Meditation Doesn’t Stop When You Think It Does – It Stops When You Think

Quick! The kids are off doing their thing or already asleep and the other half is absorbed in either Netflixing it up, updating their profile on something, browsing on Amazon, or perhaps firing off the last few emails of the night. You take a few minutes to yourself and head to your special place, you spread a mat or a comfy cushion on the floor, or perhaps settle into your favourite chair, maybe even wrap yourself in your cosy blanket and sit up in bed. Done with the madness of the day, ahhh, you exhale and sink a little deeper into your body. Now is your time to be mindful and meditate. 

But you’re exhausted after another crazy day of work, family and household stuff, and after being aware of your breath coming in and going out barely twice, your dull mind, devoid of any focus is off down a trail of thoughts that either prick you to the point of frustration at some painful memory making you wonder why you bother to try and meditate anyway. Or you simply drift off into a stupor until a little dribble from your open mouth and a jolt of your head bring you back. Either way, you weren’t meditating really, so what’s the point? You tried doing it in the mornings, but it’s hard to find ample time with the morning rush and you have so many things to get round to doing. You’re not a monk living in a monastery; you have a million responsibilities, you can’t still your mind when you have so much to do. How are you supposed to get anywhere with your meditation practice? 

You see, most people think that they are meditating only when they are sitting in a still posture. They think the meditation has ended once the timer has gone off and they get up. The truth is that any time you’re not thinking and you are just aware, you are in meditation, it’s just the level of the meditative state that varies. You could be cleaning, walking, bathing, eating, anything. If you can maintain a certain level of mindfulness and stop thinking, you are in meditation; it only stops when you start thinking again. Get it now? ☺ 

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