Meditating right

About a decade ago, I learnt about meditation, and wanted to give myself that gift.

I wanted to do it right.¹

I read about the various styles, and every shade of meditation that I could find. Vipassana meditation. Transcendental meditation. Zen meditation. Daoist. Maitrī. You name it.

I thought I was accumulating knowledge that can make me do it right.

But later, I became wiser. I gave up every inkling and need to control how I meditate or what outcome it will produce.

I discovered that in the search for mastery of the new, I almost forgot the treasures I had. The beauty of my daily walk, the awe of worship, and prayer.

For me, meditation goes beyond sitting still to watch my thoughts wander. Taking a long walk - slowly, being conscious of the environment and wonder every day brings - is meditation. Prayer is a form of gratitude meditation. I enter a similar state when I worship.

You don’t need to ‘know’ how to meditate. There is no need to be obsessed about doing it right.

You just do it. In surrender, holding on to nothing. Controlling neither the process nor the outcome.

1. I first wrote about this on TheDailyVulnerable.com in 2019.