About our feelings during meditation

New participants here at the Center frequently believe that when they meditate, they ought to feel all lovely and serene. I recently found a web page that speaks to this. Here's a little excerpt:

How did we get the idea that meditation is about being calm and free of thinking? When we allow ourselves to return to our meditation regularly, no matter how difficult the experience, we cannot deny that we see positive changes in our lives, even if during our meditations we feel frustrated or confused. What this seems to suggest is that gaining positive results from meditation does not depend on the meditation experience being pleasant. Perhaps the very gesture of observing exactly how we feel, or even what we think, is the root of the benefits we gain from meditation.

It's by a yoga teacher named Shy Sayar and you can read the entire piece right here.