Already Dropped Your Meditation Resolution?

 

01.13.2022 ALREADY DROPPED YOUR MEDITATION RESOLUTION? “How can we possibly meet all of the demands of modern life?” asks Vinny Ferraro, senior faculty of Mindful Schools, in his Lion’s Roar piece, “Too Busy to Meditate?” “How do we prioritize spiritual practice within our schedules? And can we find other places in our lives where we practice just being?” Good questions! We’re all so busy and perhaps overwhelmed these days. So if you’ve dropped your New Year’s resolution to meditate more, take heart: our series of “Meditation Hacks” by Buddhist teachers and thinkers will help you stay committed to your practice or find new ways to practice if the old habits aren’t serving you anymore. This collection answers questions such as what to do when you don’t like meditating, how to work with overwhelming emotions that come up, and finding the balance between not trying hard enough and trying too much. They’ll give you insight into how to keep at your meditation practice. Plus, plenty of fresh resolve. —Ross Nervig, Associate Editor, Lion’s Roar

Too Busy to Meditate? As part of our #MeditationHacks series, Vinny Ferraro, senior faculty of Mindful Schools, instructs a parent too busy to maintain a meditation practice, asking: Are there moments in your day when you could check in with yourself? I feel stretched thin. I have a full-time job and young children to look after. Plus, I always try get enough sleep and exercise, stay informed, and be an active citizen. I can’t seem to find enough time to meditate. Vinny Ferraro: How can we possibly meet all of the demands of modern life? We can’t do everything, and we can’t do much without some downtime. Otherwise, our heads can feel like they’re spinning as fast as the world around us.

Not Enlightened Yet? It’s when we lose the illusion of control — when we’re most vulnerable and exposed — that we can discover the creative potential of our lives. Pema Khandro Rinpoche explains four essential points for understanding what it means to let go, and what is born when we do. At times like this, if we can gain freedom from the eternal grasping onto who I am and how things are — our default mode — then we can get to the business of being. Until now, we have been holding on to the idea of an inherent continuity in our lives, creating a false sense of comfort for ourselves on artificial ground. By doing so, we have been missing the very flavor of what we are.

Overwhelmed by Emotions? Author and lay Zen teacher Susan Moon is asked: “Should I stop meditating when emotions begin to overwhelm me?” I’m afraid of the intense emotions that come up when I am meditating. Sometimes I feel deep sadness and other times I’m taken over by anger. Should I stop meditating when emotions begin to overwhelm me, or are there ways to work with them in meditation? Susan Moon: The quiet space of meditation can be an open house for troubled thoughts and feelings, who enter uninvited and take advantage of the captive audience of my mind. When this happens to me, I find that it’s what I then say to myself—the judgments, the self-blame—that does the damage. I try to remember my bumper sticker that says, “Don’t believe everything you think.”

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