Some Thoughts on Meditation

It took me many years of meditation to get the voices in my head to shut up for any length of time. At first they/it/the monkey mind would scream constantly over the mantras I was trying to introduce.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_monkey

It is hard work training. Harder than any physical exercise I’ve ever done. Hard work and persistence that eventually pays off. Sometimes. Sometimes I can reach that peaceful, quiet place where my awareness expands and my sense of self becomes universal. I exist and don’t exist. When I do, I am one, I am all, I am nothing and everything at the same time. The more I meditate, the more often it happens. I can reach that “peace that passes understanding”. Sometimes I can get there almost instantly, sometimes my monkey mind will not shut up for the entire time.

Sometimes just sitting still doesn’t work. But I’ve found there’s other ways to put myself  in that “zone”. Walking, sudoku, washing dishes, and oddly enough, watching car races (especially on oval tracks) also put me in that zone where my monkey mind quiets. Whatever shuts down the chatter and lets me get into that relaxing, peaceful zone is good.

I count myself as fortunate that my monkey mind now only concentrates on trying to distract me with daily logistic annoyances (car trouble, house trouble, job trouble), money, relationship drama. It’s ALWAY fear-based, but not destructive or self-destructive. Back in the beginning, yes. There were days when I felt everything was out of control. That walking into the ocean and not turning back was the only thing that made sense, the only thing that was going to make things better. That meditation was stupid. That there was no way it was going to work. That I was stupid and foolish for even trying. But not anymore.

You can’t lose weight or get your body in shape by occasional or half-hearted exercise. It does take dedication and discipline. Some people can do it on their own, some people work better in groups or with a teacher.

I can say this as someone who has worked (and is still working) for 20 years that meditation can help quiet the mind and provide a lighted path through the darkness. I’ve learned to never give up, to trust the process. If you do “A”, then “B” will follow.