There are three common myths or misconceptions about
meditation that can block us from realizing the power and benefit of practice.
Yet, if we take a moment to expose them, we can easily figure out how to
overcome them.
1. Meditation has to be Peaceful (Which Often Doesn’t
Happen)
This is one of the biggest obstacles to meditation:the
belief that meditation is about cultivating very peaceful state of mind.
Sometimes when we meditate, we find our mind is jumping all over the place and
we think this means we aren’t meditating and give up. While it is true that
many meditators find that the mind becomes peaceful during meditation that is
not the goal of the practice.
Sogyal Rinpoche sometimes says that the whole point of meditation
is to become spacious. He often made the analogy of being like a great host who
accommodates a difficult guest. When
throwing a dinner party, if one of our guests is in a bad mood and starts to
act out, will threatening to kick them out of the party likely result in
diffusing the situation? Instead, we might ask the guest if they need a special
drink or an especially appetizing morsel from the kitchen. Perhaps we might
even invite them to relax in a cozy chair while we bring them the finest libation
and most succulent food we can offer. In other words a skillful host does not
confront a difficult guest but finds a way to accommodate and create
space. In meditation we are not trying
to rid ourselves of turbulent thoughts and emotions but to just to bear
witness, giving them space to come and to go.
Meditation is about learning to be completely present and
aware in the face of whatever thoughts, emotions, sights, smells or sounds
arise.
