A Teaching:

Meditation is the way of letting go. In meditation you let go of the complex world outside in order to reach a powerful peace within.

Meditation is the path to a pure and empowered mind.

The experience of this pure mind, released from the world, is incredibly blissful. It is a bliss better than sex.

Ajahn Brahm: Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond: A Meditator’s Handbook

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A Truth:

A pure and empowered mind . . . powerful peace within . . . a bliss better than sex. Yes! I want that! I’ve touched the blissful, powerful peace within but only for a moment or two. And never during meditation.

I’ve attempted to create a meditation practice. I even wrote an entire post about how meditation helps ADHD, where meditation originated, and why the practice is so beneficial.

But I haven’t stuck to a daily practice. Why? Probably because I haven’t separated from my thoughts enough to experience the transcendental bliss serious meditators talk about.

Dedicated meditators are not just reaping the benefits of better sleep, focus, and centeredness. They’re going beyond the mind and the body’s senses into the inner realm of stillness, silence, and deep insight. They have a powerful, peaceful place available to them whenever they want; that is, whenever they meditate.

I don’t have that. And I’ve realized that meditation is a critical missing piece in my spiritual practice.

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A Take-away:

Ajahn Brahm points out that deep meditation requires effort and skill regardless of whether you’re a monk, nun, or first-time meditator. The effort is to let go of everything. There’s no past to carry around and no future to speculate or worry about. Meditation is about being in the now — the present moment. The skill is maintaining the effort to master each stage of meditation, step by step.

There are different types of meditation such as transcendental, kundalini, zen, and primordial sound, to name a few. But they all revolve around the same objective — to transcend the thinking mind and access the silence and stillness within.

For an easy-to-read and practical guide on the types of meditation and which one may be right for you, check out this Healthline article.

My intention for 2022 is to learn about and practice different meditation techniques until I find one that feels right for me. And I’m committed to showing up morning and evening for meditation.

I’m beginning with Ajahn Brahm’s, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond: A Meditator’s Handbook. If you’re interested you can get your copy here:

I want (need) access to the door of bliss whenever I want. Don’t you? What if meditation is the key?

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Photo was taken by me in Brentwood, TN, January 2022