What's the point
…of meditation?
This is a question I will be posing to September’s meditation group, (though by the time this museletter goes out, the posing will already have happened)1
We all come to meditation for a variety of reasons - usually when things seem pretty bleak in our lives, or it has been recommended by a well-meaning friend (or doctor even). That’s the starting point, yet it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Many responses to this provocative question could range from:
I want to stop my thoughts
I want to feel calmer / have more peace in my life
I want to have more focus
I want to be like [insert name] who meditates
I want to lower my blood pressure
All valid responses, but it doesn’t tell us the reason(s) we keep coming back to the cushion.
I’m not going to attempt to sum this up in a pithy one-liner right now…but please read on.
Imagine this: we’ve decided we are going to meditate - we set the scene, (cushions, candles, phone switched off, everyone told to be REALLY quiet) and then we sit down. In our minds, we have set an expectation that meditation is going to be this peaceful, blissed-out experience. Sometimes meditation is…only sometimes.
Instead, it’s more like the snow globe gif above. It’s as if an APB2 has been sent out to every thought and memory we’ve ever possessed, to put in a show-stopping appearance. Or so it seems.
What’s really happening is that we are getting quiet, perhaps for the first time in days, (weeks, months or even years), and it’s at this point we notice the flurry, (like the snow globe flakes), of our minds. The fact is, the snow globe is happening all the time.
And this is part of the problem - we live our lives in our heads, yet this isn’t where our life is happening.
Meditation helps us to see the reality of the ceaseless mind (sorry, we can’t stop the thoughts) and through simply sitting, not trying to change, fix, stop or resist the thoughts, we become present with all of these elements. Yes I agree, they can be like uninvited guests3
Karen Maezen Miller4 sums it up:
The point of meditation is to stop making things up and see things as they are.
Now that’s a pithy one-liner!
Here's a wonderful poem by Beth Jacobs5 that captures this all beautifully:
Simple meditation instructions
Just sitting
Just breathing
Just being
These are the components of natural meditation, and can be adapted to any situation:
Just standing
Just breathing
Just being
or…
Just walking
Just breathing
Just being
Coming up
Wednesday 05 October - Sakyadhita UK6 informal online chat with Kalyavaca on Right Intention - to find out more, visit SUK's Facebook page and sign up to the newsletter
Saturday 15 October - our next women’s meditation session - would be rather lovely to see you
Saturday 05 November - writing & meditation - no experience necessary! Join me online for the combination of two contemplative practices where we will have moments of reflection and opportunities to write from various prompts.
Writing Prompt
To end this museletter, here’s a little writing prompt, as we find ourselves on the cusp of the Autumn Equinox (23 September) …
What am I being asked to release?
I was holding the sending of this museletter to ensure no ‘spoilers’, as I like having the spontaneity of responses within the sessions!
All points bulletin
The Guest House by Rumi
hand wash cold by Karen Maezen Miller (published 2010)
from Long Shadows of Practice / Homebound Publications 2021
Sakyadhita UK is the UK arm of Sakyadhita International - our aims are to support the practice of Dharma for women - more details here