It is a misconception that meditation is difficult
“Everyone says I should meditate. All spiritual books end with the advice to take time for meditation. But no one tells you how!” The young man who stood before me was completely stressed out. For months he had been trying to meditate but the more he tried, the more he failed. And now he was dumping his frustrations on me because I had just given a lecture on the importance of… meditation.
I got what he was saying. People often turn meditation into something really complex. For instance, some say when you meditate your expression should be very serious and holy as you try to curl the tip of your tongue back against the roof of your mouth while reciting an incomprehensible mantra in your mind. Or you should sit in such a way that you’re just about breaking your back, as well as your calves and knees, while rising above the pain by focusing on your breath. Or you should sit in front of a statue of an Indian god or goddess with an unpronounceable name and tune in so you can be transported to an unpronounceable place.
Is meditation really so complex? Do you really have to contort yourself to bring your mind to rest and come into the here and now? I don’t think so. Most animals and children do nothing else. It is a misconception that meditation is difficult. I say: The more difficult you make it the less you’ll do it. Meditation, after all, is nothing more than making contact with the person you were before you did your best to become everything you aren’t.
How hard can it be to be yourself? For most people, very hard. Not so much because it is hard, but because they make it hard. It is often the simplest circumstances—a walk along the beach, a sunset, a beautiful concert—that allow you to return to yourself. You forget for a moment to complicate things with worries about how you should be. You naturally return to the peace and quiet that are your true nature.
At those moments you are doing exactly what all meditation gurus and masters teach: You are fully in the here and now and completely free of anxiety, fear and all those unnecessary thoughts that make life so difficult. In short, at those moments you are the consummate yogi. You are your own meditation teacher, your own master, your own guru and your own saviour. The secret of meditation is: Keep it simple.
