You've heard about meditation and you want to try it, because it will just make your life better.
In Silicon Valley, meditation is almost a must-have tool to at least try, and it might be very seducing to take the meditation, the mindfulness for the benefit of business efficiency, and the advancement of personal prestige.
Ask yourself: what is your motivation?
I want to stress the importance of the right motive when doing meditation. There is, of course, the motive of feeling healthy, better, happy, prosperous, and there is nothing wrong with it. The point is not to feel guilty about wanting that or achieving that.
However, as I described in other articles, by meditating and living in a more peaceful state, you are doing excellent service not only for yourself but also for others.
For whatever reason you are interested in meditation, you will experience one of the most powerful forces on Earth, the human mind.
Part of why I created this site was to offer guidance to the art of meditation, that is respectful for the practice as it comes from the East, but also doesn’t stand in dogma; it is something that can be practiced by regular people like you and me in the Western culture. This is why I also go into more context about not only showing you how to meditate but also explaining a little bit of history and how you can make it your own in a way that wouldn’t be damaging to you.
I do not require you to hold any specific beliefs; I just want you to get more clear about why you want to meditate. What’s your motivation?
Rubbing wood before it is lit
Many ancient masters, including the founder of the Japanese school of Soto Zen, held that only those who could devote their full efforts to cultivation could achieve enlightenment through meditation. In the ancient texts, Sutras compare such practitioners to those who rub two pieces of wood together but stop to rest before a fire is lit.
I can’t show you how to achieve enlightenment or some “superman state” through meditation, nor is it something I would personally recommend to be your answer to why you are starting meditation. We are not monks and nuns, we have our lives and responsibilities that leave us with some amount of time to practice meditation.
Meditation is simple, yet hard to practice
What I intend to show you is that meditation is in fact, very simple, although it might be hard to practice. To practice repeatedly or consistently. However, as the old masters said, practicing only on weekends is helpful (as every meditation is helpful), but you will get the most effects when you meditate regularly.
I am here to help you commit to the first seven days. Just for seven days, you can put aside a little bit of your time to meditate, and after that, you can see for yourself. No strings attached.
Before starting the meditation practice, try to be more explicit about why you want to meditate.
