De-mystifying Meditation

This is not a podcast (meditation in action)

Once thought of in the West as an esoteric and obscure practice, meditation has long since entered the mainstream, and it’s likely that even if you haven’t tried some of it yourself already, you’re familiar with it and its basic principles. In some ways that’s a good thing; most people have a sense that meditation can be beneficial, and some may have even tasted these benefits, even if they are modest. Taken in small doses and practiced regularly, meditation can help calm the body and manage stress, which for many people is more than enough for the price of admission. Real transformation is possible with meditation, but it also requires fairly regular commitment, persistence, and proper guidance along the way. Unfortunately, many people these days don’t get very far with it because they equate ‘guidance’ with passively consuming guided meditation media—which is more akin to listening to a soothing podcast than developing a strong meditation practice. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with calming and relaxing, and indeed for many of us calming the body may be an important first step in establishing our practice. But if transformation is our goal, then it’s important to realize that meditation is really an active exercise, and to make sure that we’re not handing the work off, thinking we’ll still reap the benefits. The good news is that when combined with the power of psychedelics—and their ability to loosen that which usually hinders us at the start of a meditation journey—even a humble practice, with basic principles well-understood, can be hugely beneficial. There is perhaps no greater tool to both prepare for—and integrate—a psychedelic experience than meditation.

Posture (not too tight, not too loose)

One misconception about meditation is that it requires a very particular, or even rigid posture. While it’s true that there are some positions that might be more conducive to establishing better grounding and concentration, and guidelines to ensure that you’re not causing any unnecessary strain—especially if you plan on meditating regularly, or for long periods—you don’t need to take this too far. Walking meditation can be very effective, and, if you’re able to avoid falling asleep, a horizontal posture isn’t necessarily out of the question either.  Mostly you want to ensure that the spine is straight, that the body is somewhat symmetrical, and find the sweet spot between relaxation and alertness. Sitting cross-legged on a cushion is great if your hips and knees allow it, but you’re much better off sitting straight up in a chair with your feet flat on the ground if there’s much struggle or discomfort there. The point is to be comfortable enough to be able to really settle into the details of your experience in the present moment, without being so comfortable that you space out, or drift off to sleep.

It’s not all in your mind (it’s in your body)

Another misconception about meditation today is that it’s all about what goes on in the mind. If anything, most of us spend too much time in our minds already, disconnected from the physical world, and from our own bodies. Meditation is about harnessing the power of our consciousness, and that includes forms of awareness that exist in other parts of the body. In fact, one could argue that many forms of suffering today are the result of an imbalance between overactive minds, and inactive bodies, or at best a lack of integration between the two. Throughout the process you’ll be encouraged to think of meditation as something you can do with the body as much as with your mind—as you bring attention to your breath, to physical sensations, and to the subtle signals and bits of information that are always close at hand if we make the time to listen, and to feel.

Open your eyes (when you’re ready)

If you were asked to visualize someone meditating, would you picture them with their eyes closed? While it’s true some traditions suggest closing the eyes to meditate, especially at first, this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Most of us tend to be very visually focused, and the visual field can be easily distracting. Closing the eyes may indeed help you to focus on your meditation object. But it’s also possible to meditate with the eyes open, especially if you find that your discursive mind is more active when the eyes are closed. In this case, you’ll want to soften and lower your gaze, and avoid actively looking around. Simply relax and widen your vision, if you can, and allow the visual field to come to you.

There is no failure (this is exercise)

Finally, it’s common to hear people say when starting out with meditation that they are just “not good at it.” Meditation is not something that comes naturally to most of us, and the whole point is to start working our mental muscle. It’s more useful to think of meditation as a form of fitness; improvement is always possible, but the most important thing is to show up and just start wherever you happen to be. For most of us, the most useful thing to get started might simply involve noticing how the mind wanders away from our present-moment experience and slipping into narratives about the past or the future. Being able to really rest in the present moment and start to unpack the richness and detail of your experience is great if you can do it, but not being able to immediately do that doesn’t mean you can’t meditate. It just means you need to start small! Just like a muscle is built through reps of expansion and contraction, having the attention wandering, catching it, and bringing it back is actually a great example of meditation in action. So celebrate the so-called failures—that’s where the seeds of real change are sewn.

Mindfulness

You may already be familiar with the term ‘mindfulness,’ as it has become very prevalent in popular culture in recent years in the health and wellness world, and as a form of meditation. While it has its roots in Buddhism, mindfulness has been practiced in a secular context since at least the 1970s, when Jon Kabatt-Zinn developed the first Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program. Mindfulness can refer to a state of mind or being, but it can also be thought of as a very deliberate practice. Kabatt-Zinn defines mindfulness as “paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment.” Some people use the terms meditation and mindfulness interchangeably, or combine the two such as with “mindfulness meditation.” For the purposes of these practices, we prefer to think of mindfulness as a particular quality or skill that can be applied across the various forms of meditation and informal practices that are offered.

Practicing mindfulness involves non-judgemental curiosity around all elements of our moment-to-moment experience: our thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and all of our sense perceptions. When we practice mindfulness, we practice our ability to be consciously aware of our experience, as it is happening. Mindfulness asks us to drop all the extra narratives, discursive thought and reactivity that most of us carry around and instead take each moment as it arises, without expectation or judgment. We can apply this in formal meditation practice, whether we are concentrating on a specific object, or doing broader investigation of our experience in insight meditation. We can also apply this in informal practices and throughout our day to day lives, slowing down, and becoming aware of what is actually present. We can even apply mindfulness to our lack of mindfulness! As we notice our awareness being ruled by distraction and habits, we can gently note this fact, let ourselves off the hook without judgement, and come back to curiosity about whatever is actually present, right now.