Why Do You Continue Meditation Practice?
For many years now I’ve been an on again, off again meditator. These days, I’m much, much more an on again meditator and I often meditate more than once per day. To that end I became part of my local meditation community and we meet weekly to participate in a group meditation. It’s really lovely.
This week, the meditation included a few moments in contemplation around why we/I continue with my meditation practice. Sounds simple enough right? I didn’t find it that simple.
Upon reflection, over the past couple of days that question keeps coming back to me. I’ve realised that my reasons for continuing meditation are quite different now than they were even a few years ago and they are very different from the reason I began investigating meditation and learning how to practice it.
Now these are very personal reflections but as reflections I can see how far along my personal pathway of meditation and (dare I say it) spiritual/consciousness evolution I appear to have traveled. Mind you – that’s linear wording for what I have a feeling is more of a spiral journey but that conversation belongs somewhere else.
I was originally drawn to meditation because it was different.
I married a meditator but we never really discussed it – I just knew he did it but I didn’t understand it. Interesting people seemed to also be meditators and eventually many years later my very best friend also turned out to be a long term meditator. By this time I felt meditation was stalking me! In a nice way of course and so I asked my friend to teach me about meditation. She did. Very simply, very quickly. I was quite disappointed. I thought it would be so much more mysterious really. Funny, in that way, it was a bit like my first sexual encounter….
However, meditation was not done with me by a long shot and I discovered a lovely little book (or it discovered me) and I found a kindred spirit who filled me with the mystery and the wonder I was seeking. His gentle words, his gentle humour and his patience all shone through in the little book called:
Your Life is Your Message: Finding Harmony With Yourself, Others, and the Earth
Now of course, different things really appeal to different people and since that time I’ve discovered many more teachers and read many more books but this one, the first, will always be special.
So I think that I was drawn to meditation in the first place because it was different, a bit exotic and something that interesting people appeared to be involved in. Now, well… that sounds like a description of me!
In truth, I stay with meditation because within the silence I discovered myself and I know that I will never leave me. I hope you discover something wonderful too and if you are looking for a gentle introduction into the wonderful, diverse and entirely beguiling world of meditation you could do much worse than running your eyes and your heart over that little book that helped me take my first baby steps towards developing a practice that sustains me.
Many blessings.
