Most of us are drawn to meditation practice because we realize that we're anxious, stressed out, depressed. We want all that mess to go away so we can be happy. We hope to use this technique like a scalpel to excise the irritants from our lives. But, meditation practice does not work like that. In fact, we'll actually see reality with increasing clarity. Like anything else in life, when we lack the skills to deal with a situation eg skiing down a black diamond slope, we're scared & very reasonably, highly resistant. However, with expert instruction & practice, we gradually look forward to & actually enjoy black diamond runs. Likewise, qualitymeditation instruction & life-long practice helps us develop skills to negotiate all the slopes of life, from bunny hills to back-country trails, with awareness, kindness & joy. More about Challenges & Misconceptions: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=misconceptions and "Meditation is Powerful": http://www.johnlovas.com/2014/02/meditation-is-powerful.html
When one starts practicing Mindfulness meditation, it's a bit like taking a mini-vacation to a far-off land, where everything is different. When the few minutes of practice end, vacation's over, & it's back to "the real world". Meditation practice may thus initially seem like a brief escape to a pleasant, idealistic never-never land. Too many of us, out of fear, firmly believe (& behave accordingly) that survival in the "real world" demands a very different proactively aggressive approach. A popular poster in the 1970s showed a cave-man-like brute carrying a huge club, with the caption: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall
fear no evil, because I'm the meanest son-of-a-bitch in the valley." The practical necessity of primitive brutishness, and therefore, impracticality of an evolved approach like mindfulness is a surprisingly common, deeply-heldmisconception. Furthermore, stress, like ethanol, can instantly shut down evolved judgment (prefrontal cortex), and suddenly we react (brain stem) as primitively as our cave-dwelling ancestors or cornered wild animals.
People are drawn to meditation practice when they recognize that their usual approach is failing to bring them deep, lasting meaning & satisfaction. People continue withmeditation practice when they experience how effective it is.
Mindfulness is a universal human capacity that fosters clear thinking & openheartedness. The goal of mindfulness is to maintain awareness moment by moment, gradually & progressively developing a greater sense of emotional balance &
well-being.Ludwig DS, Kabat-Zinn J. "Mindfulness in Medicine." JAMA
2008; 300(11): 1350-2.
If meditation is practical & powerful for the people in the documentary below, it can work in your world.
