“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”
— Anon
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People think meditation is hard because they think it’s about peace.
“How can I find peace in the middle of noise and chaos and challenge?”, they think.
“I have kids and a job and a house and there’s never any quiet and there’s always something to do. It’s impossible!” … and they’re right.
But the fact is that meditation isn’t about creating peace. It’s not about finding the perfect conditions.
It’s about being present and filled with presence, regardless of what’s happening in your external – or internal – world.
And that IS possible, anywhere, anytime, because it doesn’t depend on anything else – which means it’s simple and do-able by anyone.
So don’t look for peace.
Seek to change nothing except to take your awareness out of the past and the future and simply pay attention to what’s happening within you and around you.
You could say you shift location.
Take your attention out of your head and thinking and into the body and the senses. (There’s more once you get good at that, but that’s enough to go on for now).
Make that shift innocently – as the Ishayas say – without expectation or demand.
Shift not to get peace, but to see clearly.
See the true and real facts of now, rather than being lost in the stories of how you’d like now to be.
When you’re simply present to what is, and not insisting on change, all is well.
When you’re present and all is well, there is peace and calm.
When there is peace and calm and clarity, you can be effective and all of life becomes enjoyable.
And it all comes through simply being present and filled with presence …
You see how the circle goes?
Don’t make meditation or mindfulness about anything else.
Keep it so simple –
Be present, here, now.
Now –
“But it’s too hard to be present. I keep forgetting!”.
Sure – like any skill you forget more than you remember, in the beginning.
Begin again, right here, right now.
Practice and repetition speeds you along. The right tools and the right understanding help enormously too.
But only concern yourself with being present. Which means that forgetting a moment ago does not count.
Make the most of your moments, which is to say, be present to now.
Just now.
Make sense?
Make it much easier on yourself – and rewarding.
Meditation has so many benefits but it doesn’t have to be hard work. It’s not just for monks who can hide away from the world. It’s not about creating a mood or getting rid of anything. It’s about stepping back from, and being perfectly okay with, what you find right here, right now – and who you are right here, right now.
And you can do that right here, right now.
Get back to the basics, and stick to them, and all will be well.
“Get stupid in a hurry” as my Ishaya teacher once told me. (Trying boss!).
Go well!
Arjuna
PS.
We have 2 seats left for next weekend’s Ascension meditation course.
If you’d like one, or if you’d like to know whether it’s a good thing for you, let me know.
Msg me on Facebook Messenger and I can answer all your questions:
m.me/mrarjunaishaya
7-9 July (starts 7pm Friday)
Have a lovely day!