five things i wish i’d known about meditation
Meditation can change your life. Suppose you want to develop (or deepen) a meditation practice. In that case, I’d suggest checking out the resources below and exploring the contemplative path with a light-hearted curiosity.
I’ve had a daily meditation practice for eight years. Meditation has changed my life in many, many ways. Some of the changes were predictable, and others were not. My meditation practice started when I returned from a combat deployment to Southern Afghanistan. I was looking for something, but I didn’t know what. All I knew was my work-hard-play-hard mentality wasn’t serving me. Ultimately, I felt disenchanted. I had looked for meaning in athletic success, in being an alpha male, and in hedonic pleasures. Nothing worked. I called my dad, and he encouraged me to watch this Alan Watts video, read The Untethered Soul, and start a daily meditation and yoga practice. Mind you, I had built my identity on being a meathead Army Ranger, not some spiritual seeker. Needless to say, the practices stuck and my life was forever transformed. Here are a few things I wish I’d been told or listened to when I started walking the contemplative path in earnest.
It can be a long, winding path. Practice diligently and treat yourself with compassion. Give yourself permission to dabble in different practices and lineages to see what sticks.
Meditation is much, much more than a self-improvement project. You may become more patient, develop better focus, lessen your anxiety, and increase well-being but those are side effects to the major insights possible.
Just because a teaching isn’t resonating, don’t discard it eternally. Many analogies, fables, etc., didn’t make sense to me when I first came across them. As I continued on the path, my understanding changed. There is, it seems, always a new dream to wake up from.
Meditation doesn’t have to be shrouded in mysticism or religiosity. I didn’t want any watered-down, Westernized teachings, so I began practicing and adopting customs of Eastern traditions from Zen, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, and Tibetan. Over time you learn the old adage: don’t judge a book by its cover. Capital T truth is the same whether it’s delivered by someone wearing saffron robes or slacks and a button down.
You aren’t there when you wake up. Death of the individual and enlightenment are inextricably linked. (See point three above if this doesn’t make sense to “you.”).
Below are some of my favorite resources.
Sam Harris is a neuroscientist, philosopher, podcaster, and long-term meditator. He’s also developed a superb app that has guided meditations, conversations, lecture series, and much more. Whether you’re interested in non-dualism, Zen, Advaita Vedanta, vipassana, or any other particular school of practice, this app has curated some of the most prolific teachers of the modern era, not to mention readings of ancient texts, and a series of lectures by Alan Watts. If you’re familiar with his Making Sense podcast, you may not agree with everything he says (or in my case, the delivery), but this app is one of the best resources for meditation. Start with the intro to meditation course (10-minutes/day) and see where it takes you.
Great resources if you’re looking to start a practice
Great resources for deepening your practice
Living Nonduality: Enlightenment Teachings of Self-Realization (google it for an open source PDF)
Waking Up App (also above)
