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Meditation is a Natural Practice
November 22, 2007
On the first day of meditation class, one of my students asked, “What’s natural about meditation? I tried it before, and stilling my mind was one of the most unnatural things I ever experienced.”
Joanne Franchina
Another chimed in, "Me too. Sitting cross-legged and chanting foreign words didn’t feel natural to me.” Around the classroom heads nodded in agreement. Still another added, "And it didn't feel natural when I had to continually peek at a visualization script in my lap that included directions to keep my eyes closed during the meditation.” This comment had everyone in the room laughing, including me.
I can relate to these experiences; I’ve had similar ones myself. But I still stand by my words to that class: Meditation is a natural practice. According to Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, to meditate is “to dwell on anything in thought; to contemplate deeply and continuously; to ponder; to ruminate; to reflect.” These activities are natural to us; we do them every day. The truth is that everyone already knows how to meditate. If we set up favorable conditions, meditation happens spontaneously.
I can relate to these experiences; I’ve had similar ones myself. But I still stand by my words to that class: Meditation is a natural practice. According to Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, to meditate is “to dwell on anything in thought; to contemplate deeply and continuously; to ponder; to ruminate; to reflect.” These activities are natural to us; we do them every day. The truth is that everyone already knows how to meditate. If we set up favorable conditions, meditation happens spontaneously.
The truth is that everyone already knows how to meditate. If we set up favorable conditions, meditation happens spontaneously...
We often experience meditative states in everyday circumstances when we attentively perform simple, repetitive tasks. For example, athletes experience “runners’ high.” People sometimes get “lost in their thoughts” while driving, and suddenly realize that they don’t remember having driven the last few miles. Some people “zone out” when they engage in activities such as gardening, knitting, or washing the dishes. Meditation is a natural state that we often enter without thinking about it.
Yet, when people refer to meditation nowadays, they typically mean a formal meditation practice. To me, a meditation practice is like an exercise program. And while a formal program of exercise may not seem completely natural, when we exercise we are moving, bending, lifting, and stretching. Sometimes we set a specific goal - losing weight, gaining strength, increasing flexibility - and create a program to help us reach that goal. It’s the same with meditation: we think, we contemplate, we ponder, we reflect. And sometimes we have a goal - reducing stress, increasing concentration, understanding our relationship with the universe - and create a practice to help us.
The real benefits of meditation come from doing it regularly, such as fifteen minutes every day. So it’s helpful to establish a practice that suits your goals, personality, and lifestyle. Simple is often best. I know of a simple meditation called Mindfulness that utilizes awareness of the breath as a focal point:
Begin in a relaxed state, and simply notice how your body breathes for you. Breath comes in, breath goes out, and the cycle continues. Without changing your breath in any way, tend to the feeling of the breath coming in and going out. There are several places to focus on: the nostrils, the back of the throat, the belly. Breath comes and breath goes, breath comes and breath goes. The point of this meditation is to remain aware of your breath throughout the process. Every time your mind wanders - and it will wander - gently bring your awareness back to your breath.
This meditation is about as natural as it gets. You can do it anywhere, anytime. Yet, over time, a simple meditation practice like this can produce profound effects that will benefit you physically, mentally, and spiritually. Other forms of meditation can too. Just remember is to establish a practice that suits you. Then your meditation will feel more like the natural process it is.
First published in Whole Living Journal, January-February 2008 issue