I sometimes hear people at yoga retreats saying that they have problems maintaining a regular meditation practice.
These are generally very disciplined and organised folk. They are able to hold down a job and look after the families etc. without too many problems. And have no problem showing up to their yoga classes. But when it comes to meditation, they are by their own admission, a bit…flaky. They are not sceptics or new to Meditation. They have often even been on long meditation retreats and appreciate the many valuable benefits of regular meditation. But they still cannot work out how to maintain a meditation practice.
I’ve been thinking why it is so difficult for so many of us to maintain a regular practice. And what, if anything, we can do about it.
I think there are many reasons we find it so challenging to meditate regularly. Probably the most obvious is that meditation requires that we adopt a completely different and unfamiliar relationship to our thoughts and feelings. It can feel like a bit of a slog at times – when you discover over and over again just how distracting and busy your mind is. And how, contrary to your expectations, little peace you actually experience in meditation!
I am not going to get into that in this post. I wanted to explore another possible reason why, when so many of us are being introduced to meditation, we are not sticking at it.
Modern Mindfulness
This may have something to do with the way Meditation or Mindfulness is taught in the modern Western context.
I am a big fan of mindfulness in general and I am excited to see it being taught in hospitals, schools, prisons and businesses around the world today. In my opinion, this is a good thing and can only contribute to the general well-being of our communities. Modern life is stressful and demanding. Mindfulness offers people a way to unwind and step away from the chaos of it all. If you’re looking for ways to implement mindfulness into your everyday modern routine, opting for a number of our mindful props and accessories may be a great place to start. From insightful books to help you on your own personal journey to mindfulness, to meditation cushions, bolsters and more, our curated collection of modern mindful accessories are each designed to help instil a sense of calm to your sacred space.
Is Mindfulness in the Western World Boring?
I also believe that at its heart, most obviously in the early days of the modern Mindfulness movement, (initiated by John Kabbat-Zinn), there was a genuine desire to share the benefits of the Buddha’s teachings on mind etc. with people who wouldn’t normally be interested in spiritual matters. Great care and attention went into demystifying the teachings, making them simple and approachable to people who had no interest in the ‘spiritual world’. And the benefits of this pioneering work are clear to see. Mindfulness is helping many people struggling with problems of depression, eating disorders, low self-esteem etc. Mindfulness is doing many people good, and that’s really what matters. Yet, many of us still seem to struggle keeping it going.
As much as I am impressed by the gains made by the modern Mindfulness approach, I do think that the problem we have keeping a regular practice may have something to do with the very thing that has made it so successful and popular: the stripping out of any direct reference to a search for truth or meaning. Simply put: Meditation divorced from the profound truths that it can reveal to us about our true nature and our potential is just a little, dare I say it…boring (or at least it can seem boring.)
Spiritual Transformation: Giving your Meditation Practice Meaning
I learnt meditation from an Indian teacher in my twenties and it was in the context of enlightenment and the potential for profound spiritual transformation. Whilst this approach also has its serious dangers (maybe I’ll go into that in another blog post), one thing it never was – was boring! Since then, meditation for me has never ever been boring. Challenging – certainly, and even terrifying on occasion – but never boring.
And that’s because the practice was the foundation on which a different understanding of who we are and what our place is in the bigger picture was built. I think we benefited from a regular practice in the same way modern mindfulness practitioners do today – we were generally more at ease and less stressed out etc. But for us, the gravy was the potential meditation revealed for a completely different way of living. Discovering a different ‘liberated’ relationship to thought and feeling was not just a handy ‘tool’ in our personal life coaching handbook. It was a stick of dynamite to ignite a fire in us for personal transformation, even transformation of the way we collectively live together.
OK, maybe we got a little carried away. I recognise the esoteric and mysterious spiritual traditions of the East – of Gods, gurus and enlightenment etc. – can be spell binding and regularly open up genuine ‘seekers’ and practitioners to abuse by teachers. But this context gave our practice meaning. Because of this, we were eager to practise every day and found the strength, when it was challenging, to plonk our backsides down and sit still anyway. Meditation really mattered to us and we took it seriously.
The Summit
If we learn Mindfulness in a context devoid of that search for deeper meaning, it can easily become just another technique or ‘hack’ to improve our life a little. And then it is likely our commitment to it is not really going to be up to much. And that’s a problem. Because meditation isn’t always easy. It’s simple but not necessarily easy. It is so different from the way we habitually relate to our experience that it requires plenty of effort (not to make effort). We are learning a completely new way of relating to thought and feeling and that is a big deal.
As the man said, ‘The path and the goal are one’
I think perhaps we sometimes struggle to find the discipline to practise regularly because we do not appreciate the magnitude and radical potential that meditation can reveal and ultimately catalyse in us. If you started climbing Everest expecting a gentle stroll in the park, there’s very little chance you’ll be prepared to meet the challenges you’re about to face. And no chance you’ll reach the summit.
So before sitting down, or even when you’re just thinking about practising – maybe it pays to think about the summit. Or find out a little about the role meditation plays in our great spiritual traditions. After all, as the man said, ‘The path and the goal are one’.
My teacher said to me once, ‘If you want to understand what I am talking about, sit still, don’t move’. And that was the best advice I’ve ever been given.
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