The Problem with "Meditation"

Over the past week, meditation has popped up a lot as a topic in chat. In the conversations I've witnessed, it's usually in the context of "I can't figure it out." The conversation starts with someone mentioning how they can't do it, they can't keep their mind clear, and the whole process is frustrating and mystifying. The conversation usually ends with "I just can't meditate."

Let me explain why this is false.

I'm not saying meditation isn't hard. I'm not saying meditation doesn't take practice, and I'm certainly not saying that it can't be frustrating. I just think that the majority of the problem lies in what people expect when they hear "meditation."

Most Westerners, when they hear the word, think of someone sitting quietly in the full-lotus position with their hands in a mudra, resting on their knees. They assume that to meditate, one must "clear their mind."

While clear-minded meditation has its place, it is the single most frustrating way to start, and unfortunately, the only way most beginners have ever heard. However, there is a whole world of meditation out there that has nothing to do with painful postures or empty-headedness, and everything to do with simplicity.

Meditation, much like the words "kung fu" and "yoga", mean something entirely different to modern Western ears than they were ever intended. The etymology, the origins, of these words give clues to their actual meaning; a meaning that will take the search for enlightenment out of the silence and into our everyday lives.

Meditation comes from a Latin root that means "to think over," or "to ponder." Kung fu (or gongfu) literally means "skill", referring to something one pours their patience and hard work into. Yoga comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "a union," or "to yoke together."

By these definitions, if you're pondering singlemindedly over a problem, or repeating a mantra (or a prayer), you're meditating. If you're turning the same bit of conversation or scripture over in your head until you can get a better perspective on it, you're meditating. If you're not sure what to write in your Initiate's Program assignments? "Meditate" over the lessons. Aren't sure how to handle a certain issue? "Meditate" over the problem, turn it over in your head, from every angle. You may see something you missed.

Kung fu, then, becomes its own type of meditation: by concentrating your skill on something, it becomes a physical mantra. I find that this is the easiest type of meditation to work into my daily life; in fact, I often use it accidentally. Packing fresh-cut tobacco into my pipe, or hand-washing dishes, or penning calligraphy, or mindlessly counting knit stitches--all these things busy my mind, allowing me to dive (even for only a few moments at a time) into a meditative state.

Yoga, by its earlier definition, is also a simple type of meditation. It's the kind that happens when you hear a song, and you're totally absorbed in it, or when you fully understand the message a painting is meant to convey. You are at one--you've achieved unity--with these forms of art. In much the same way, you can achieve this unity with other people (a unity of purpose, when working on something together, or a unity of mind, when singing a song along with fellow concert-goers). You can even achieve this type of unity with yourself; the moment when you can bring the you-that-you-are and the you-that-you-wish-to-be into the same place, the same purpose, for just an instant. If you're having trouble with your emotions (I used to have severe rage issues, personally), coming into alignment and unity with that emotion can help you better understand it, and learn to control it rather than letting it control you.

If you're having trouble with meditation, I hope you give these methods a try. They will eventually lead you to a place where you can sit in the full-lotus in complete silence with an empty mind, if that is your goal.

But for now, we must remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with baby steps.
meditation. It's the kind that happens when you hear a song, and you're totally absorbed in it, or when you fully understand the message a painting is meant to convey. You are at one--you've achieved unity--with these forms of art. In much the same way, you can achieve this unity with other people (a unity of purpose, when working on something together, or a unity of mind, when singing a song along with fellow concert-goers). You can even achieve this type of unity with yourself; the moment when you can bring the you-that-you-are and the you-that-you-wish-to-be into the same place, the same purpose, for just an instant. If you're having trouble with your emotions (I used to have severe rage issues, personally), coming into alignment and unity with that emotion can help you better understand it, and learn to control it rather than letting it control you.

If you're having trouble with meditation, I hope you give these methods a try. They will eventually lead you to a place where you can sit in the full-lotus in complete silence with an empty mind, if that is your goal.

But for now, we must remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with baby steps