For years, meditation and I had a love/hate relationship.

Ok that sounds too negative. Here’s the thing: I’d hang out with meditation for a bit and somehow the relationship just wasn’t going anywhere. Blame it on my mind chatter, I just couldn’t seem to get it together.

I mean, not that you need to listen to everything you hear people say but folks would always tell me, “You and meditation would make such a great couple!” … and I truly, truly know this.

Meditation has such a good heart.

Meditation is everything I’ve been looking for.

Meditation and I would be *so* good for eachother!

Yet every time I hung out with meditation, I would get bored. And I know it’s ok to get bored. I know that, I do. Life isn’t always all crème brulee and hershey’s kisses but even so, we just weren’t clicking. I’d be with meditation yet thinking a zillion other things … I’d catch myself over and over again … bring myself back … and wait to get better at it.

But I just never got past that stage and on to The Good Stuff.

So me ‘n meditation. A tenuous relationship. A respectful relationship but not all that I just knew it could be.

Now this morning, I was listening to Buddhist Meditation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield. Put the “Buddhist” part and the “beginners” part aside for a minute, k? Let’s take a peek at the meditation part. Because he mentioned some things which open up space for a whole new relationship with meditation.

Jack talks about people saying, “I’m lost in thought so much of the time … What should I do?” In insight meditation it’s called “seeing the waterfall” … how much thought there is inside.

Don’t be afraid of whatever arises in meditation … just let it be part of the practice. It’s fine. In fact, it’s more than fine … it’s perfect.

What matters is not how many thoughts we have or how long we’ve been lost in thought … that is not so much in our control … what matters is the moment you notice and in that moment you can choose to continue to be lost in thought or to come back again and say, “Here I am, alive in this present moment.”

Softly come back to the awareness of what your breath feels like or what your body feels like.

It’s the returning which is the training for awakening to living in the present, in a mindful way.

The “top ten tunes” is your list of repeating stories. If something comes back again and again, you can name it softly and accept it in. It could be something which needs to be felt … and it’s knocking on the door saying, “Hey, I’m important, feel me, acknowledge me.”

So we name it softly.

“Oh, here’s remembering. Thank you for your contribution.”

“Worry, thank you.”

“Aah, planning.”

Meet whatever arises with kindness and balance and wisdom … and whatever comes to you can be a part of your meditation. I sense a peaceful new relationship unfolding!

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