Barriers to
Meditation
by
Victor N. Davich
Meditating sounds easy. Sitting. Breathing.
Focusing in a relaxed kind of way. So why isn't
everyone doing it? For that matter why do so many who
start meditating, or open a book on the subject, fail
to carry through and make meditation a part of their
daily lives?
The answer is that both our inner and outer
worlds raise barriers between us and meditation. The
greatest of these are the doubts about meditation
raised by our own minds and by Western society. There
are also certain spiritual/ psychological pitfalls
that meditators can fall prey to if they fail to pay
attention to their practice.
Without guidance, these barriers can seem
insurmountable. But, with the aid of a little
guidance, they can easily be bridged. As meditation
teacher Ram Dass says in
Journey of Awakening, "There
are certain guidelines -- some from great masters and
others from psychologists and other outside observers
-- that can help you hone your intelligence and keep
your balance."
DOUBT
You have had your first experiences of
meditation, and they produced positive results in the
way of relaxation, revitalization, and spiritual
deepening. But you still find yourself resisting the
idea of regular meditation practice. This almost
unconscious reluctance to meditate is natural.
Our minds and deepest selves always resist
change in some way, whether it's a move to a new town,
a new social circle, or a new job. As Ram Dass warns,
"One of the ego's favorite paths of resistance is to
fill you with doubt." This resistance usually takes
the form of fears or anxiety that undermine our
commitment to meditation.
You have probably experienced doubts of your
own. On the list below, check off any that have
haunted you.
___Meditation is too easy or too hard.
___Meditation is a religion and will conflict
with yours.
___Meditation means giving up things you like.
___Meditation is like being hypnotized.
___Meditation is a way of escaping reality.
___Meditation means shutting out the world.
___Meditation means you have to go to a
monastery.
___Meditation is weird.
___Meditation means you need a teacher.
___Meditation has a right way and wrong way.
Why we fear meditation
The doubts and fears that plague us are often
the echoes of misconceptions we learned at society's
knee as we grew up. These negative myths, widely
prevalent in the Americas and Europe, are the spawn of
cultural ignorance, prejudicial misconceptions
generated by rational, left-brain Western society's
antithetical attitude toward anything Eastern,
intuitive, and right-brain.
They are, doubtless, the very concerns that
plague you when you think about meditating. Do you
find yourself thinking meditation will be too hard or
that it is a religion (and therefore in conflict with
yours) or is it a kind of hypnosis? If so, the best
anodyne is the truth. As it says in the Bible, "The
truth shall make you free."
BANISHING DOUBTS
Don't resist these concerns. Our egos are
healthy enough and strong enough to protect us from
any of the supposed negative effects of meditation.
Resisting these doubts means giving them power over
you. They will seize control and bring your meditation
to a halt. Instead, Ram Dass suggests an approach that
has inspired the following exercise:
1 . Sit someplace free of distraction.
2. Focus on any doubts or worries you might
have about meditation.
3. Be completely open to them, do not censor
any out. Examine each carefully -- the absurdity of
most will suggest itself instantly.
4. Consciously let go of each -- imagine it as
a balloon that sails away and then vanishes out of
sight.
ELEVEN MISCONCEPTIONS
The best bridge across these barriers to
meditation is replacing ignorance and misconception
with knowledge and fact.
1. Meditation is either too easy or too hard.
Meditation is simpler than you think. And,
paradoxically, harder than you might think. The
directions on how to meditate are deceptively simple.
For instance, what could be clearer than instructions
that merely direct you to watch your breath?
Try it for yourself. Right now. Close your
eyes. And for the next inhalation and exhalation,
just observe your breath. That's all.
If you were able to take one full breath, and
not think, daydream, fidget, wonder what the heck you
were doing, you have done incredibly well. If you are
like the rest of us, however, you probably had a lot
going on in that breath. It's amazing how many
thoughts you can pack into just one breath when you
take the time to actually examine the process of your
mind.
Although the directions may be simple, what your
mind does while you try to follow those directions is
an entirely different thing.
Focusing on your breath or any object of
meditation requires persistence and commitment. And it
requires the kind of patience a parent has for a
constantly straying six-year-old child at the zoo.
When you stray from the object of meditation and
find yourself waking up, as you do on the highway, ten
miles down the road, clueless as to how you got there,
you simply return to the object of meditation. This is
what meditation practice is: gently returning, without
judgment, over and over again to the object of your
meditation.
The key to successful meditation practice is, in
the words of the famous violinist who was asked by a
stranger how to get to Carnegie Hall, "practice,
practice, practice."
2. Meditation is a religion.
You can practice any religion or no religion,
and still derive the full benefits of meditation. You
may also meditate using the techniques of your
tradition. Meditation is an equal opportunity
practice; it treats religion just as it treats
everything else: openly and with total acceptance.
3. I'll have to give up the things I like.
You don't have to give up anything. There are no
edicts against coffee, chocolate, Haagen-Dazs, World
Professional Wrestling, MTV, or even Beavis and
Butthead.
