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( A n d

7 Reasons Meditation Doesnt Work

h o w t o f i x

t h e m )

b y E ri c

Klein

w w w. w i s d o m h e a r t . o r g

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Copyright 2010 Eric Klein This book is published by Wisdom Heart Press For information contact: Email: eric@wisdomheart.org Online: www.wisdomheart.org Snail Mail: Wisdom Heart Attn: Klein 1455 Hymettus Avenue Encinitas, CA, USA 92024 Telephone: 760-436-5535

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e didnt have air conditioning, when we were living in Chicago in the 1970s. So, on hot,

humid summer nights, Devi and I would ride our bikes to the shores of Lake Michigan. After securing our bikes, wed head for the water. The water was nice and cool. But, to enjoy it we had to move through the twigs, paper cups, and assorted debris that had accumulated at the waters edge.

Its the same with meditation.

The deep waters of your inner mind are pure, clear, and refreshing. But, to get there you need to move through some inner . . . um . . . debris. This debris isnt life threatening. Just a bit messy. Its made up of ideas, memories, sensations, misconceptions, and reasons. Reasons why meditation doesnt work - at least for you. Here are some of the common reasons that people give. You may nd some of them familiar, if youve gone for a swim in the waters of meditation. Even if youve just dipped your toe in.

1) Meditation is self-centered.
As meditation has become more mainstream, pictures of people (slim, beautiful people) sitting in lotus postures show up in all kinds of advertising for spas, exotic vacations, skin cream, perfume, and jewelry. (Not that theres anything wrong with any of these. And if you want to take us on an exotic vacation, please call or write). Its easy to get the impression that meditation is just the latest fashion accessory. Like a big spiritual mirror that you gaze into while putting on organic makeup to cover any imperfections.

But, meditation is the opposite.

Meditation is about taking your self much less seriously and much more lightly. And in the process opening more fully and creatively to life. The practice of meditation reveals that most of whats scurrying around in the mind isnt that signicant - much less real. And that all the ideas about the self are more limiting than liberating. Meditation frees you from being overly preoccupied with protecting and preserving the self.

Through practice, you discover that there really is no hard and fast line between me and life.
You discover that you are part of life, not apart from life in any way. Thus, the practice of meditation shifts you from self-centered to life-centered living. Whether your attention is turned within or without its all life.

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2) I dont have time to meditate.

The scattered mind never has time for what matters most. Its busy, busy, busy. Driven by emotion-fueled thoughts. The day is lled to overowing with activities, demands, meetings, and requirements. Theres barely time to sit down for a meal much less to spend a few moments in silence and stillness.

In the mad rush to get more done, the mind becomes more fragmented and speedy.
When things do slow down like in a trafc jam or on a grocery line its intolerable. The mind rails against the waste of time and against slowing down. Theres too much to do!! it cries.

But, everyone has exactly the same amount of time each day: 1440 minutes.
Its the experience of time that differs. The more scattered and sped up the mind the more time seems to slip through your ngers like sand. Through meditation, the mind learns to slow down. As it does so, the feeling of pressure lifts. And with it another veil lifts as well.

The veil that concealed the richness of the moment, lifts.

Through meditation you touch and are touched by the richness of the present moment. You experience fullness of time which reveals that this moment (yes - this very moment) is always enough.

3) My back hurts when I meditate.

This is likely a technical (postural) issue that can be handled with some simple information about how to sit. Here are some practical guidelines. (If you have more questions write to: eric@dharmaconsulting.com )

You can sit on the oor or on a chair.

The key is to keep your spine straight but not stiff. Allow the chin to be parallel to the ground. When seated on the oor, elevate your body on a rm cushion or folded blanket. This reduces strain on the back. Experiment with different heights of cushion. If you sit on a chair, make sure it is rm and not too cushiony. You dont want to sink into it. You want to sit upright.

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Once you have assumed a seated posture nd your physical center of gravity.
You do this by gently rocking from side to side. As you rock from left to right, feel into the core of your body. You will notice a physical sensation I call passing through the center of gravity as your body shifts from side to side.

Slow down the shifting and feel more deeply into that center of gravity as you pass through.
Then reduce the side-to-side movement and gradually settle your body so that it is aligned along the center of gravity. Do this all by feeling inwardly and sensing that place of balance.

As you settle the body in the center of gravity feel your spine gently lengthening.
The back of your skull lifts slightly and the chin is parallel to the ground. The base of the body is grounded. Your posture is aligned along the center of gravity and the spine is effortlessly extended. Place eyes gaze gently at the root of the nose between the eyebrows Sitting is a skill that becomes easier with practice.

4) Im not religious.
Its easy to assume that meditation is religious. When you think about monks, yogis, nuns, and other professionally religious people, concepts like meditation come to mind. And its true, that meditation (or similar practices) have been central to those on a religious quest. But, does that mean that meditation is religious? Not really. Religions are based on articles of faith - on beliefs.
Meditation requires no beliefs.

Its based on practice and results. In this way, meditation is more like a science experiment than a religious exercise. You dont need to believe anything in order to conduct an experiment. You just need to follow the protocol. Do the practice. Its a self-validating process. Follow the steps and see the results.
The practitioners who developed the meditation methods used their minds and bodies as laboratories.

They conducted experiments in consciousness. They recorded their results. And passed them onto their students for validation testing.

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Some of these experiments have stood the test of time.

