Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Over-concern with "getting it right"

The following is from an article about meditation entitled "Meditation Is Not What You Think" by Ed and Deb Shapiro.
Meditation invites us to stop, just stop, breathe and be. Just as with a musician playing or an artist painting, when we stop trying to make it happen something occurs, like the radiant sun that suddenly emerges in a cloudy sky. But because we try so hard, we identify more with the technique instead of allowing the meditation to reveal itself.
Many people get frustrated with meditation because they're striving for some sort of idealized technique that will produce a certain feeling. I like the encourage simply to stop, to breathe and to be.
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3 comments:

  1. There was something else I was upset about not getting right today, Ellie, or maybe not. I either did or didn't do it Friday, and the effect showed up today. I did get things as sorted as I could outside of office hours. And I know that pride about wanting to be seen to get it right is part of what's under my skin about it. Thanks for posting this today.

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  2. Thanks for your comment, MorningStar. Sadly, many of us have been strongly socialized to make "getting it right" our primary objective in life. This gives rise to considerable suffering, doesn't it?

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  3. Well, it was work. I want to get it right, and my supervisor was kind and said it was a learning experience and told me what to do next time. But it meant some of my staff weren't very comfortable this week.

    I've been grateful for the rest of the week, some quieter time, and some time to get things back to a peaceful state, inside me and inside my apartment! Thanks, Ellie!

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