Meditation

The first thing I do each morning is meditate for half an hour.  It's something I've been doing for the past 25 years of my recovery.

Why did I start doing it?  Because in the 12-steps there's line that says "sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God..."

Now I've known how to pray since I was a child.  I was in church every weekend and sometimes in the middle of the week.  We did a lot of praying out in the Oregon countryside where I lived for seven years as a boy.

But I never saw anyone meditating that I know of.  I didn't even know what the word meant.  And when I joined AA I still didn't know.

So I joined a Trancendental Meditation group and learned how to meditate.  I practiced that discipline up until about six years ago when I switched to Vipassana meditation.  Eventually I took a year-long course and became certified as a meditation instructor.  Finally I knew what meditation was about and it was much simpler than I thought.  So simple that I'll share it with you here.

Find a quiet place to sit, either on a cushion or chair.  Close your eyes and focus on your breath as it goes in and out of your nostrils.  As you breathe you'll find that your mind will wander to the thoughts crossing your mind.  Simply observe the thoughts and let them pass.  Don't judge them, simply accept them and let them pass.

Then return to observe your breath.  It's that simple.  No goal, no expectation.   There's no good meditation.  No bad meditation.  So don't judge yourself.  Accept what you see in your thoughts.

It is its own reward.

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