How to start meditating?
Some idea about meditation may stop you even before starting. Therefore you better see it as what is always present in your mind, like the blue sky even above the clouds.
To meditate is actually very easy.
You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to try to meditate. You don’t have to try not to meditate. Just think the thoughts that you are thinking right at the moment when you want to start a meditation. Any thoughts. Don’t push yourself into anything. Do not draw yourself out of anything. You are perfectly allowed to think anything you want. You see, it’s not what you are thinking or not thinking that forms the meditation. It’s also not the fact that you are thinking or not thinking that makes up the meditation.
What makes the meditation then, is what lies behind your thinking,
that what happens behind your thinking, or beneath, or in between your thoughts. And that happens in the most natural way. It’s always there. The only thing to do for you, is to become aware that something is happening behind – or underneath your usual thoughts. You don’t need to become aware of what it is. Just try to feel a bit that something is there – and it’s not your thoughts themselves.
Then – what is it? Meditators speak of thoughtless thinking. Well. That’s precisely it.
The image of a cloudless blue sky may make it easier to grasp. There is something, namely the sky – but there are no things to grasp, no clouds. Meditation is about thoughtless thinking – with a twist. Many meditators try to stop their thoughtful thinking in order to access this realm of thoughtless thinking. That’s a pity – because stopping your thoughts is very difficult. The human mind is not made to do so. It wants to have its thoughts. OK. Let it have its thoughts. It’s not the thoughts that are important in meditation. Just try to get the feeling that they are not the only things that are present in your mind as a whole. When you have some time, just sit down and grant yourself the feeling that more is there. – The always present sky between and above the clouds in your mind. – You will see it’s not difficult to get this feeling. And it’s the perfect start for your path into meditation. Just becoming aware that there is a realm of thoughtless thinking behind your thoughtful thinking, is enough. Not only at the start of meditation, but during your whole path towards an accomplished meditator. If you have heard of the importance of beginner’s mind, this is it.
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