Of course, you may naturally find yourself
cutting down on things that might not be in your own
best interest. If you find yourself on your meditation
cushion instead of watching a Seinfeld rerun or a
football game, you'll know that meditation is putting
that deeper part of you in contact with what is best
for you.
4. It's like being asleep or hypnotized.
Meditation is about being awake, not asleep or
in a trance state. And while relaxation is a naturally
occurring phenomenon of meditation, it is not the
object or goal of the practice. Think of it as a
wonderful by-product, or perk, like a corner office or
enclosed parking.
While in meditation, you may experience states
that are even more relaxing than sleep or hypnotic
trance. If this happens, bring your full attention to
them, watch them, then let them go. You don't chase
states of mind in meditation; rather, you welcome
whatever comes your way, and then let it go.
5. Meditators are trying to escape from reality
and responsibilities.
Some hold that meditation is a selfish,
narcissistic attempt to avoid responsibilities and
real life. Nothing is further from the truth. The goal
of meditation is to become happier by developing the
ability to escape into, not away from, life. When your
mind is sharp and focused, your quality of life is
improved, your experience of life is richer, and you
are just naturally happier.
6. You have to shut out the world.
Meditation is about total immersion in the
experience of the present moment, both internally and
externally. There is a popular misconception that
meditation can only be properly done in absolute
silence, preferably on top of a mountain in Nepal,
where the meditator is entirely removed from the
sights and sounds of the material world. The skillful
meditator takes his world as he finds it, without
sunglasses, earplugs, or nose clips. In the real
world, car alarms screech, children laugh and play,
planes drone overhead, telephones suddenly ring, and
neighbors play U-2 albums too loudly. When you
meditate, you cultivate your innate ability to deal
skillfully with all arising phenomena, whatever they
may be.
Meditation is not about shutting out the world.
It's about letting it in.
7. You have to go to a monastery.
Entering the monastic life isn't necessary to
get the benefits of meditation. Josh B., a former Zen
monk, now a record company executive with a hot new
label, says, "The zendo is everywhere." (Zendo is the
Zen word for meditation hall.)
In the Zen tradition there is a saying: "If you
want a small enlightenment go to the country. If you
want a big enlightenment, go to the city." This means
that the more challenging the environment, the more it
has to teach you. This may make New York City the
world's best meditation hall.
The eighth-century Tibetan,
Shantideva, wrote that a spiritual life could be
lived anywhere. He says the following in his classic
text,
A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life,
(a bodhisattva is a person who aspires to attain full
enlightenment for the benefit of all beings):
Where would I possibly find enough leather
With which to cover the surface of the earth? But
wearing leather on the soles of my shoes
Is equivalent to covering the earth with it.
Make your world your monastery. And that
includes your home, office, car, the subway, even the
laundromat. Wherever you are, whatever you encounter
is meant to provide you with exactly what you need to
work with right now.
8. Meditation is weird.
Meditation is not only not weird, it's totally
in keeping with the American way of life.
Our Declaration of independence states that we
have certain inalienable rights, including "life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Those three
rights are also the goals of meditation -- to be
totally present in life, to be liberated from our
confined sense of self, and to be happy. Meditation is
not only not weird, it's downright patriotic.
9. You need a teacher.
Learning a skill is always easier when you have
a good teacher. In the United States there is a
scarcity of good, reputable meditation teachers. And
the large followings of a few good teachers
consequently make it difficult to receive training on
an individual basis.
But that should not deter you. An old Buddhist
proverb says, "When the student is ready, the teacher
appears." It's been happening that way for thousands
of years.
For now, this book
(The
Best Guide to Meditation) is more
than adequate to get you started on the path of
meditation. And don't worry, when you really need your
teacher, he or she will appear.
10. There's a right way and a wrong way.
There is no one way and no best way to meditate.
The ways of meditation are many, and stem from the
world's rich and varied religious traditions. It is
said that the Buddha alone taught eighty-four ways of
mindfulness. So there's obviously room for many
opinions.
Some schools and teachers of meditation insist
that their way is the only correct way or system to
meditate. Be skeptical of those who tell you, "It's my
way or the highway." True teachers of meditation
follow the middle way (a balance between a search for
and a surrender to the truth). They are usually
tolerant of and receptive to techniques from other
disciplines.
If there is any right way to meditate, it will
be the one that resonates with you, the one to which
you want to apply yourself with discipline and
diligence.
11. Meditation cuts you off from the rest of
life.
Meditation is not just something you do on a
cushion or in a chair for a certain amount of time and
then forget about. Your goal should be to make
meditation an ongoing part of your life.
Dr. Andrew Weil, the well-known author on holistic
health, says, on his CD, Eight Meditations for Optimum
Health, "On some level, you are meditating all the
time. Become aware of that practice, extending this
awareness to more and more areas of your daily life."
It's good advice. Try it for yourself. Stay as
mindful as possible, all day long.
 This article
was excerpted from the book
The Best Guide to Meditation by Victor N. Davich.
©1998. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Renaissance
Books, Los Angeles, CA.
www.renaissancebks.com
Info/Order this book.
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