Is Meditation Difficult?

Published by Dr. Archika Didi at February 18, 2022

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Some people say it is hard to meditate. We are unable to focus; our mind just cannot get rid of turbulence.

They are not entirely wrong. Meditation can be challenging for some people, and even more so if they are not sure as to why they want to meditate.

It may seem bizarre to sit on a mat listening to the nonstop chatter in the mind. One can even feel bored since it involves doing or thinking absolutely nothing for a period of time, even if it is only 15 minutes.

But there is another side of the story!

You need to understand that meditation is not about forcing the mind to be absolutely calm. Rather, it is a letting go of confrontation to whatever arises. And this can be done in a simplified way, making the practice of mediation easy.

Here’s how.

Be Mindful of Your Thoughts

While in the office, people think about home and after returning home, they start thinking about work. Such a thought process becomes burdensome. A mindful person, however, doesn’t carry such a burden. He gets rid of that burden instantly and moves to the next moment. Each moment is made up of ‘Present’. Such a person dwells in the present moment and leaves the past.

Thus, you don’t have to live on the periphery, but in the centre. This can be done by being a witness to your present moment.

We get emotionally involved with our thoughts. When you see a flower, ‘seeing’ is happening but when you admire the flower as being beautiful or not beautiful; ‘thought’ emerges and this is the end of the witness gesture.

Try to develop witness gesture

Someone asked a Zen saint, Bokoju what is meditation. The saint said, my meditation is simple, I can’t explain. But the person insisted on knowing that. Bokoju said when I feel hungry, I eat, and when I feel sleepy, I go to sleep. If I want to do something, I do that. Now the man got perplexed and said, we also do such things, where is meditation in these acts?

Bokoju said whatever I do, I do that holistically, but you do it half-heartedly. When you have your food, various thoughts emerge in your mind- thoughts about worldly affairs, you also do a lot of things along with eating- but whatever I do, I do it completely.

Then another person said, please tell me how to meditate.

The saint said, be with me for some time and you will know it. The man stayed with Bokoju, but he couldn’t get anything and said, I am confused now as you don’t do anything special. Bokoju said, whatever I do, do it in totality. If I walk, I just walk; if I am having tea, I just drink. I don’t stay there; there is no ‘doer attitude’.

So, there is no doer, but only the act stays- like the practice of witness gesture. When you start practicing this witness gesture, meditation will become simple.

Make meditation your lifestyle

In other words, meditation is not about forcing the mind to be calm. Rather, it is just letting go of whatever thoughts may come up: uncertainty, worry, and feeling insufficient, the endless thoughts of desire and fear. Every time you find your mind drifting away, remembering the past or worrying about the future during meditation, just bring yourself to becoming the witness, come back to the present moment, pay attention to your breath and be still.

It is possible. You can train the mind to meditate mindfully, without any difficulty and without any doer-attitude with consistent practice.

Connect to your inner tranquility & stillness through meditation. In this way, you can make meditation your lifestyle.

Special spiritual meditation and yoga session will be conducted by Dr. Archika Didi

From 20th to 25th August, 2022