. A group can provide weight and momentum but you’ll eventually require time alone. Most people do not embark upon this work because of the inherent discomfort of being present with yourself. In the beginning, expect your mind to be a tangled mess and strong emotions to arise. Resist indulging in stories, uncertainty, or judgements about your efforts. Examples of the restless mind:
Am I doing this right? Is this working?
Do I like this? Could it be better with another method, strategy, tool? Should I be doing something different? Is this efficient/effective/productive?
I’m no good at this! This is hard! What a mess!
To the best of your ability, be okay (if not at peace) with the process. To this day, I have meditations where my mental chatter is overwhelming. In the past, I would have classified this as “bad” meditation. Now, I observe with wonder and humor, thinking “good to know that’s my state” and sometimes add: “no major decisions today because the mental emotional field is too turbulent to see clearly.”
Spiritual Connection? Meditation can be sacred time and space for spiritual connection. While it may sound mystical and magical, it’s very practical and accessible. Ever see pictures of saints with a serene smile on their face? Or wonder why people would want to sit for hours? Or dedicate time to pray every day? This is why. It’s not for focus or self awareness. It’s cultivating connection and communion with God or (insert your favorite higher power description here). With practice, you “drop-in”, become absorbed, lose your sense of separateness. You bask in presence, wholeness, and completeness. This is when bliss happens.
These intentions correspond to the stages of meditation described by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras:
Dharana = concentration, you’re learning to focus and be present, your awareness is like an uneven trickle of oil or honey.
Dhyana = meditation, presence and awareness becomes a steady stream.
Samadhi = absorption. Your awareness merges with the object of your focus. You’re IN the flow. Unified.
Although described like a ladder, you move up and down with these phases. Some days you drop into Samadhi, other days you struggle to focus. Expect to adjust to different days and seasons of life.
To wrap up:
Step 1: Assess your Intention: What do you need from this practice? Why are you doing it? What do you hope to get from it?
Step 2: Choose your Method: Are you going to use an app? Do you need to create dedicated time and space? How much? How often? What will you do when things are inconvenient or uncomfortable? Where will your courage and consistency come from?
Step 3: Commit to a Program: Commit and do it. Choose an amount of time you can easily manage 5-7 days/week and then practice for 3-4 months. If you practice consistently (and be brutally honest about the consistency part) and meditation doesn’t bring big benefits, maybe it’s not the right time. Let it go for now. AND come back when you’re curious.
Side note: start with an amount of time that is palatable. 5 minutes, 10 minutes. Even with many years of meditation, 12 minutes is my magic number. I feel a shift then. Longer is not always better. When I don’t have 12 minutes, I make the most of the time I do have.
A friend once said, “you brush your teeth every day, why wouldn’t you want to brush your mind?” I love that. And I sincerely hope your mediation practice becomes as unsexy and absolutely necessary as brushing your teeth. Think of it as basic mental-emotional-spiritual hygiene.
May your practice become basic mental-emotional-spiritual hygiene,
Alison
Resources:
Edwin Bryant The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Georg Fuerstein The Yoga Sutras of Patanajli
True Meditation by Adyashanti
Here is a 20 Minute Miracle practice with simple movement to set you up for meditation.
