Meditation

 

 

 

 

One of the hardest things to master, at least for me, is the idea of meditation. I must have started reading at least half a dozen books on meditation over the years, but never fully finished them, nor have I ever really developed a consistency in meditation practices. Truth be told, my mind tends to be easily distracted, and it comes harder for me because of a lack of ability to focus.

This is the same whether I have tried to do it in the Christian tradition (praying and listening to God), or in a Buddhist ideal (just trying to banish all outside distractions and focus on the inner self), or any one of another half dozen practices. 

My main problem, as I tend to illustrate when telling people of my struggle with the concept, is that I will get started and then... "Oh, look! A squirrel!"  Although this illustration is pretty simplistic (it's almost NEVER really a squirrel that distracts me...), it serves to indicate my dilemma of how easily I can get distracted.

Long before I ever even heard of ADHD, I must've been one that could have been easily diagnosed with it. As a child I would often daydream during class, and I've always had a tendency to be impulsive. I recall more than once being sent to the principal's office because I was staring out the window instead of paying attention to the teacher. (Why did they have those room long picture windows in the classroom in the first place, if it wasn't for staring out of...?)

So it comes down to the idea that meditation is primarily a process of blanking my mind from any potential distractions. One ideal way to avoid distractions at least as far as I am concerned, is to begin before ever getting out of bed. When i wake up in the morning it is still pitch black dark. No one else in the house is awake, I am alone with my own thoughts. I can lay there (or sit there) in my bed and the only even remotely possible distraction would be if it's raining. But even that can have a positive effect on a meditation mood.

Meditation and prayer go hand in hand from the point of some religions. You realize there is a difference in the two? "Prayer" is when you are talking to God (or whatever higher spiritual being you choose). "Meditation", on the other hand, is listening for that higher spiritual being's response. Communication with God is a two-way street. It does no good if you ask a question to someone and then leave the conversation before you have received an answer.

There are many things in life that I am unable to discern the correct way to approach, and it becomes pertinent that if I am asking for help, I should wait for the answer before I act. This works not only on the spiritual level but also the physical level. In the same way that I can Google how to do something and have to follow whatever instructions I am given, asking for spiritual help requires that I follow through with the answer I receive from the spiritual realm. 

I am still struggling with the meditation aspect of the spiritual connection, but things do look better whenever I listen and follow through with the insights I am given.

May your spiritual journey be fruitful.

Quiggy