Meditation Without Effort
Trying To Meditate Can Be A Drag
Sometimes, the thought of meditation is depressing. Why would I want to sit down with a mind that won’t stop worrying about things, when I could so easily do something else more fun? The idea of meditating can sometimes be like someone saying:
“Ok, you need to go and sit down with that person who will tell you every problem they’ve ever had. They will tell you about every person that has wronged them, they will tell you everything that has ever gone wrong for them, and they will tell you that there are tons of more important things you should be doing, rather than sitting listening to them. And one more thing: the person will be inside your head.”
So…no, thanks. I’d rather do something to distract myself from feeling as if I can’t find the magic switch to turn my mind off, feeling like it must be there, but it’s hidden from me.
Avoiding Unmasked Pains
Of course there is also the fact that there can be so many hidden or suppressed pains from the past. Just sitting there without stimulation can at first feel as if everything is just getting worse, and we aren’t able to stop it.
What makes the whole thing even heavier is the idea that if I do something right in this meditation, then I will be enlightened, and maybe I won’t have to meditate anymore...
So here is an alternative:
Let The Universe Meditate For You
Instead of treating meditation as something that YOU have to do, with a goal that YOU have to achieve, to get to a place of peace that YOU have to feel - you let the universe do it for you instead.
You can still follow the breath, use a mantra or simply feel your inner being - but you give it all to the universe. It’s not about you anymore. You don’t own the experience, the universe does.
Whether your mind shuts up or not is no longer of any interest to you. It’s not in your control. The power that creates and sustains the universe probably knows how to manage your thoughts - so you let it. You let it decide what the content of your mind and experience should be. You don’t assume to know. You don’t assume you should know. You literally don’t know how you should or should not feel. It’s up to the universe.
Instead of “Universe”, we could say “Nature”, “Life”, “God”, “The Big Dog”, or anything else you like, as long as it’s something greater than your own little mind with its likes and dislikes. If you give yourself over to the power that sustains your body’s functioning, then it’s like a cell in a body realising it is part of a greater being. It becomes harmonious again, it can be led by the body’s intelligence rather than trying to do it all alone.
In the same way, rather than having your ego in charge of a practice that is supposed to dissolve it - your separate self has permission to take a backseat, to not need to monitor and analyse every thought that arises, and instead the greater stillness can rise to the surface by itself.
For the boss to leave, someone usually needs to be left in charge. We are used to our tiny private minds running every aspect of our lives, and meditation can become no different. Our minds can not help but try to take control and manipulate what is happening.
If you say to the universe, “I’ll let you take control of this one today”, then suddenly that tight, restrictive mindset that made meditation feel like a chore is replaced by the same vastness that you were always trying to merge with. There is peace, serenity, expansion - but it isn’t yours…