Meditation for beginners: How to suck (and not care!)
You’ve probably heard that meditation is good for you. You also know that regular exercise, eating right, and quarterly check ups at the doctor are good for you. They don’t always happen.
It feels at times like we’re being inundated with information about how to live healthy, happy lives. It can feel overwhelming. It pours into our inbox, gets pinned on our Pinterest boards and even designed into our Bullet Journals. Why? Because more than ever, we’re asking for the information. We’re all wondering how to be our healthiest, happiest selves.
And we’re going about it the wrong way.
Instead of seeking wisdom, we’re seeking knowledge. They aren’t the same things. There are endless supplies of knowledge in the world. We can be searching, skimming and saving information for the rest of our lives and feel really freaking good about ourselves along the way. But despite how productive it makes us feel, all of that absorption of knowledge means nothing without application of it to our daily lives.
Despite being told over and over again that meditation is good for us, many of us still struggle with actually DOING it. I get it. It’s hard. When I first started meditation, I felt isolated, nervous, even a little scared when it came time to turn off external distractions and just be in silence. And that feeling is exactly why I pursued the practice. If it’s making me nervous, I believe it’s because there’s something for me to learn there – and I was right.
Since making meditation (which is rooted in thousands of years of wisdom, by the way!) a part of my daily practice, I’ve felt a number of things:
*more connected to source energy
*calmer, with fewer waves of anxiety
*frustration at the inability of my mind to slow down
*wild appreciation for the speed at which my mind can and DOES function
*more creative and inspired
*an appreciation for quiet
*and even bored, occasionally.
Sometimes, I’ve felt all of those sensations within the same meditation session. The point is that it has had a profound impact on my mind’s ability to function – and I’m still a beginner. Some days my practice is 3 minutes long, and I’m gritting my teeth the entire time. Other days, I can meditate with ease and enjoy the process for 20 minutes.
So the secret for how to suck at meditation and how to NOT care that you do? Understand that your practice is just that – a practice. Be okay with being a beginner, and remind yourself that nobody else sees or knows your practice. It’s just for you. And even three minutes of frustrated attempt at quieting the mind is good for you. Keep at it. You’ve got this.
Have you tried meditation before? What was your experience?