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Meditation is a radical, liberatory practice. We know this for a fact. It’s been corroborated over thousands of years, by countless traditions; Hinduism, Buddhism, Tantra, those across East and West Asia, and around the world. In the West today though, the trend is to discuss the benefits of a regular meditation practice in a way that leans more towards mollification and assuaging stress.
For obvious reasons, corporate culture loves mindfulness. And cynically, some of the people selling it promise certain industrialist-friendly or ego-based benefits accordingly: sleep better, work smarter, succeed harder, focus longer, stay calmer.
Meditation and mindfulness is not a self-optimisation or productivity tool. It’s a simple yet profound path to learning how to see and be with reality, as it is. Rather than running from it. And sure, it will may. result in the better management of stress, but better yet, it will allow you to disengage with its sources—internal and external.
These practices are also often packaged in a one-size-fits-all way that doesn’t accommodate difference, or even admit to struggle. This is why some people think they can’t meditate. Because someone or something made them feel that way. The truth is, everyone can meditate. It’s just that some expect it to look or feel a certain way. When expectations are intensely high and rigid, you might as well be spruiking anti-aging skincare.
At the same time, it’s true that in the West (and in social media and click-bait gratification culture specifically), we are coddled. It’s easier than ever to shirk personal responsibility or seek empowerment through ideas or practices that entrench your identity and attachments, rather than seeking to dissolve them. Ideas or practices that reify illusion instead of revealing it. That grant us escape. Meditation is not being lulled to sleep, or being affirmed in self-centeredness.
I don’t believe meditation is or ever should be an escapist practice. As a teacher, I encourage all beginners to get a solid grounding, without the bells and whistles. And I encourage them to be resilient. Meaning that in my view, the glossy visuals, complex soundtracks, and new age journeys into the astral have their place, but they’re not going to help you learn to meditate self-sufficiently.
They’re not going to help you divest from your cultural conditioning, develop self-awareness, tolerate discomfort, grow spiritually, and simply be with what is. No-frills mediation—that allows for your whole lived experience while supporting you to relish healthy discomfort—will. This is for people willing to face their shit. So they can actually begin to let it go.
“The point is not to try to change ourselves. Meditation isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and becoming something better. It is about be-friending who we already are.” — Pema Chodron
A lot of people I speak to expect meditation to be calm, easeful, and blissful. Like a holiday from reality. Because that’s how you sell stuff: “this thing is going to erase all your problems and make you rich as a result!” Yeah, naurr. It will bring you face to face with reality. It’s not easy and it’s not supposed to be.
Like any method of habit-forming or tolerance-building, meditation can and will be uncomfortable and edgy at times, especially when you’re not used to observing your own inner monologue. And if you go in expecting it to last for 30 minutes, or to be easy and enjoyable from the first go, that’s like rocking up to HIIT training having never exercised in your life and being like “why I am so sore?!”
But 30 minutes of sitting eyes-closed, cross-legged isn’t required. Especially not for newbs. Nor for neurodivergents, people with disabilities, injuries, or pain. There is a variation and a style for everyone. The more you find yours, lower your expectations, let go of perfectionism, take tiny baby steps, and keep your sense of humour, the easier it becomes.
My doorway into meditation has always been through these creative adaptations, like mindful journalling and creativity, chanting or singing, and mindful movement from various lineages. And that’s not to mention the adjustments I’ve made: the way I’ve been seated (or stood or laying), the type and length of mediation, and the sensory allowances I’ve offered myself.
If you’ve ever tried to meditate and beat yourself up for having so many thoughts and being constantly distracted, please know: that’s all meditation is. It’s witnessing how noisy and annoying your own brain is and then gently, happily reeling it in over and over. Do people who fish hate themselves every time they reel the line in, and then have to throw it out again? Of course not. They’re content with the repetition. They know that’s the whole point. When they get frustrated or disappointed, that’s just a part of fishing.
The point of meditation is just to observe thoughts without reacting, so we can avoid getting wrapped up in them and instead cultivate the skill of presence, aka bringing awareness to the reality of the current moment as it is. That’s it.
And in this world, at this time. That is radical.
Breaking news *:・゚✧
I have a six-week course called Write About Now, created in the wake of the pandemic and only ever taught live before. Soon, I’m going to release it as a self-paced online program. <3
It’s called Write About Now because it’s designed to introduce students to meditation via mindful writing—a practice that has shaped my life. Every week for six weeks, participants will be guided through a specific type of practice (I’m presenting a smorgasbord, so you can find one that suits you best), an associated mindful journaling practice, and a consistent meditation practice where each week builds on the last, supporting you as your confidence grows.
More soon, but if you have any questions about the course, comment here or just write back! <3
Xo Jerico
P.S. You can head to my website to show you support for my work by buying a book, getting a tarot reading, checking out merch, or looking into 1:1 coaching.