# Good Simple Advice on Meditation



## Phantasm (Jul 16, 2017)

I am currently reading Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I think it's easy to bring a lot of preconceptions and misconceptions to meditation, and this passage I wanted to share addresses most of mine!

People often confuse meditation with relaxation or some other special state that you have to get to or feel. When once or twice you try and you don't get anywhere or you didn't feel anything special, then you think you are one of those people who can't do it.

But, meditation is not about feeling a certain way. It's about feeling the way you feel. It's not about making the mind empty or still, although stillness does deepen in meditation and can be cultivated systematically. Above all, meditation is about letting the mind be as it is and knowing something about how it is in this moment. It's not about getting somewhere else, but about allowing yourself to be where you already are. If you don't understand this, you will think you are constitutionally unable to meditate.

Anybody can sit down and watch their breath or watch their mind. So when people say they can't meditate, what they really mean is that they wont make time for it, or that when they try, they don't like what happens. It isn't what they were looking for or hoping for. It doesn't fulfill their expectations. So maybe they should try again, this time letting go of their expectations and just watching.

I think this advice can make it a very therapeutic experience, and it made me think about how much we can lose touch with ourselves.


----------



## ThoughtOnFire (Feb 10, 2015)

In other words: Just Sit


----------

