Comments on: How does how we meditate relate to how we live life?

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:05:42 +0000

Let us know your experiences with the walking meditations, patti. Always great to hear what you have to say! And you are so welcome…

By: patti

patti — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:13:26 +0000

i haven’t checked in here for a while…..life has been busy!….but now i am on holidays and i have some space and time.

mary, thank you so much for creating the walking meditation podcasts.
i have been LONGING for them.
i shall purchase a copy as soon as i get home to my own desk at the end of the month.
i am so excited that you made them and i already know they will be great.
thank you!

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:45:14 +0000

Paul, I love what you said “Don’t expect and wait to experience ‘that’ because you may miss ‘this’”. Beautiful. Think I’ll share that on Twitter and Facebook. In fact, it’s sure to lead to yet another blog post…

I meditated for years with the idea of attaining a 24/7 natural “high”. I ultimately came to the conclusion that perhaps a few rare beings could experience that, but not most of us. (Now I question it even for the rare few.) I had many sublime moments in meditation, but they were just that, moments. It became clear to me that no experience ever lasts all the time — pleasant or unpleasant — and that expecting to be “high” all the time creates a lot of suffering. Suffering comes when we feel things aren’t alright as they are. I’ve also discovered that the deep satisfaction of being fully present to all of the experiences life brings is vastly better than the highs.

It’s interesting to explore where those ideas about meditation come from. I think they can be very damaging, actually, but they are also great for marketing meditation, meditation courses and tools! I don’t think marketing is the only reason these concepts are out there, but it certainly plays its part.

Just like your first questions, your response has gotten me pondering more things. I see why your blog is called Deep Thinker!

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:58:17 +0000

My thanks to Mary for answering my questions here.
When ever meditation was mentioned in books I’ve read, it seemed experienced meditators would achieve a magical, natural “high”. They were able to think about nothing and experience pure potentiality. Use of Bio feed back was mentioned when certain brain frequencies were achieved to help “train” them. These people seemed to have vast amounts of time to practice. I understand there are benefits but I wondered how time for all that meditation fits into our western culture.
I don’t meditate as often as I’d like. After I’ve meditated regularly, I miss it when I don’t make time for it.
Having listened to Mary’s meditations helps me see another point of view about it and about life. Don’t expect and wait to experience “that” because you may miss “this”. Now I just appreciate whatever experiences happen during meditation.
I’m not a big fan but Kurt Cobain hit the nail on the head when he said “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:44:47 +0000

M Scott – It sounds like your teacher supported you in a very profound journey with meditation and yourself. Thank you for sharing your insights.

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Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:28:31 +0000

[...] How does how we meditate relate to how we live life? | Meditation Oasis http://www.meditationoasis.com/2009/12/01/how-does-how-we-meditate-relate-to-how-we-live-life – view page – cached Is the purpose of meditation to create a frame of mind that continues outside of meditation? Paul asked some great questions related to this in an [...]

By: M Scott

M Scott — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:20:57 +0000

I have been meditating for a number of years and I have had the experience of ‘loss of self.’ It was frightening at first but I later realized that it was important for me to find out ‘what my face looked like before my parents were born.’ I also found that meditation is not always pleasant and it’s okay. My teacher told me without identifying with the experience, there is no good or bad meditation session. All this and more is an opportunity to meditate.

I am grateful for your meditations. Each one seems to be a medicine for each ailment it addresses.