Life is Meditation
Practicing Transcendental Meditation now for over 2 decades I finally understand what is means that life is the meditation.
Why?
The discipline it takes to sit everyday for 20 minutes in silence is a habit that translates to all areas of life.
When I started my TM practice 23 years ago I felt like I "had" to. I was looking for a healthier way to manage my mind and emotions. I am a passionate triple LEO with a strong personality and opinions!
Now I "get" to do my TM practice.
Meditation really isn't a "doing" anyway. It's actually about sitting with self, observing thought, emotion, story, etc. and realizing we are none of it. We are much more. Once we "get" this, we start to see life differently...and experience life differently.
Examples include: we show up calm instead of activated; we respond instead of react; we think before we speak; we look at emotions as messengers rather than excuses to "act out"; we are present, in the moment, not distracted / controlled by past or future.
The list is endless.
What we learn / experience sitting in meditation begins to merge with our life.
By this I mean: when we are meditating, we are meditating. When we are playing, we are playing. When we are working, we are working. When we are in relationship, talking and engaging, that's what we are doing.
Whatever we are "doing" gets our full, 100% attention. We are present. Meditation teaches us how to be present in our life.
Many think meditation is woo woo. It is not. Meditation is hard. It takes incredible discipline and courage to sit with self and be willing to look at all our beauty and our pain.
That's life. A paradox.