When we sit down to meditate, we can often find it difficult to calm our minds. One of the biggest traps meditation practice is thinking that one should have a calm mind during meditation. One of the most important aspects of enjoying meditation is, “…to avoid falling into the trap of defining meditation too narrowly, and then judging yourself based on that definition, and so sabotaging yourself, “ to quote Zen teacher Norman Fisher.
If we self-define what good or bad meditation is, then we will not be open to the entire experience we have in the present moment of meditation, instead we will be stuck in an evaluation or judging mindset - this is good or bad, right or wrong. Meditation is fundamentally about observation and awareness. Are we aware of the thoughts our mind is generating? Are we aware of our feelings? Are we aware of any judgements were making? When we can shift to this wider mindset, we can begin to find real peace, comfort and relaxation.