1. The habit is more important than the ritual. I don't have a fancy setup, i don't sit down on the floor, i don't do mantras, i don't count my breathes or how long i breathe for. I sit on a chair, put a calm playlist on, let my brain run free. It hurts, but it works.
2. People tell me their main objection to giving it a go is they're afraid of what might surface. But this is entirely the point of meditating, to see whatever repressed feelings are unresolved. On that note...
3. Meditation for me is the art of being a little bit less afraid. And of feeling a little bit less hurt. And of normalising pain. And of understanding where our ego is coming from. We're so curious about the world, we forget to be curious about ourselves.
4. I started with 10 minutes, then 15, 20, now at 25 (soon i might move to 30). I couldn't imagine starting with 30 minutes, but now i barely see the time flying and couldn't go back to 10. It's the runner's high for people who don't like running (✋).
5. A colleague's suicide helped me double down on why i wanted to meditate and process how i was feeling about it, and say goodbye. As a result, since hearing the news i've cried every single time i meditate. This sounds awful, but it's the best thing i could have hoped for.
6. Over time, my brain started shifting from daily anxieties to very old ones. I think school, past emotional traumas, my relationship with father figures. I have become convinced that most of our current emotional pain is a reminder of very old pain. This is hugely liberating.
7. The short term hurt of meditating (and crying) as soon as i get out of bed is completely worth the release i have before the day even starts. It gives me clarity, perspective and a renewed sense of freedom. My days run better. This is worth any short term 'hit'.
8. It's a cliché to say most of our problems stem from our childhood, but i've become convinced it's not a question of "do they", but "how do they". There are things i didn't think were a big deal that now make me cry. This is useful. We repress more emotions than we think.
9. If you can sit down for 5 minutes and listen to a song you like, uninterrupted, without doing anything else at the same time, i count that as meditation. You don't need a Headspace subscription if you have a Spotify subscription. Honestly. (Though Headspace is ace too.)
10. If you're stressed that you're "doing meditation wrong", this misses the point. The point is that whatever you do, and whatever happens, is good enough for that moment in time. We need to remind ourselves of this more often. "Being more" is easier than "being enough".
PS: i have no intention of saying everyone should meditate. But i will say this: as someone who's struggled with anxiety and depression most of my life, it matters to know where some of those feelings are actually coming from. (And it's rarely the reasons we immediately think.)
PPS: yes, in classic strategist form, i am working on ways to reframe my own emotional problems. But then again this is what good therapy does too. A taboo for another time.
