Thursday, September 18, 2008

Accepting our meditation as it is

Many people fall prey to the misconception that if they feel all lovely and peaceful that they've had a "good meditation". Sharon Salzberg disagrees. And so do I:

In terms of mindfulness practice we often say that what comes up in meditation is much less important to how we relate to what comes up. If we can meet what’s happening with greater awareness and compassion then that’s considered very good meditation. Even if what’s coming up is sleepiness, restlessness, doubt or pain. Making that switch from thinking, “we’re only doing well if things that feel great are happening,” to understanding what the practice is actually about, is very important.

-- Sharon Salzberg

Please don't judge your meditation! Accept it as it is.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:18 AM

    My mind starts wandering in mediation which is frustrating. I do go back to my mantra and that helps. Thanks for this reminder that acceptance is the key for a so-called "good" meditation.

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  2. Anonymous6:45 AM

    Thank you for this. There are so many sites at the moment promoting meditation as a 'wonder tool' that will make all our stress go away. Of course there is lots of benefit from meditation for these things but the quote you give is a deeper level of practice not so often mentioned. I really enjoy your blog!

    best wshes,
    Richard
    www.lifechoicemeditation.com

    ReplyDelete

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