Why Meditation Might Not Be Working For You

We’ve all heard that meditation is the path to enlightenment. Is that true? Do we have to meditate, practice yoga or "be in the now" to reach enlightenment? If these practices are working for you, by all means continue. But what if they just don’t appeal to you or don’t seem to work for you? Should you give up or feel like a failure? Are these the only ways to experience the Divine?
Know that you’re not alone if spiritual practices are difficult or even impossible for you. A recent study on the benefits of meditation reported in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, reported that 54% of the participants felt more anxious when meditating. This can especially be true for someone who’s hyperactive or has ADD. If you’re among the 54%, take heart in the knowledge that there are as many ways to experience Ultimate Reality as there are people.
If you are involved in a spiritual practice, there are several issues to keep in mind. You might be interested in meditation, yoga or being in the now for the relaxation or physical and emotional benefits involved. But if you began a practice with the goal of spiritual growth, you don’t want to get sidetracked by the practice. Spiritual practice is a means, not an end. Unfortunately some seekers become so tangled up in the practice, they forget the goal that got them started. Let’s look at a few common pitfalls:
Perfecting the practice can take all our attention. Striving for perfection is extremely appealing to the ego. The ego would like to convince us it’s more important to <a href="http://www.dragonmanialegendshackcheats.top/" target="_blank" >love this website</a> be able to sit perfectly still for 12 hours than experience the Divine while we’re <a href="http://www.wwesupercardhackcheats.club/" target="_blank" >click this site</a> taking a walk. The ego also likes to feel superior and would gladly do what it can to impress others who are also trying to perfect their skills. Trying to perfect a practice can lead us to pushing harder and harder to force the experience, or it can leave us with devastating feelings of failure or the mistaken idea that we’re unworthy.
Specific practices can be limiting. We may be working with a guru or teacher because they’ve experienced the Divine. But an ancient Tibetan proverb cautions us, “A guru is like a fire. If you get too close, you get burned. If you stay too far away, you don’t get enough heat. A sensible moderation is recommended.” A guru may insist on a specific practice because it worked for them, but that’s their path, not ours. We can <a href="http://www.killshotbravohackcheats.top/" target="_blank" >more information</a> also become too comfortable being a follower instead of forging our own spiritual path. Remember that it’s impossible to experience the Divine through another person. At some point we must trust ourselves and experience the Divine in our own way.
Spiritual practice can give the mistaken impression that we have to purify ourselves. Most religions and many spiritual practices assume that we need to either prepare or purify ourselves before we can experience the Divine. Spiritual sages who have had a direct, personal experience of the Divine teach that preparation is unnecessary; the Divine accepts us exactly as we are. Perhaps so many practices and rituals have been developed because we feel uncomfortable or undeserving.
Surprisingly, addiction to the “spiritual experience” is one of the biggest pitfalls we can encounter. Spiritual practice can lead to intense feelings of bliss and produce visions that can easily become addictive. The experience can be overwhelming and so blissful; we want to repeat it again and again. Some meditators become so caught up in experience, their original goal is forgotten and they mistake the experience for the Divine. Scientists have discovered that the pineal gland can produce a psychedelic drug known as DMT (dimethyltryptamine) during intense meditation that may account for the addictive nature of these experiences. Spiritual masters value the experience but realize the experience is a only a transient part of their connection with the Divine.
Our attitude is far more important than our actions. We can spend a lifetime perfecting a spiritual practice, but if our mind remains closed to the voice of the Divine, we haven’t reached our goal. It’s our willingness to let go of our social conditioning, our preconceived notions and our attachments and aversions, which allows us to hear the voice of the Divine. Only then can we stop telling God and start listening. Happily, this is a path that accommodates itself to each of us and opens the way for all of us to experience Ultimate Reality in our own way. As Rumi observed, “You are—we all are—the beloved of the Beloved, and in every moment, in every event of your life, the beloved is whispering to you exactly what you need to hear and know.”
Copyright 2011 Lee and Steven Hager