Integral Salon - Let's Talk Meditation
This month at the Integral Salon we will be sitting down in a circle and having an open conversation about meditation led by our own Logan Beaux. As an intensely serious meditator at times and a non-meditator at others, I, for one, am eager for the opportunity to speak frankly about the many benefits and challenges that having a regular meditation practice presents. All are welcome. Please join us. For more info read Logan's invite below and visit the Meetup page here.
From Logan:
Why is a meditation practice so hard to stick to? Do you ever tell people you meditate even though you rarely if ever actually do it? For that matter, is meditation even "worth it?" What's so great about it, anyway?
If you're anything like me, you think about these questions a lot. As curious thinkers and, ideally, doers, who have stepped into integral waters, we encounter plenty of advanced spiritual teachers encouraging us to embrace a sustained spiritual practice.
And I'll be honest. If I could snap my fingers and instantly be someone who had meditated 2 hours a day for 30 years, I'd probably do it. But it's the getting from here to there that gives me pause. And I start to think to myself, you know, a ton of people live successful, satisfying, fulfilling, kind lives without meditating. Maybe other things--losing weight, learning to deal with my shadow reactions, making more money, etc.--would be of more use to me when it comes down to it.
That's how I usually end up justifying it to myself, anyway, haha. And, without pointing any fingers, I know a lot of us well enough to know that many of you have similar stories you tell yourself that keep you from engaging in a sustained meditation practice. Admit it!
Why is that? Why do so many of us supposedly integral people not meditate? Strange, if you think about it, right? For a group of people who embrace a model that gives such high praise to meditation?
I know I'm not alone. Join me. Let's talk about it. I'd love to hear the stories you tell yourself about why you don't meditate. I'd also like you to join me in shining a light on this gap between where we are and where we want to be. And if you do consider yourself a serious meditator, we want to hear from you too! Share with us how and why you stick with it.
For more info on Integral New York's Ken Wilber Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/kenwilber-58/