Yep, I’ve noticed a very common idea around relaxation/meditation, physical exercise as well, is that “I’m just not good at that. I’ve tried ‘everything’ and it’s just not for me”. Well, I can tell you that they haven’t tried everything, not even close, but there is this idea out there that there is only one correct way to do everything. Or the opposite problem - we understand that there are infinite valid ways and suffer from decision fatigue.
Even with meditation in completely silent darkness, you are taught to feel your body, focus on the spot where you’re touching your chair, where your feet touch the ground, feel your breath rise and fall, etc. You’re literally just noticing things, and then letting them pass, that’s all it is. Physical sensations, thoughts, emotions, sensory input. A thought comes up, allow it to float away. Then do the same with the next one. Of course it’s hard at first. You will probably “fail” the first time, or the first hundred. Just like literally everything else, it becomes less hard. But every human brain is capable of this, if not primed for it.
Eventually there will be an empty space between each “thing”, and that space will get larger and larger. Then you realize the “space” itself also has some perceivable quality - it’s not just nothingness. And so on and so forth. That’s when it starts to get fun.
Despite what some self-described “gurus” might claim, you can do meditation anywhere, anytime. Some people find it helpful to be moving. I like to do it while walking.
Yep, I’ve noticed a very common idea around relaxation/meditation, physical exercise as well, is that “I’m just not good at that. I’ve tried ‘everything’ and it’s just not for me”. Well, I can tell you that they haven’t tried everything, not even close, but there is this idea out there that there is only one correct way to do everything. Or the opposite problem - we understand that there are infinite valid ways and suffer from decision fatigue.
Even with meditation in completely silent darkness, you are taught to feel your body, focus on the spot where you’re touching your chair, where your feet touch the ground, feel your breath rise and fall, etc. You’re literally just noticing things, and then letting them pass, that’s all it is. Physical sensations, thoughts, emotions, sensory input. A thought comes up, allow it to float away. Then do the same with the next one. Of course it’s hard at first. You will probably “fail” the first time, or the first hundred. Just like literally everything else, it becomes less hard. But every human brain is capable of this, if not primed for it.
Eventually there will be an empty space between each “thing”, and that space will get larger and larger. Then you realize the “space” itself also has some perceivable quality - it’s not just nothingness. And so on and so forth. That’s when it starts to get fun.
Despite what some self-described “gurus” might claim, you can do meditation anywhere, anytime. Some people find it helpful to be moving. I like to do it while walking.