In the folly of my youth my enthusiasm to work out was tainted by my neurosis and self loathing. Terrified of losing my gains, and as suspicious of the validity of my illness (as only one who was frequently gas lit could be) I pushed myself to run and train. This resulted in stealing what vitality I had from my overworked immune system and all squandering it in utterly ineffective workouts; robbing Peter to pay Paul, and all that. But what has that to do with meditation?
Sitting properly requires a measure of vitality, as does exercising the heroic degrees of vulnerability necessary to practice authentic mindfulness. Not only could pushing ourselves to meditate when we’re ill undermine the important work of our immune system, it could install an clinical aversion to meditation; which would NOT benefit our spiritual journey.
But what are we to do with the guilt and neurosis kicking us out of bed and driving us to the meditation cushion? Without getting up, as you lay on your back or curled up on your side you could permit yourself a brief three breath meditation just to take the edge of off your guilt and neurosis. As you inhale silently and mentally recite the demonstrative pronoun “this.” As you exhale silently and mentally recite one syllable verb “ease!” Doing so could restore enough of your peace to allow you to devote yourself to the important business of getting better.
This frustration of not being able to meditate when you wish could (in and of itself) benefit you, driving you to reconsider your contemplative strategy so that once you’re better you could prioritize the cultivation of the flow state that allows your choices, utterances, and deeds to flow from the effortless effort of love’s centered spontaneity. Doing so we accomplish the true mastery of effort, the sixth fold of the Buddha’s eight-fold path.
Let us conclude
with a simple
call to action
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