People have conducted these meditation experiments for thousands of years, with reliable results. Its these tested and validated practices that have been passed from teacher to student for thousands of years.
So, whether youre religious or not, doesnt matter in terms of meditation.

If you are religious, meditation will enrich your understanding of your faith. If youre not, youll discover that which is deeper than believing or not believing.

5) My mind wont get quiet.

If you stop the average person on the street and ask them, Is your mind basically quiet or lled with thoughts? most will tell you, Bsically quiet. But, sit them down on a meditation cushion for a few minutes without anything to distract them and bam most people are shocked to discover how noisy it is in there.
Its not that meditation made their minds noisy.

Rather, the practice revealed the noise that was already there. This revelation of the running, ranting mind is a movement forward on the path. Many people drop the practice at this point thinking, I cant meditate. But, they are meditating! The practice is working - by revealing the actual state of the conditioned mind. Dont stop now. The key is to keep practicing. To stay with the process - which will lead to the quieting of the mind chatter.
The mind isnt quieted by willing or by effort.

You cant quiet the mind through will power. That would be like pushing down on a spring. The harder you push the more the spring pushes back. You quiet the mind in the same way that you allow a glass of muddy water to become clear. You just let the particles settle. When you dont stir up the water - the mud settles on its own.
Its the same in meditation.

Meditation lets the mud - the noisy thoughts - settle. The glass of muddy water becomes clear as gravity draws the mud together. The mind becomes clear as you shift from thinking about thoughts - to being aware of what is arising. Just by being aware, present, and mindful of the activity of the mind it settles down.

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6) Meditation is . . . boring.
I remember when my parents would take me, as a child, to watch the sunset. I didnt get it. I couldnt see the beauty. To me, the sunset was boring.
Being bored is a symptom of not paying attention.

If you pay attention deeply to anything it becomes very, very interesting. Meditation, which is the practice of cultivating deep attention, dissolves boredom. As the mud of the mind settles, as you discover the richness of the present moment - even something as simple as a breath becomes the doorway to gratitude, wonder, and joy.
But, on the other hand, meditation is actually quite boring.

Im mean youre sitting there breathing in and breathing out. What could be more boring? In, out, in, out. Or youre repeating the same mantra over and over. It is kind of boring - by design.
As the surface mind gets bored, it settles down.

And in that settling, an awareness of all-encompassing, and ever-present silence emerges. A sense of undisturbed stillness. This stillness and silence infuse everything with aliveness and presence. Not boring at all!!

7) I dont want to be weird.

There are two reasons that practicing meditation can feel weird. One is neurological, the other more psychological.
Lets start neurologically: doing anything unfamiliar can feel weird.

Your neurological patterns get used to doing things a certain way. Putting your left leg in your pants before your right one. Brushing one side of your teeth before the other. Sitting in a certain chair (and in a certain posture) to watch television. The list goes on. So, when you change a pattern of behavior even in a positive direction it feels weird.
Inside your brain, new neurons are firing.

New connections are being made. And old connections, old patterns, are being restrained. Subjectively it feels weird. The new neurological circuits arent totally grooved in yet, so youre clumsy at the new pattern. And this clumsiness is where the weird feeling can turn more psychological.

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Being clumsy can be embarrassing (even if youre all by yourself).

Even if youre sitting there by yourself with your eyes closed - you can still be watching what youre doing and wondering, Am I doing this right? Is this weird?
Have you ever danced in front of the mirror?

If you judge what your dancing - its no fun. To enjoy the experience, you need to cut loose from any xed ideas of what dancing should look like and even more so what you should look like.
Its the same with meditation.

Whether you want to or not, you have an idea about the kind of person who meditates. If you dont think of yourself as that kind of person then when you meditate, youll feel weird. Youll get in your own way. But, if you relax, take a breath, and realize that your ideas about meditation are just that - ideas. You dont have to live up to these self-imposed ideas of meditation. You can just cut loose - and enjoy the process. When you do, you nd a whole new (and wonderful) kind of weirdness.
But, one of the blessings of meditation is finding out that you indeed are weird.

Youre weird in the best possible sense of the word. Because, the most ancient meaning of the word weird has to do with following your unique fate, your path through life. Youre weird if you follow your path and listen to the direction of your inner soul. So, meditation, in this most basic, ancient sense, helps you be weird. Meditation helps you nd your path. Through practice, you discover how to live your true life - more fully and more joyfully.

Those are the seven reasons.

Along with ideas on how to move through them. Because, theres no reason to let a bit of debris stop you from enjoying a refreshing swim in the deep, clear, refreshing waters of your inner mind.

Ready for the next step?

Our recommendation is for you to subscribe to the Wisdom Heart newsletter. Youll receive information and inspiration on how to bring meditation alive in your life. Practical ideas that you can use for peace of mind and the clarity to live with greater fulllment and purpose. Go to www.wisdomheart.org/subscribe

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If youre in Southern California, please come to our Sunday Meditation Program.

Every Sunday morning we gather to meditate. These meetings are for everybody those who have never meditated and those who have an established practice. This group practice generates a nourishing and inspiring atmosphere that makes it easy to experience the peace of meditation. The Sunday program includes music, chanting, guided and silent meditation, and an inspiring message. Its a deep and uplifting experience. We offer this Sunday meditation on a donation basis.

Sunday Meditation location

1455 Hymettus Avenue, Encinitas, CA 92024

Contact us if youve got questions

eric@dharmaconsulting.com 760-436-5535

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