I thought meditation was bullshit, but I was wrong
Published in Age of Empathy
1 day ago (Medium.com)
Long before I started a meditation practice, someone told me to take a breath and check in with my body. I had no idea what that meant, but it was worth a shot. She said, “Just take a moment and think about how you feel. How does your body feel? Are you holding your shoulders up near your ears? Think about your breathing, about your heartbeat, etc.”
If you close your eyes and do this right now, I’ll bet you notice a few things. You don’t have to act on them, just notice them.
I didn’t know it at the time, but this was my introduction to meditation.
A tenet of Buddhism and meditation is the connection between the mind and body. Modern medicine, particularly in the Western hemisphere, has come to regard the two parts as separate. Medical doctors are taught a narrow biological view of things and are separated from psychiatrists and therapists with little to no communication between them.
When my primary care physician prescribed an anxiety medication, it was news to my therapist. Everything worked out and the medication helped me, but I couldn’t help but notice the disconnect between these two providers. I was the intermediary between them, keeping them each apprised of my progress.
Around the same time, someone introduced me to some powerful new ideas and thought processes. She would be my guide in a larger world, showing me new information and applying it to the world in which I currently live. She gave me some literature by Dr. Gabor Maté, now a well-known guru, and it resonated with me deeply.
It can be scary and uncomfortable to hear that a lot of what you’ve been taught your entire life isn’t necessarily true. It could be true, but everything has a lens through which it passes, and rarely do we ask “Why?”
This is one of the reasons I challenge traditionalism and the status quo. We never stop and ask why things are, we just accept them. I attended a patriotic performance at my kids’ elementary school last week and watched the audience wave their flags for America because they’ve been told Americans are the “good guys.” That may be so, but are you sure? I, for one, don’t care for the concept of American exceptionalism, but that’s a different discussion.
There are many elements of daily life that we accept because someone we assumed to be in a position of knowledge or authority told us so. Teachers, parents, elders, bosses, priests, drill sergeants, gurus, even friends.
When I began to challenge conventional wisdom about my emotional and physical health, I found myself reeling. What if being on this medication was doing more harm than good? What if there was a holistic way to take care of my needs? What if I didn’t need medication at all and was just fine the way I was?
It felt unnatural to be thinking holistically instead of medically since we’re taught to believe the medical community and to do what our doctors recommend. I didn’t believe meditation or mindfulness could actually help me.
When I decided to try meditation anyway, my first reaction was defiance and denial. It’s not easy to challenge what we hold true. We call it our ‘comfort zone’ for a reason.
A common theme in my personal life and my writing is challenging conventional wisdom and tradition. These are pillars of our society, and they are the foundation of the way we live today. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop searching for answers. If society collapses because we start thinking differently or reading banned books it’s too late for me anyway.
Regardless, I waded into a short meditation routine every morning. It’s important in meditation to find what works for you. Any longer than 15–20 minutes I began to get distracted, and there’s a reason they call it a “practice” and not a meditation “performance.” Like any art form, it’s never perfected, but you practice it daily.
What I learned was that it helped me not to tune out the rest of the world, but to turn inward and contemplate mind and body. It began to reconnect my mind with my body.
Gabor Maté is passionate about the mind-body connection but takes it even further.
To say that the mind is connected to the body is incorrect. To say that the nervous system is connected to the immune system, and the immune system is connected to the emotional apparatus, all of which is connected to the hormone system, is incorrect. They are not connected; they are the same system. — Source
Recently I dove head-first into a book about complexity theory. It’s about how systems emerge from apparent chaos, and our bodies are no different. The parts of our bodies are all intertwined. They all affect the others and work together to make us human. Quarks form atoms form molecules form cells form organs form beings. Somehow in all of this complexity, a consciousness is formed. Life is systems forming systems forming systems.
The point is that we’re all comprised of systems working together. Our brains aren’t acting independently, they’re acting in cooperation with the body’s other systems. The limbic system is a part of the larger brain system that helps us regulate emotions and behavior. It works with the nervous system and hundreds of others.
Not only do these systems not operate independently, they CAN’T operate independently. There’s a symbiosis, a codependency.
The mind doesn’t exist without the body and the rest of the complex systems in cooperation, and no one is sure where consciousness comes in. From religion to science to philosophy, humans have yet to come up with a consensus for where consciousness comes from. Nobody knows where the mind exists, but the Buddhists believe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, therefore the body and mind combine and interact in a tangled way to make up an individual. The epistemology of it all is endlessly fascinating.
Aside from all the hows and whys, when I meditate and truly commit to the practice, my body feels different. I feel like one being instead of a bag of organs. The borders between what’s outside and inside my body begin to blur, and I begin to feel like part of the universe instead of an isolated creature. I feel my body relax and my soul tap into a vast interconnected world just beyond the horizon. My heart rate slows and I take comfort that I’m doing something solely for myself.
The results are different than what I expected before I knew anything about the practice. When I am kind and gentle to myself in meditation, I am able to use those skills when I’m not meditating.
When I start the day with even a short meditation, it has lasting effects on my mood. During the day, I can take a step back from stressful situations and ground myself. I still know next to nothing, but I’m learning about myself as I go.
Namaste.
Originally published on my Substack:
Christopher Robin’s Nebulous | Substack
I write about mental health, addiction, and parenting, and share art in the most vulnerable and meaningful way I know…
christopherrobin7.substack.com
Check out Gabor Mate in this article in The Guardian here:
The trauma doctor: Gabor Maté on happiness, hope and how to heal our deepest wounds
The physician, author and self-help guru came to worldwide prominence when he appeared with Prince Harry last month. He…
Learn more about Gabor Mate on his website.
·Editor for Age of Empathy
Podcaster, recovering alcoholic, humorist, contemplatist, essayist, averagest, Editor of my own reality.