Not very long ago, the only people who practiced meditation regularly were Hindus and Buddhists, mostly in ashrams and monasteries. Then, Westerners who were influenced by those traditions but did not adopt the religious labels took up meditation forms as spiritual practices. When scientific studies documented the benefits of meditation, it went secular: physicians recommended it to patients, corporations and hospitals created meditation rooms and psychologists prescribed it for anxiety and stress reduction. Then Christians and Jews adapted Eastern procedures -- replacing Sanskrit mantras with words and phrases from their own traditions, for instance -- and unlocked the vaults of their mystical past. Now, if you say you meditate for 20 minutes before breakfast every morning, no one will bat an eye. I assure you that in 1968, when I started meditating, people looked at me as though I was poking needles into a voodoo doll.
You would think that this stamp of approval would make meditating as common as stopping at Starbucks for a caffeine fix. Instead, for a great many people, it's more like cutting down on carbs: they know it would be good for them, but they don't get around to doing it.
Why don't they? There are many reasons, of course, but in my experience two stand out.
The most frequently mentioned excuse, predictably, is lack of time. Virtually everyone feels that he or she has too much to do and too little time to do it in. But isn't it interesting that we always find time for things we truly value, whether it's exercising or reading the Sunday paper or taking the kids to soccer practice? If you really valued a period of silent meditation, you'd find the time. If not an hour, then half an hour; if not half an hour, then 15 minutes, or 10. With a little spiritual time management, most people find they can free up time to nurture their souls.
The real problem with people who say they don't have time to meditate is that they have not come to see its value. Americans are pragmatic, bottom-line people. But we are also outwardly driven, deluded by the idea that fulfillment comes from what we do rather than what we are inside. So we think that ticking off items from our long to-do lists is more valuable than something like meditation. But there is a direct line from inner well-being to the quality and success of our actions. Meditation should not be considered an escape, but rather a way to enhance performance by reducing stress, quieting the mind and tapping into internal reservoirs of energy and creativity.
Consider Mahatma Gandhi, a rather busy fellow who was trying to drive a colonial power out of his homeland and keep Hindus and Muslims from slaughtering one another. At the start of one especially busy day, Gandhi said, "I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one."
Meditate on that for a while.
The second reason people who want to meditate don't is: they don't know how. I can't count the number of times I've heard someone say, "I've tried to meditate, but it doesn't work for me" or, "I'm not good at it." When I ask if they've ever been taught how to meditate, the answer is usually no. For some reason, people think they ought to be able to pick it up on their own. Well, you can pick up computer programming or scuba diving on your own too, but if you want to do such things well and get the most out of them, it's a good idea to get some proper instruction.
And getting some haphazard directions in a self-help magazine or trying to remember a guided relaxation from a yoga class or a stress management seminar is not proper instruction. The problem with such cavalier approaches is that meditation is likely to be unsatisfying. Why? Because, having heard that meditation silences the mind, people try too hard to achieve that result, and that leads to strain. As a result, we find situations like this: someone suffers from anxiety; she decides to meditate to reduce that anxiety; but she hasn't been properly instructed, so she gets anxious about her meditation; she tries hard to get it right; it becomes an unpleasant chore; she concludes it doesn't work for her and gives it up.
The point is, an effective meditation practice should begin with proper instruction. Look for a form that that has an honorable history of proven use, is taught by a well-trained instructor, can be performed with ease on your own and that produces both immediate and long-term benefits.
There are other reasons why people don't meditate. One is, "Life is good, so I don't need it." That's like neglecting diet or exercise because you're not sick at the moment. Then there's the opposite: "I'm under too much stress now," to which the best response is, "Duh! What better reason to do it?" But shortage of time and lack of proper instruction are the main obstacles, and they're easy to overcome if, like Gandhi, you recognize the value of regular meditation. And that recognition comes over time. So, once you start, stick with it long enough to give peace a chance.
Follow Philip Goldberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/phil_amveda
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche: Meditation: Catch and Release
Deepak Chopra: Meditation: Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
New Post at The Huffington Post: Meditation Practice: A Paradigm Shift
Lack of understanding of the real value/benefits --> a low priority --> can't afford it/no time in this ever busier world where our time is so precious.
Lack of knowledge of how --> experiences that are not understood --> a dropped or never started practice.
There is so much science out there, some excellent some poor, that it is no longer a matter of whether we should. It is now a matter of getting the message of why we should.
It appears to be so nebulous as to be completely devoid of meaning. It is a catch-all for vague, emotional spacing out.
Umm, no.
As it relates to meditation, for many this is a way and means of participating in the inner adventure. Of course one cannot expect to know a thing, whether it be meditation, spirituality or vanilla ice cream unless they taste it, metaphorically speaking.
Coincidentally, I wrote an article on my meditation blog very recently about a similar dilemma, why people feel overwhelmed about starting to meditate and how to get past that. I didn't start meditating in 1968, but I did start in 1981 following the same advice I give, and I have never looked back.... If your readers are interested, here it is: http://bit.ly/fAivtk
Thanks again.
Nope, no thanks. Navel gazing ain't for me.
In this case I don't think he's devious, I think he means well, but his choice of words is irritating.
Neither meditation nor prayer is essential to a healthy, happy life and the lack thereof is no problem.
I recommend it to everyone, absolutely increases your life quality.
For many people that includes the unresolved pains of trauma, abuse, etc... Pains that were pushed out of awareness because the person's heart-and-mind were not able to cope with it when it occurred.
Meditation can some times bring that pain roaring back into awareness, before the person has the capacity to tolerate experiencing the pain with the "anesthesia" of their coping strategies, or the tools with which to resolve what has come back to the surface.
In the Zen community there is a tradition of "sesshin"...an intensive meditation retreat where practiticoners meditate for several hours per day for up to a week or more at a time. There are many stories of relative newcomers to practice sitting sesshin...and not being able to cope with what they ind inside themselves by going so deeply, so quickly.
Even to the point of having panic attacks, and leaving the retreat.
Such people if they are not made aware that they are having a normal reaction to a painful past...may run away from practice, never to return.
faved.
Meditation is a two-edged sword.
I have to correct you in your opening line: "Not very long ago, the only people who practiced meditation regularly were Hindus and Buddhists, mostly in ashrams and monasteries." This is NOT a true statement. Meditation has been part of the Christian tradition since its inception, in fact, Jesus practiced meditation and contemplation and taught his disciples these same practices. While the Christian tradition of meditative practices have not been widely accessible to laypeople, the tradition is there nonetheless and was cultivated and guarded by men and women (both lay and ordained) in religious life, monasteries and hermitages. The challenge today is to get these practices out into the open so that all can enjoy the benefits. My book, Authentic Freedom, Claiming a Life of Contentment and Joy reveals these practices and makes them accessible to men and women of all faith traditions.