The lotus positions, the chanting, the mudras, the breathing—it has all infiltrated the public mainstream.
Human beings are enamored with form. But form is simply the silhouette of function.
As with all things in life, sincerity is the lifeblood of transformation. When you sit in a pose that you believe to be correct, are you being sincere? Do you believe that taking ten or twenty minutes out of your day to meditate will bring about some miraculous change in you?
Has it worked?
Such things rarely work.
And the reason is because they are pursued and perceived as events that are independent of your daily existence. There is a period of time that you spend meditating. And then there is another (larger) period of time that you spend living your life. And as long as these remain separate, meditation will simply be a daily routine among others.
If all you seek is a bit of calmness. Or modicum of stress relief. Or a taste of mock spirituality—
Then, by all means, carry on.
But if you seek transformation—
If you seek bliss—
Drop meditation!
And become meditative!
When you drive your car, when you do your work, when you wash the dishes, when you put on your clothes, when you brush your teeth, when you slip on your shoes—
Be Meditative.
What do I mean by being Meditative?
Water is a beautiful example of a meditative element. If you pour it into a container, it conforms to the shape of the container. It does not resist the rock. It simply flows over and around it. It is meditative because it gives itself entirely to the situation in which it finds itself. And by giving itself to everything, and resisting nothing, it encounters no conflict. No trepidation.
Be Meditative. Lose yourself in the act that you are carrying out.
When you brush your teeth, feel the rhythm of the strokes. When you put on your clothes, feel the texture of the fabric. When you make the bed, snap the sheet and watch it ripple. When you drive to work, feel the rolling sensation as your car accelerates down the hill. When you do your work, watch the hands as they caress the slippery black keys on the keyboard.
Allow it all to be a dance. And your life will be one as well.
In doing this, you will have no need to meditate. For your very life will be a meditation.
In doing this, you will venture beyond your mind and become available to instinct. And when your work is carried out by the hand of instinct, it will be a masterpiece.
There is no need to go to an ashram, a church, or a temple. Or for silent retreats. Or for holy books or sermons.
Such things are for those in search of prescriptions. An antidote. A smoky, green potion. Such things are for those who are looking to be shown The Way. Such things are for those enamored by form.
They are not for the serious. They are not for the sincere. For, if you are sincere, you will drop the words of others and take matters into your own hands.
And you will not do so when the time is right. You will not do so when the moon is in a particular orbit. Or when your sensibilities are ripe. Or when you feel a sudden urge.
You will do so right. This. Minute.
You will drop this side-job, this hobby, this concept of ten minutes of daily meditation.
And you will become Meditative.
Why would you possibly have the need for these glossy magazine subscriptions if your very life is a masterful example of that which they espouse? Of what use is meditation to a person whose very life is a meditation?
In becoming Meditative, you will not be acquiring things. But losing them.
In becoming Meditative, you will not become more. But less.
You will float not toward somethingness. But nothingness.
In becoming Meditative, you will lose yourself.
And in losing the self that you have forever believed yourself to be, you will find the one you have been searching for all along.
Featured photo credit: Nickolai Kashirin via flickr.com
