My 2 Cents on Meditation

Is meditation just new age kool aid? Is this another case of white people culture vulture-ing any and everything that is "exotic" and "spiritual"?

Even if meditation is just cool and trendy at the moment, I'm all for it. We could solve a lot of problems if we all learned about and practiced meditation. To me, meditation is the lack of effort. It is tapping into the state of just being. It's like being on the level of our cats and dogs. Are they trying very hard? No dude. They are licking their actual butt. They are chasing their tail. They are "SQUIRREL!" and how beautiful is that? Do you ever get jealous of your pets because they don't have to work a job or balance the checkbook or cook a dinner? What if you could tap into that simple, sweet stupidity whenever you wanted??

Here's the thing -- humans are just little animals running around with opposable thumbs, coffee, cars and consciousness. We are made of the same exact organic matter as any other earth creature, yet we seem to separate ourselves and do whatever we can to be sophisticated, sterile, busy and complicated. We basically live in a perpetual state of stimulation and incoming messages and agendas in the form of advertisements, social media posts, emails, bulletins, assignments, movies, tiktoks, projects, plans... It is AGGRESSIVE.

It is more important than ever to find ways to connect to the sweet simple stupid being-ness that is our birth right.

So how do we connect to that being-ness? You don't have to perfect a breathing technique or buy a fancy yoga mat or cushion. All you have to do is slow the fuck down and witness the phenomenon that is happening to you. Witness your thoughts, feelings, what you can see, taste, smell and feel. Focus on the sensations in your body. For some reason, it really helps me to focus on my tailbone. It gives me this immediate feeling of grounded-ness and peace. I notice the sensation of contact between my body and my chair or bed or couch or whatever and allow myself to sink in and feel held. I'm not going to lie, it isn't always easy to tap into this state. It's counter intuitive because it is a lack of effort and we are always trying to be perfect at everything. You might need to take a nap or exercise or journal some of the junk in your brain out first. But the more you practice this state of simple being-ness, the easier it will be to tap into.

I invite you to unplug, slow the fuck down, shut the fuck up and enjoy the simple bliss of doing nothing today. Brownie points if you do nothing in nature. Feel the wind on your face and in your hair and let it blow away your troubles and remind you that you belong to the Earth first. Try not to get attached to your thoughts. Watch them come and go like cars going down the street. Yes, some of those cars are really loud and obnoxious (VRROOOOOOOM VROOOM!!!!), but it's just a stupid car, it really has nothing to do with you and it will pass. Remember your brain is basically a weird fish swimming in sauce firing off random neurons. It doesn't define or own you.

BIG IMPORTANT CAVEAT -- if you have experienced trauma, especially physical assault or abuse, your body may not feel like a safe place to be. It can be extra difficult to meditate and it isn't always the right approach or self care method. When we feel dissociated or triggered, we may be better off holding a nice cold ice cube in our palm, taking a shower or doing some vigorous exercise. Always defer to the advice of a professional if you work with a trauma informed practitioner!

Another caveat -- there is research that shows that certain meditations can actually induce a state of psychosis. These are long, transcendental type of meditations rather than grounding meditations though. It is worth mentioning in case any of my readers have a history of schizophrenia or derealization/depersonalization in their bloodline! Grounding meditations only for you beauties. One last caveat -- for some people, meditating by being still doesn't really work for them. Some people have to focus on a task or activity like taking a walk, cooking a meal, painting, or even dancing or stretching. I invite you to play around and see what works for you. This is also why flow arts are so beneficial like hula-hooping and spinning poi! The artist is seeking to tap into a state of "flow" where they are in harmony with the music and their prop and their body and all thinking ends. We all deserve bliss. We all deserve peace. We all deserve to zoom out and know that at the end of the day, it's not that big of a fucking deal, whatever it is that is on our minds and bogging us down. We are made of literal stardust and as long as we aren't hurting anyone, there is really no right or wrong way to live a life. We belong here.