Third (and final) meditation misconception
March 11, 2011 | 2 CommentsMeditation is not a form of self-improvement.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/20919078[/vimeo]
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Good morning, lovely people.
In the last two posts, I talked about the first two meditation misconceptions. The 3rd and final misconception is actually the most difficult one to drop and it is that meditation is a form of self-improvement.
In our meditation practice we take the view that no improvement is required whatsoever. We take the view that right now, exactly as we are, in this very moment, we are made of one thing only: goodness. It exist right below all of our ideas about how great or awful we are.
Meditation is the practice of looking within and renewing this connection with your own goodness. It’s OK to give up any feelings of guilt or shame about who you are. In this way, it is the practice of letting go of self-improvement altogether and allowing your brilliance (which includes your wisdom, confusion, shyness, bitterness, and irreplaceable genius) to shine as it ought.
AND: Introduction to meditation practice here.
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If you know people who might like to sign up for The Open Heart Project (which includes online meditation instruction and a daily (M-F) email about becoming a meditator on and off the cushion, they can do so here.
Tags: Buddhism, Buddhist Meditation, meditation, meditation instruction, meditation video, spiritual practicecategorized in: dharma, meditation, open heart project
2 Comments
I do this one again and again again.
“I’m too stressed, I should relax, I should really meditate again.”
“Oh, if only I was more grounded, more centered; probably I should meditate again, it would help.”
“Meditation will help me to be more at peace with myself and with the world, it will turn down the volume of the endless chatter in my head, it will make me more open, it will make me BETTER.”
And then I criticize myself for not meditating more often.
But fortunately, sometimes I also remember what it’s really about. That this practice is a precious opportunity to just be ME. Like I am now, not how I am supposed to be. Then I sit, and feel comfortable in my own skin, thoughts come, random blah, and I just smile at all the stuff in my mind, and return to my breath. For half a minute, it’s ok to be me. In these moments I love the practice.
Thanks for your beautiful reminders.
I think I heard somewhere that Choygam Trungpa said you are allowed to feel guilty and bad–but only for up to 2 minutes and then you’ve got to move on. Whether or not he said that exact thing, I believe it’s in keeping with the spirit of his books and I try to follow this rule myself.
And yes, you can just be ME when you feel great, guilty, stressed, liberated… Your practice sounds great.