Meditation is a complex art form. It consists of skills within skills and challenges within challenges. All of them are valuable as they train your mind to work more smoothly and effectively.
An important task is probably the most difficult. They all come from different backgrounds and personalities, so maybe you find this easier than others. Having said that, most of you will struggle with this at first.
It is not holding your attention steady.
It is not quieting your mind in a relaxed and easy way.
What is? It is nothing less than accepting your thoughts without judgment.
Judging your own experience is human. It is even useful, I will not deny it. But most, if not all, of their suffering comes from this place.
At some point in your childhood you experienced a series of sensations. Someone said you looked angry (and cut yourself off and perk up). At that moment, his young mind labeled a feeling as anger and accepted a judgment on it.
This happened throughout his life. Sensations were paired with labels and judgments because that’s what society told you.
There are cultures where anger is seen as a character flaw and others where it is a sign of a strong spirit.
You may not think that this labeling and judgment applies to everything. After all, babies cry at the slightest annoyance, let alone pain. Surely we can agree that bread is a bad thing.
Maybe. And yet, how you respond to pain changes how it feels. As Buddhism teaches us:
Bread is unavoidable. Suffering is optional.
You do not believe me? The entire S&M culture thinks very differently about bread. They experience the sensation and then judge it in their own way.
This is what is so challenging about this. We are used to judging, labeling and evaluating our experience. Is this pain worth checking out? Am I hungry or am I just tired? What would make this meal even better?
It’s hard enough suspending judgment about physical things. Thoughts are abstract. Separating them from your judgments is not easy.
However, this is worth it. Imagine losing all the negativity around an experience. No one is freer than someone who genuinely loves their prison.
What is the technique to accept your own thoughts?
radical acceptance.
Whatever floats in your mind is good, proper, and perfect.
When you meditate, you don’t want a bunch of distracting thoughts, but you don’t want to violently repress your thoughts. As always, you release your thoughts in a calm and gentle way.
Do this while accepting your thoughts for what they are and you will unlock incredible wisdom.
