The first time I meditated, I was convinced I was doing it wrong.
My mind did not behave as it should, and shut up already.
On the contrary!
It started bringing up even *more* thoughts.
It was noisier in my skull than in a mosh pit at a death metal concert.
It’s different now.
Not that I meditate often, as in: just sit and be.
(Which is basically all it is.)
It’s more like a meditative state has (almost) become my default state.
Whether the mind’s working overtime or if it’s quiet,
whether I’m reading the latest Jo Nesbo on the boat or
I’m doing my admin (which I still don’t like) —
There’s a layer of calm underneath it all that rarely goes away.
Well, it never goes away at all.
It just seems that way.
This is nothing special.
That layer of calm is the essence of everyone.
Yours, too.
You may not always notice it.
And maybe you think you need special circumstances to feel calm, like sipping your favorite chilled Zinfandel in your back garden on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
But you don’t need special circumstances, tricks, or meditating on a mountain top for 83 years before you can experience it.
It’s here.
Now.
Notice your breathing.
Don’t try to change it.
Just notice your breath going in and out.
Then, notice something deeper:
Where can you find the awareness of the breath?
(And is it located anywhere at all?)
Where can you find the knowing that breathing is going on?
Notice what changes in your body as you read these words.
Notice what changes when you shift where attention goes.
Can you sense the calm, if only for a split second?
You don’t have to create it.
You don’t have to make anything stop.
It’s there, always.
Only a shift in attention away.
Love,
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