The Meditative Life

Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good: and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.

Marcus Aurelius

Often shrouded in New Age mystique, meditation is offered up as a solution to everything from overcoming your deepest fears to finding ways of leaving the body in order to check out what your neighbors have in their refrigerator. Far from being other-worldly, mediation is directly tied to the universe that is you. It is not so much an act as it is a state of consciousness. This state arises when the incessant need to think about your life subsides and you experience yourself in the present moment, minus the story line.

Despite being around for centuries and documented evidence of the benefits for mind and body, many people avoid mediation like it was broccoli. I attribute this to poor marketing. Meditation would probably be an easier pill to swallow if it were wrapped up with all of the flair of an advertising campaign for the latest wonder drug. Who wouldn’t try it if it were presented as follows?

Low on energy? Feel like everyone else is getting ahead of you? Can’t think straight? Sex life on the skids? Want to feel young again and lessen your chances for heart problems and increase your chances for eternal life? Try new Medi-tate. That’s right, Medi-tate was designed by the greatest minds the world has ever known and was once only available to sages, prophets and soon-to-be deities. Medi-tate is easy to use and you can take it anywhere. You can use Medi-tate in the comfort of your home, in the office, in the subway, in your car, at the big game or while on the big date. So don’t agitate, Medi-tate. Possible side effects include the belief that you are one with the universe, feelings of bliss or euphoria and a decrease in obsessive behaviors.

Now there’s a product that would fly off the shelves.

In all seriousness, many people avoid meditation because of the concept of having to “practice” meditation. Bombarded by the constant intrusion of thoughts, it is easy to feel that one is not doing it right and in the absence of instant enlightenment, the payoff seems questionable. Thus a mental workout mentality takes over and meditation lingers unused like a dusty treadmill that seemed like a good idea when you bought it.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to make up your mind to meditate; whenever you leave the mind you are in a meditative state. Sure, you can sit in lotus position and gently watch as thoughts cross your mind likes clouds before the sun. But you can also tune into your breathing during the big board meeting rather than obsessing on your need to update your resume. You can pay careful attention to your steps as you take the dog for a walk rather than trying to understand why he seems to be enjoying life much more than you. Or you can turn your attention to the experience of the steering wheel in your hand as you drive rather than trying to text message a friend about the driver who just cut you off. Remember, there is no rule that you have to be sitting still in order to be in a meditative state.

The key to meditation is to drop the worry about where it will take you and simply enjoy the journey. Meditation is like dancing in that one does not dance in order to hit a particular spot on the floor but to simply experience the delight of movement. When you reach the point where your mind is still, simply be there. Realize that if you go in with your mind, it is the mind that wants an explanation. The deeper you already knows the value of silence and has been waiting for you to be quiet long enough so that you can remember. When your mind is at rest the question of “now what?” will never even occur. If, however, you still find the need to explain why you sneak off for these private moments to your friends and family you can impress them with the words of the great enlightened teacher Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj who said, “The primary purpose of meditation is to become conscious of, and familiar with, our inner life.”

As you begin to experience the world from the inside out, you will begin to feel the power of Medi-tate as it dissolves the damaging forces of stress. Rather than feeling run over by a world out of control, you will feel yourself being driven by a more compassionate force.

Give Medi-tate a try, if it does not work right away take two deep breaths, count to 100 and relax every muscle in your body until you’re a just a limp bag of flesh. Now, doesn’t that feel better?