Growing up (I'm still growing up) in the location I did, I wasn't ever exposed to Eastern teachings or ideas. Or maybe I was, except in Western words and concepts. Thus, I have recently taken an interest in learning about the Eastern culture and practices, more specifically, meditation.
I had tried meditation back in Texas a few times, but never had made it a daily practice. Looking back, I was coming from the wrong angle. If you look at meditation as a means to an end, such as enlightenment, I'm not sure you will ever get there. This conjours up a story I once read. I'll paraphrase it.
A monk asks his master," If I mediate four hours a day every day, how long until I reach enlightenment?" The master thinks for only a second and replies, "Perhaps forty years." Bummed out the novice monk asks another question, "What if I mediate eight hours a day every day, then how long until enlightenment?" Without hesitation the master replies, "Eighty years, probably more."
Meditation is not something you do to obtain a goal. The novice monk was meditating, just as I was, to get somewhere. That somewhere is right under our feet. Funny isn't it? This also applies to happiness. If we always search for happiness, then happiness will always be in the future. Once we stop looking, we see that it's been under our nose all along. Eckhart Tolle describes this as "living in the Now." It is something you simply do, although we don't make it so simple for ourselves. To live is to be. It is coming into conciousness bringing nothing along. No stereotypes, no agenda, not even your identity. In order for your cup to be filled it must first be empty. I can't help but think of lyrics to a certain song I sang in church growing up, though I took it differently then.
...so fill my cuuuuup and let it over flow
so fill my cuuuuup and let it over flow
Let it over flow with love...
That is my reason for meditating, to empty myself. When empty, Life can fill me with love. Life can't give you what it has to offer if you are already holding on to too much. Once again, non- attachment is key.
Meditation is a relatively new thing for me, I'm still learning, and if I let myself, that learning will never stop. My hope is that this post generates curiousity about meditation and that my readers (the few I have) will look into the many benefits it has. To list a few: stress reduction, clarity, a better understanding of your own mind, and more. It doesn't have to be much either. I started out putting aside a mere ten minutes in my morning routine to sit and be still. That's all it takes to open the doors that meditation offers.
When first beginning, I couldn't stop thinking,it seemed I wasn't making any progress. I soon learned that we think most when we don't think at all, just as we think least when we spend all of our time thinking. It's a paradox. For those of you who decide to dabble in meditation, this is my advice. Only focus on your breathing, feeling the fresh air as it comings into your lungs, and then out, over and over again. In the midst of this don't try to block all thoughts, but let them come and then kindly show them the way out, always coming back to an empty mind. That's all I got. Perhaps some will try this and to them it will be bogus, but for the ones that reap the benefits, I couldn't be more happier for you.
-With Peace, Corey
Want to read the books mentioned above?
The Dude and the Zen Master
