Even as I grew to become an overall more spiritual person, for the longest time I didn’t know how to meditate. Well, that was how I used to phrase it. I thought that there was this certain, strict procedure behind meditating. I always thought it had something to do with sitting cross-legged, having my arms stretched out, with my palms on my knees facing upward, along with my middle finger and thumb touching, almost in a replicating a frozen snapping motion. It was that stereotypical, almost comical way of meditating that I’d seen on loads of T.V. shows and sitcoms for years growing up that put those thoughts into my head. So, I think that is why I never approached meditation, nor did I have any faith in it “working” for me.
However, I’ve come to discover a few important concepts. Meditating is just like praying. You keep doing it. You keep working at it. It’s simply for your own benefit, and there truly is no “written in stone” way of doing it. In my view, meditating is any mental AND physical way of centering your thoughts on what you wish them to be centered or focused on. So, that’s why I find music to be such a wonderful accompaniment during this process. It was during my home group AA meeting several weeks back when I learned about this rather liberating approach towards meditation.
Now, I no longer have to dread doing it when someone suggests it to me in times of distress, for instance, since I’ve probably been doing it for all of my adult life! I was even using this same technique in middle school and high school. I think it served as an instinctive survival technique for me. I’ve always been able to completely zone out, close my eyes, put my headphones in, and listen to really compelling music that captures my emotions, affirming where I am at in that moment. And that is how I enjoy meditating. I enjoy soaking up the “now” through meditative affirmations that consist of exactly what I just described. It keeps me grounded, since, and this should be obvious if you’ve been reading my blog, I’m certainly out there basically most of the time!
God bless you all!
Louis Grassi 