Today is a rather short blog post. I attended a day long meditation retreat this weekend, which was a wonderful experience. I have been practicing now every day for roughly the last three months, however, the day long retreat gave me the wonderful….and challenging experience to just sit and be for an entire day. What I’ve come to realize more and more is how overly concerned I am by outside voices and opinions. I suppose it’s hard not to be with the constant amount of information overload we have in our daily lives.
Thoughts kept popping into my head as I sat. These thoughts proved to be meditations in themselves. ‘Where does my fear come from?’ ‘What is my true intention in this life?’ ‘What am I if I am not my thoughts?’ There was no particular need or desire to have answers to these questions and in fact, it was quite nice to just be with them.
Some may feel that meditation is not for them and it is too spiritual. I think that’s just getting into semantics. It doesn’t have to be a spiritual experience (although it certainly can be). Meditation is nothing more than sitting and just being. On the other side, it’s also a journey – a lifelong journey of peering within and discovering the essence of who you really are. Take the time to just sit. It doesn’t have to be for an extended period of time. Even a couple of minutes a day will do. Have no other intention that just being with yourself. See what happens.
The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice–
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do–
determined to save
the only life you could save.
-Mary Oliver
I’m Nate, a writer, mindfulness practitioner and student of the inner workings of the mind.
Wow Nate! Beautiful poem and post. It is great to hear about your experiences with meditation. Funnily enough I am in the middle of reading “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert….currently she is in an ashram in India and she talks about some of the things you mention here.
I do meditate (mainly by listening to a CD) fairly regularly and find a lot of benefit when I do. I will make an intention to do this more thanks to your inspiration.
Thanks as always Nate. Your site is like an oasis of calm.
.-= Jen´s last blog ..What is your success style? =-.
Hey Jen! Thanks for the comment. That’s great that you spend some time to meditate. Meditating can happen at any time…any place. Even standing, waiting to cross the street can be a chance to connect with the body and just be for a minute or two.
Not answering the questions is the hard part Nate. But it’s good advice…too many ‘shoulds’ in that line of thinking. Too much judgment. Accepting the questions as well as the context which brought them on, is an important distinction, certainly for me.
Thanks for the beautiful poem. What an amazing mandate…save yourself, that you might see the world rightly. Not selfish whatsoever, but rather selfless. Because in that effort, you’re detracting from the din of mediocrity, and making it more likely for others to do the same.
Yeah, it can be difficult. Ironically, it’s usually when we’re not thinking about it….or at least, not trying too hard to find the answer that the answer comes to us. It finds us as opposed to us finding it. I struggle immensely with the judging, so I definitely feel you on that one. It’s something that I continue to work on. Good to hear from you!
Hey Nate,
I have found meditating to be one of the most difficult and rewarding endeavors I have taken up. Learning to sit with myself in my own thoughts for prolonged periods of time is rather difficult. Like you mentioned, there is so much information, worries, and thoughts running through our heads it can be overwhelming. I’ve had to learn to just “watch” those thoughts without attaching to them.
Simple but relevant post. I liked it.
Take care,
Ben
That’s great Ben! That’s all you really need to do….just sit. It’s not more complicated than that. This certainly doesn’t mean that it’s not challenging and it doesn’t take work to do it, but in its simplest form, meditation is about being.
Excellent poem! I strongly connect with the concept of listening to our own voice first and only then being able to truly facilitate positive change as our example inspires others to do the same.
And I’ve always found that most people who don’t think meditation is for them, don’t realize that a few minutes of silent sitting is more than enough to benefit from. Deep spiritual seeking is not a requirement of meditation at all.
.-= Earl´s last blog ..The Joy of Booking a Flight =-.
Right! I consider myself a spiritual person and you can get that out of meditation, but the practice of meditation itself is not really spiritual. As I mention to Ben above, it’s nothing more than just sitting and being. It’s not about expecting to reach some enlightened state, or reaching extremely deep levels of concentration. That, of course, can come, but it’s not the point of the practice itself.
Yeah, listening to your own voice first should be a priority and I think this is why meditation can help in that process. This is why I also ask myself questions and listen to myself as opposed to just doing something to do it…thinking I want it…when that may not actually be the case. This has been a challenge for me and it’s something that I constantly work on.
Short, but solid post. Just found your blog and like what I have read thus far. I do light meditating and would like to learn more about it. Really enjoyed the poem also!
.-= Alex´s last blog ..Shane DeRolf Interview, Exhilaration & Guidance At Its Finest =-.
Hi Alex – thanks for stopping by. That’s wonderful that you do some form of meditation. Any time we can devote to ourselves, no matter how short the period is, is time well spent.
By being still, we are allowing the moment to conquer the ramblings of our minds. Deep within ourselves lies our essence, speaking in silent voice, telling us that we are not of this world and beckoning us to discover our true self.
Well said Walter Thank you for your comment!
Thanks Nate. Funny you invited Mary Oliver into your post. I have been thinking of her lately. She is such a towering figure in the meditation circles. Very often quoted by my teachers. I find poetry is best way to convey deep inner experiences from the heart.
Deep bow to you, and happy practice today!
.-= Marguerite Manteau-Rao´s last blog ..The Spider and the Fly =-.
Hi Marguerite! Yes, she is an amazing poet!! I also agree that poetry is a wonderful way to express mindfulness and personal experiences. I honestly was never really into reading poetry, but I have been doing it more and more lately.