Sunday, August 5, 2012
“I Don’t Have Time to Meditate” Dick Whitaker speaking.
“I Don’t Have Time to Meditate.”
Remarks by Dick Whitaker to UCE on Sunday, Aug 5, 2012
When the subject of meditation comes up in conversations, people will say ”Oh I suppose it’s a good idea, but I just don’t have time.” Or, “I tried it for awhile, but it never did much for me.” Or, “Meditation is boring. Just sitting and doing nothing.” If I have a chance to talk further, I usually ask “Have you really tried it?’ Have you really seen what it can do over a period of time.
My point is that meditation is not a quick fix. It’s a habit of mind that takes months to develop and years to apply. It does take time, but it saves even more.
Our culture doesn’t like a proposition like this. We say give me a pill, a weekend seminar, a quick trip to Vegas, or a movie to take my mind off things and I’ll be fine. But, an open ended commitment to do something every day for years. That’s something else. Yet meditation is something that’s been done in nearly every religion for a long time, and done by some monks for most of every day.
Patanjali, in the second century BCE, defined yoga as “the control of the modifications of the mind.” Postures, breath awareness, withdrawal of senses and meditation all contribute to this control. Meditation in particular, is practice in controlling the “monkey mind” which flits from idea to idea , from impression to impression, from worry to worry.
Consider what it’s like to do yoga postures like the ones we are doing here today. You move from one position to another. Far forward and far back, from the right side to the left, even in circles. All to come back to the center. It’s intended as a preparation for meditation by moving around, exploring the extremes so you n know what it’s like to be centered, here and now, in the middle of your surroundings.
Our minds have evolved over millions of years and are very effective survival mechanisms. We survive by constantly constructing scenarios about past and future events. For instance, a tribesman runs across a tiger on the trail and gets away by climbing a tree. But, having that experience, he is prepared and does something quite different the next time. Or, a business woman is in a meeting that doesn’t go very well. She considers what she did, and what others did, and decides how it could work better in the future. All of this scenario building helps us to survive. And that’s one of the reasons we are such a successful species….. But there’s a downside in constant scenario building. Sometimes we obsess on scenarios. Particularly under feelings of loss or danger.
I think meditation is very helpful in this situation. It helps us to see the present more clearly. We take a few breaths, and in a calm and unhurried way, we find many more alternatives than narrow, short-term thinking allows. It helps us to avoid thinking in dichotomies. That it’s got to be this way or that way. Either I leave this person, job, situation, etc. or I stay. Either my child goes to college or he gets a bad start in life. But, there are many more answers than just the two ends of a dichotomy. And, they can begin to develop in quiet meditation.
After you meditate and get up from your chair, you will still be involved in an infinity of choices. You may think it’s overwhelming. But, it’s really not, it’s rather a matter of building on alternatives, of realizing that we are not limited by the tracks our mind follows. It’s necessary every so often to pull back from those tracks, those blind alleys, survey the field, define priorities, find different directions and consider different approaches to relationships.
To me, meditation creates one of the best spaces for this to happen. It’s not just a rational space with limited choices that we ourselves have created. Rather, it’s an expanded intuitive space in which many ideas, alternatives, and gut feelings, will arise. Each one of these thoughts comes and goes while you are meditating, but can be used later. In this way, you develop a capacity to let go of obsessive thinking. And, you get an idea of what your mind is really like, and what it is really capable of. Essentially, meditation introduces you to yourself.
But first, you really need to give it a try for several weeks. You need to sit for a period of time every day, not doing anything. At first, pay close attention to any sensations, sounds, sights that are in your immediate surroundings. Then if you’ve found a safe, quiet space, you begin to realize that you can be in it for awhile, unbothered. (that’s one of the reasons early morning meditations are so good.) Then pay attention to your breath. Let it be slow and even. And, since we are so caught up in words, use them to calm your mind. Use any words that have good associations, or use the So Hum mantra. “So” on the inhalation and “Hum” on the exhalation. Or use “Here” and “Now” to reinforce the idea about where you are. Then, just let thoughts come and go without following any of them very far.
How long should I meditate? I think it’s better not to time it, just let it happen. Some days it will be short, other days longer. Spend 10 minutes one day, a half hour the next. Use your experience to determine the time. It’s the decision to meditate that‘s important, not the time you spend. But, you’ll find that this process of self discovery may take longer as you get into it. You may also find that you require less sleep, because you are doing some of the mental processing that occurs in dreams. You are also making decisions about your priorities that allow you to save great amounts of time. Rather than saying “I don’t have time to meditate,” realize that you are wasting time by not meditating. Give this gift to yourself.