A Beginners Guide to Meditation
(part 1 of a series)
I know, I know.
A lot of people shut their brains off when it comes to learning/reading/talking about meditation. That’s kind of the point, but not really. People tend to have a lot of possibly inaccurate ideas about what they think meditation is.
Here are some things meditation is not:
Meditation is not scary.
Meditation is not contorting your body in weird positions for extended amounts of time.
Meditation is not chanting weird sounds.
Meditation is not wearing robes and shaving your head.
Meditation is not joining a cult.
Meditation is not a religion.
Meditation is not against religion.
Meditation is not about religion.
Meditation is not magic.
Meditation is not sitting still for hours on end.
Meditation is not expensive.
Meditation is not boring.
Meditation is not hard.
Meditation is not easy.
Meditation is not an instant fix.
Meditation is not a form of hallucination.
Meditation does not smell like patchouli.
Here are some things that meditation is:
Meditation is breathing.
Meditation is breath.
Meditation is stillness.
Meditation is quieting the brain.
Meditation is hard.
Meditation is easy.
Meditation is free.
Meditation can be done anywhere.
Meditation is very forgiving.
Meditation is about letting go.
Meditation can be done in 5 minutes.
Meditation can instantly change your brain waves and mood.
Meditation reduces depression.
Meditation decreases anxiety.
Meditation improves focus.
Meditation increases mental resilience.
Meditation lowers stress.
You can meditate with your eyes open or closed. You can meditate with music, in silence, listening to the waves or to the backdrop of the waiting room at the dentist. You can meditate while sitting, kneeling, laying down or walking. Or even knitting. You can meditate with a guide or on your own.
Meditation is a practice that cultivates inward investigation.
Think of meditation like an infinite-all-you-can-eat ice cream sundae bar. Every flavor imaginable is available, along with fro-yo, soft-serve, sorbet, sherbet and all of the non-dairy options, including avocado and robot milk. You can plunk your confection of choice (free samples, of course) into any vessel of your choosing from cookie bowl to waffle cone—or a mug of root beer. Your topping selection stretches on forever. Sure, you’ve got the basics, like nuts (all of them, every version of each from toasted to pralined), candies and fruit, but also granola, cookies, cake, bobas, pie crusts, pies, sauces, syrups, sprinkles, marshmallows, and every flavor of whipped cream (and non-dairy) conceivable. If an ice cream sandwich, a 99, or a single scoop of vanilla in a cup is your jam, that’s what you can have. [this is not a slight against vanilla ice cream, which is very complex and flavorful. After years of exhaustive professional culinary research, I can report that Häagen Dazs vanilla/vanilla bean is the superior product.]
And you can go back as often as you like. Multiple times a day. You can try different combinations every session or switch back and forth between reliable combos that feel good and stretching yourself in new directions.
Here’s a fun fact: ice cream has been scientifically proven to light up your brains pleasure centers, so my metaphor isn’t all that whack. On a primitive level, our brains respond to the sugar and fat in ice cream by rewarding the brain with dopamine.1
So, meditation is an awful lot like that ice cream bar of infinity: there’s an endless possibility of options and you never have to settle on one. Your personal season or mood may dictate different desires. Whatever your needs demand will be made available. Sure, it may take a little experimenting and sampling, but there’s no downside of tasting a veritable buffet of meditation.
There are so many meditation flavors. We don’t need to overwhelm ourselves with what they all mean and do. At its most basic, meditation is the practice of observing our thoughts and feelings.
What the what?
Practicing meditation will help you become present in the moment. Not obsessing over that stupid thing you said in the elevator three weeks ago. Not stressing about an impending decision. Not over-thinking Every. Little. Thing. Meditation allows you to let all that shit fall away and trail off, like a river flowing past. Not forever, but when you emerge, you’ll have separated yourself from those pesky, draining thoughts. The more you practice, the less likely they’ll be to flood back.
Meditation is a lot like hula hooping or roller skating. It’s a skill. It requires muscles that need training. No matter how much you think you’re going to be amazing at it, you need to practice, practice, practice. But you’re not performing for anyone. This is all for you. You’re not going to fall down and get hurt. You’re not going to make a fool of yourself. You’re just going to sit and breath and think about breathing.
How hard can that be?
Where to begin for the newbie?
Straight up vanilla—no sprinkles, crunchies, chewies, chunks, or flakes. Just you, your breath and your awareness. Simply breathing and cultivating an awareness of what’s happening in your brain is a perfect way to start. You don’t have to do it alone.
Your assignment today is to think about yourself as a person who meditates. Don’t get caught up in whatever ideas or images you’ve attached to it. Just sit and breathe and think about breathing.
I’ll come at you on Wednesday with some bigger, but easy, action steps.
In days before food was as ubiquitous as hot dogs rolling away 24/7 at every gas station, humans had to expend a lot of energy to feed themselves. When our brains detected our consuming something packed with necessary fuel, it sent signals out to increase consumption. These signals are little jolts of happy happy joy joy more more more. Our brains haven’t changed, even though our dietary options have.