In the last few weeks, I've
shared about my experiences practicing meditation and stillness in a radical new way, by spending time in sensory deprivation float tanks. If you've missed those and want to catch up, click here.
But what if floating isn't practical or right for you? Practicing meditation can happen just about anywhere, and as much as you want it.
Meditation is too hard. It's weird. I'm not doing it right.
I know. I've thought the same things. Let me share what my meditation at home looked
like one day last week:
We were enjoying a mesmerizing, white winter wonderland morning, as some of you perhaps were also. My husband was working from home as a result of the storm, which has pluses and minuses on
my writing day. For my meditation time, I sequestered myself into my art studio and closed the door. I did not feel guilty about this. Stillness practice makes me a better human, and thus a better wife. Better at everything, really, so it is for the greater good that I shut myself away from the world to find tranquility. Other than having to stop to break up a cat fight outside the door, my time of solitude was cherished and unbroken.
In my studio, I sat on the couch that’s up against the window. Rather than facing the room, however, I sat backwards, cross-legged facing the window, watching the delicate snow fall. I began my meditation time this way and within ten minutes or so, the words I needed
to describe the impact of my float tank experiences came effortlessly. I wasn't looking for that, yet it rolled right into my consciousness and out to my voice recorder. It was not much different than me going outside for my walk to still my mind and suddenly receive the wisdom of the day to share with you. Only that morning, I did so in my cozy pajamas, soaking up nature through the glass.
To me, this practical result provides a perfect illustration of the benefits of meditation and the worthiness of the time invested. I was having a cranky morning, despite doing all the right things to try to get my mind right, like journaling and reading. It was so bad that thankfully I decided nothing else needed to
happen until after I spent time in stillness.
Just a short time of meditation birthed what needed to happen next anyway, but without me straining one bit to do it from a frustrated and fragmented place. Instead, my
writing flowed out with ease and all I had to do was receive it. This can happen for you too!
Meditation gets a bad rap. It doesn’t have to be spent cross-legged in silence, although the silence greatly helps me. It can
be done in a variety of ways. The most important objective, as I see it right now, is to be present to the current moment, shutting out intrusive thoughts and physical distractions to the best of my ability. And it can be done almost anywhere, but it helps me to be among minimal distractions so I can really drop within.
Ironically though, walking meditations are also a great way to clear the mind. Moving our bodies in nature creates a natural avenue into a meditative state, as long as the focus remains on the walk and our senses—on what is happening right now—versus rehearsing our troubles.
In the present moment, there are no problems.
Problems may exist right after, or right before, but most present moments are near perfect, at least for me and those of us enjoying modern living with adequate food, clothing and shelter. Even in the worst circumstances, there are many present moments that are perfect.
However, our troubles destroy perfect moments when we allow our thoughts to drift into all that's wrong—about the past, about someone else’s present, or about what we imagine will be wrong with the future. Sit with this concept before immediately discarding it, if that’s your initial reaction. Meditate on the idea that "nothing is wrong in THIS moment." Be curious about any resistance to accepting this as truth, because that
resistance is telling you something that needs to be heard.
There are many personal challenges in my life right now, but in this moment, and in the moment when I was staring at the white winter wonderland from a place of
warmth and calm, life is perfect. It’s so perfect, that I think I’ll have another (perfect moment).
In a world where we are promised our share of troubles, prayer and meditation is readily available to all of us for
gentle reprieves throughout every day. I love the question, How good can you stand it? In this moment of stillness, I can stand it pretty good.
Once we taste something we love, we can never go back to having not
tasted it. Desire for more is formed, and life without it is never the same. That's where I'm at with my pursuit of meditation.
I hope I have inspired you to keep pushing for breakthrough in your own stillness
practices. I’ve been trying to meditate regularly for a long time and while this new level feels monumental, I am wise and humble enough to know that I have still just begun. And that's why it's called a practice. I know there will be more lessons to come.
Wishing you peace and the willingness to receive every good gift, as much as you can stand. And remember, everything is a gift, if we let it be (even if we never uncover how or why).
