SQUIRREL BRAIN
Image Credit: KWK
The squirrels in my backyard love to perch on Buddha’s brain. It always makes me laugh, because some days the squirrels in my brain take seat during my time in meditation.
Meditation doesn’t always go well. However, it’s important to remember that even on days when a squirrel occupies the brain, time in meditation has value.
By now, you’ve likely all read about the benefits of meditation. Perhaps you’ve tried a guided meditation on an app or bought a book. Perhaps you’ve given a few attempts, but not quite developed a regular practice. Typically, the conclusion of “not being good at it” becomes an obstacle.
I often hear the comment, “I’ve tried but it doesn’t ‘work’ for me.” I perceive this to mean that it’s hard to detach from thoughts and quiet the mind. I’m here to tell you, noticing that your thoughts are cluttering the mind is, in fact, the act of being mindful! By observing thoughts and emotions, we can witness how they build on each other through our attachment to repetitive inner stories. Such witnessing begins the process of healthy nonattachment. This has value and is part of the process of meditation!
The process of meditation involves making your body comfortable, withdrawing yourself from distractions of the senses (sights, sounds, smells, etc.), and bringing your mind’s focus to one thing. Ideally, this one thing is pleasant. However, many days the one thing might be the thoughts that feel like squirrels running rampant in your head. Even if that’s the case, I assure you the time you took to pause, withdraw, and focus is worth your time!
Let’s compare the value of meditation to the value of participating in a walk-to-run training. Perhaps you’ve never run a mile, but you want to run a 5K. Training will often involve lengthening the walk to run ratios. At the beginning, most of the time spent moving will be walking, with brief stints jogging. Gradually, the ratio of jogging will become dominant. Is it fair to dismiss time walking during training? Of course not! Any time spent moving the body is beneficial, even if it isn’t running for several minutes in a row.
I insist the same holds true for meditation. Some days focus in meditation will feel brief and restless. Other days meditation will feel blissful. But any amount of time practicing meditation is better than no amount of time. Time spent clearing the grit off the mind’s consciousness is as essential as brushing grit off teeth. Ideally, both are done daily.
Maybe you’re still not convinced. So, I’ve scripted a meditation for those days when the mind is full of squirrels. Listen below.
