Why Is It So Hard To Meditate

Meditation is something everyone wants to do but no one knows how.

Like all other things in life, when there are people who want to learn to do something, it gets commercialised.

And meditating is no exception.

Why is it really hard to meditate is because of the concept itself at first place and how it is understood.

Where people stress too much upon doing it.

Whereas meditation can't be done. It happens. It is not a possession or a skill or an art form. It is a state of being.

And the path to reach that state and hold on to it, is more about resistance and less about action.

It's hard to do meditation because it can't be done.

People start meditating for various reasons.

But if you'd ask me. Meditation doesn't calm your mind, it doesn't cure the mental anomalies and disruptions either. Meditation does nothing.

But how often you do nothing everyday?

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Every few minutes my hand would slid inside my pocket, subconsciously, to reach out to my inanimate friend. But in vain.

Earlier this week I forgot my smartphone at home. And I only realised when I reached the Bank.

There was this long queue in front of the counter.

And staring at the walls was difficult, and hearing the voices without context, and the endless waiting and everything else. Difficult, irritating and probably the most annoying thing happened to me this year. 5 minutes felt like 50. Ugh, those 300 minutes.

The people of today's world have fucked up attention spans.

We can't imagine our life without tech and gadgets and something to keep us occupied. Always.

Indolence and boredom, which were looked down upon as a time waste and a hallmark of unproductivity, turned into a virtue. Suddenly.

As people's ability to survive and cope up with them on their own decreased. Drastically.

The minds of our generation crave stimulation of some sort, all the time. Just like an addict craves Heroin.

They have been hard-wired to remain occupied. Because of our years of incessant practice.

On the contrary, meditation is coming out of any kind of physical or mental occupation.

Technically, we are continuously training our minds to run farther away from the so called a meditative state.

Thus, it shouldn't be surprising that it is so hard.

Or we can say that it's too easy to be easy. Devoid of minutest of the challenges.

And hence it is hard because it is easy.

Mind loves the challenges. Overcoming them fills you with the rush and all kinds of feel good hormones.

That's why video games have progressive difficulty levels. To give you a sense of overcoming the challenges and make you enjoy the accomplishments.

Humans need something to pursue. Not having a worthy pursuit to lose ourselves in, is psychologically disturbing for us.

Whereas the meditation is ambitionless.

It doesn't have a purpose. You won't gain any worldly pleasure by achieving that state. It's a journey of loss instead, that starts with losing your ego and ultimately yourself.

But socially we are programmed to win, to fulfill our ambitions. Losing is stressful and depressing.

Losing is deathlike, no one wants to lose.

Making peace with it is hard. And that's why meditation is so hard.

There is no certain way to turn inwards. You can do it with your eyes closed or without. After a bath or before. In the morning sitting in a temple or while emptying your stomach. You can even attain and keep that state alive while living a normal life.

Meditation is not mechanical.

You might certainly improve by keeping your eyes closed and restricting the external stimuli. But there is no process set in stone.

Runners have witnessed the glimpses of meditation while running. And artists while creating art.

Making it mechanical only makes it harder. I feel there is nothing to learn about doing meditation. There is only a need to understand what it actually is.

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Further Reads

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