Meditation

Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream. It is not dying. — John Lennon

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The modern world embraces meditation for all of its physical, mental, and emotional health benefits. It’s an exciting time to be alive for this reason alone. But is there a deeper purpose and goal behind meditation?

Meditation is a practice, like many other disciplines. Just like healthy eating, exercise, learning a musical instrument, or playing a sport — you often don’t see any difference in when you first begin these practices. But as you practice, day by day, little by little it all comes together, amounting to seismic change.

It’s easy to view the practice as a means to some outcome. Indeed, the result may be grand. But as Seth Godin affirms, the practice is the point, the goal. The practice of meditation allows us to be firmly centered and connected with our truest self, in the moment. In meditation, we go into the silence, the void, the gap, the darkness — where the stories we tell about ourselves, others, and the world are silenced, so we can simply be with what is. We can be with ourselves.

Many of my clients come to see me because they feel disconnected from themselves. There is no greater practice than meditation to get reconnected.

I recommend beginning with 30 minutes a day. Silence the phone. Start the timer. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. State your desires or intentions. And then let them go as you drift into the darkness. As thoughts flood your mind (and they will), simply let them come in without judgement. Then refocus your attention on your breath.

The practice of meditation will bring peace, gratitude, resilience, and vision to your life. It will add up over time, but the whole point is the daily practice. All that’s required is doing it. No need to wait until you want to meditate. Just meditate. Just begin the practice.