I know meditation doesn’t sound fun. It doesn’t even sound fun to me, and I’ve been meditating since I was ten. Of course, it began for me as something relatively interesting in what had—to that point of my life—been a lot of long boring Sundays spent in church. From Southern Baptist Sunday School teachings that Jesus was from Florida, and memorizing the Ten Commandments and all the worst possible sins we should avoid, going to a church that led us through a meditation was a really nice change of pace. Just to give some reference. Of course I became a fan.
But I also still roll my eyes when anyone touts meditation as the answer to everything. It’s true, meditation does open you up to a lot of answers. Mostly, it gets you comfortable sitting with the questions, with the not-yet-answers, and I think this distinction is where it can be easy to lose motivation.
Meditation offers a space of acceptance and stillness. When we get comfortable in this space, then we are more open when the answers do come. Many people I’ve worked with expect the answers to come flooding in, and when they don’t come during the meditation, they want to give up. They think “its not working” or “I’m doing it wrong.” The meditation is a clearing of space. The answers don’t always show up right away, but setting the intention of listening, telling the universe or God what questions we’d like answered, and saying thank you for showing me the way…that is what we do with meditation. And the answers do come. They come in unexpected moments that sometimes stop me in my tracks and make me laugh out loud like a crazy person.
The truth is that nothing much is expected to happen while you meditate. The seas will not part, and the lightening bolt of sudden insight and inspiration is not going to shoot down from the sky and whisper on your ear. I mean it totally could happen, but you should probably go in with lower expectations. When you simply open yourself up to contemplation—then you create a space within yourself for the inspiration to come. For me, I find that it comes at a random moment—while sitting in traffic, checking the mail, washing dishes.
Meditation, to me, is a willingness to sit with the questions. We can do this in many ways, beyond traditional “meditation”. You do not need to be in the lotus position, on a dedicated meditation cushion, with incense-scented air and binaural beats. If this is relaxing to you, great. But just like some people are happier running as a workout than on a yoga mat, there are also “meditation” exercises for those who would rather…not.
Take a 30 minute walk with no music, no podcast, no device at all. Or a run, or go for an hour, you get the idea. Ideally get outside. Notice how much you notice. It’s really incredible. This is really great on a treadmill or indoor bike as well, just without the added benefit of nature. Get moving and don’t distract your mind in the process.
Wash the dishes by hand, no distractions. Again, no podcast or music. Just wash.
Sit still for 20 minutes and do nothing. That’s it, that’s the meditation. Just sit. You don’t have to close you eyes or clear your mind, but you also don’t get any outside entertainment or distractions. Just sit there.
And now MY FAVORITE of all. Take 100 pieces of paper, black paint and a brush. Or it can be 100 notecards and a sharpie. Spend no more than 30 seconds on each piece and just paint what you will. Then move on to the next sheet. Don’t really think about it too much, just get into the flow of it. You will get more insight and inspiration from a practice like this than you will from all the self-help books out there.
Drive around with the music/podcast/audiobook off. Just drive. This is so great, trust me. So many ideas come during a good silent drive. (* please note that I wrote this when living in a rural area and not in South Florida. IF you live in crazy traffic and an interstate jungle then I dont really recommend this as much)
I do all of these, except the sitting still for 20 minutes—if I’m going to have the time to do that then I go ahead and do a traditional meditation. I wash the dishes by hand every day, if I get the chance to go for a run I usually leave my phone behind, and one of my favorite exercises in the world is the free flowing black and white paintings. And if i’m ever in a car without my kids, you can bet at least part of it is spent in silence. Consciously carving out these moments of silence—of boredom, even—can work wonders on your creativity, your inspiration, and your personal roadmap forward.