Are we missing a core point of meditation?

As a sixty-year-old woman who has been on the spiritual path my entire adult life, I’ve tried lots of meditation styles. For the record, I like most of them. But some just ‘feel’ better and easier to drop in and access a sense of calm. That got me curious, so I began asking other people if they meditate.

Most people said they’ve tried, they know they should, but they can’t quiet their mind, so they consider themselves a failure at meditating. The ones who stick with it seem to do so by brute force. Like slaying an unknown dragon that only a choice few are capable of.

Every person thinks that they alone are faulty for having an unruly mind. Thoughts that get even crazier during meditation time. It seems everyone else can do it successfully so something must be wrong with them. After hearing this from hundreds of people, I finally realized that people think the point of meditation is to quiet the mind.

That’s a lovely benefit that comes with practice, but I don’t think it’s the core point.

Zen meditation is about learning how to not think, a practice of “thinking about not thinking”, and learning to focus inward.

Thích Nhất Hạnh, a Buddhist monk and teacher of mindfulness spent 95 years teaching his students to be present while doing the dishes, folding laundry, or any activity. He even taught walking meditation. 

“When we walk like we are rushing, we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth. Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.” Thich Nhat Hanh

That’s some badass mindfulness.

While there’s more than one way to practice mindfulness, the goal of any approach is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. This allows the mind to refocus on the present moment.

Why?

Because the present moment is where all the goods are. What kind of ‘goods’ you might wonder? I wondered that too! And this is what helped me realize the core point of meditation is to connect to that part of us that is beyond our physical self, while also being every part of our physical self. Our Soul, or Higher Self, or Source of Life. It doesn’t matter what you call it. It very much matters that you DO call it.

Beyond propagating the species, the prime directive of a human being is to bridge the gap between our humanity and our divinity. To align our Higher Self with our human self. To return fear to Love for the purpose of living in the frequency of Love. It’s a thing. This is the whole point of Life. This field of Love is bigger than sentimental or romantic love, but rather a dynamic presence always within your reach. Love is the entire fabric of the Universe.

So, I got to thinking…Meditation is really about aligning with the energy of Love. And Light carries Love in the physical. What if mediation is all about liberating the Love that you already are?

Here’s how I parse that out in my mind…

If my Higher Self is already the Whole of Love, and my Higher Self extends Herself as me in this physical form, then I can only be Love too. As some spiritual traditions have said, “It’s not about finding Love, but about removing the barriers within to Love.” My Higher Self helps me do this (when I ask). My lower human mind has no idea how to do this. 

If I don’t parse it out like this, my mind will convince me that I’m not worthy of ‘being Love’, for a never-ending list of reasons.

Did you know that inside every atom of your being is an electron, and that electron is Light which carries the frequency of Love (as measured by Hertz)? You and I have 100 trillion cells, inside every single cell are 100 trillion atoms. In every atom is that electron. I’m not a math girl, but even I can tell that’s a LOT of Love. You and I are walking, talking Light shows.

We can’t escape the Love that we are.

Full stop.

Envisioning Light within makes it easier to accept.

What if meditation at the core, is about this very connection to Love? Yes, it helps to settle our mind in order to feel that connection, but what if settling our mind isn’t the end game?

I decided to stop beating myself up for not being ‘good’ at having a quiet, thought-free mind during meditation, and began just doing my best, the simple practice of being present without judgment, because all practice makes for progress.

Behind those curtains of self-judgment is Love, patiently waiting for us to notice Her.

In my morning routine I meditate, then the rest of my day is a walking, breathing, washing dishes kind of mindfulness meditation with invitations of Light to wash through me that happens to open the door to Love when I’m not looking. Then I both celebrate and normalize it as how moments are meant to be. Even the moments when I’m irritated as hell, or sad, or hungry…all facets of Love in the physical. As I remain present, it floats on by to a different moment. That’s called Living.

Living is what every heart seeks.

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Ms. Morse holds a master’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and a degree in Art and the Creative Process and is a Certified Intentional Creativity Teacher. For the past 30 years, she has been the Director of Holistic Health Services in San Diego, the founder and director of the Sacred Health Academy, an online educational journey dedicated to reclaiming health and wholeness, and is the author of two best-selling books: “The Art of Returning to Love: How to Show Fear and Stress the Exit and HEAL”, and “Reverse Heart Disease Naturally: The Woman's Guide to Not Die before Your Time.” For more visit https://www.CreatetoHEALStudio.com