Putting Meditation to a 30 Day Test

My 30 Days of Meditation

Although I’ve been a meditator since 1994, my practice has been spotty and inconsistent. I've managed 30 years of a committed daily yoga practice, a highly disciplined art-making practice but meditation no. For the first few years I was diligent but then I would miss a few days and before I knew it, I'd missed an entire month. Despite my regular return to the practice, there were even times I’ve even missed entire years. I’ve been a so-so meditator.

Since 2013 I tightened up my practice - and I’m not sure what prompted me to do so - but still it was only 3-5 times a week at best. Last summer I began listening to Dan Harris’ 10% happier podcast - which I highly recommend - and it has helped remind me of the value of meditation.

Last month I decided to commit to meditating for 30 days. After all these years trying to be a “good” meditator and feeling badly about my inconsistency, I wanted to be reminded of the evidence - is it really is worth my time after all? Is it really worth prioritizing in the face of the hundreds of things I try to do everyday? And is it worth feeling badly about missing?

I began Nov 30 with the intention of meditating everyday through the end of December. I made my goal reasonable and easy to attain - each meditation could be just 10 minutes a day if that was all I was able to find time for. Typically I aim for 20 minutes twice a day since I practice Transcendental Meditation and that’s customary for the TM practice.

As it turned out, I meditated once for 20 minutes for 23 days, 4 of the days I meditated for 20 minutes twice a day and 3 of the days I meditated once for 10 minutes.

And.... the results?
While the effects of meditation are subtle and do not take the form of sweeping cinematic changes, they are noteworthy. This list didn't require deep consideration, each benefit was obvious to me.

I’ve noticed that I am less overwhelmed and seem to be able to take my ideas further. In my life overwhelm has always been a problem for me. I have no shortage of ideas, motivation or ability but my success is often thwarted by the overwhelming details.

I’m less defensive and more able to listen, also more able to receive help.

I notice other’s strengths in situations where I haven’t before. This also has the side effect of recognizing my own strengths, some of which I’d previously seen as faults such as being “too” sensitive.

Life just feels more manageable. In fact this is the one positive side-effect I’ve always noticed even when my meditation practice has been spotty, if I’m meditating at least 3 times a week, everything just goes better.

I see solutions and change seems less daunting. For example, 3 months ago I was convinced that I would need to leave my partner in work and love. For the last year things have been not easy and we finally acknowledged that maybe this wasn’t the most life-giving situation. But over the last month, solutions have arisen, doors have opened and we’ve both appreciated and noted aspects of each other and our connection that we just hadn’t realized the value of previously. Probably that would have happened with or without meditation but I’m sure it didn’t hurt and that it did help.

So, having passed December 31, I have concluded that it’s well worth it and I'm adopting daily meditation as one of the daily practices I DO keep up.

If you are interested in meditation but aren’t sure how to get started, I recommend taking a look at @ericvancewalton’s recent post with some step by step guidance:
https://steemit.com/life/@ericvancewalton/my-new-year-s-gift-to-you

If you're already a meditator or if you give it a try, what are your experiences?