Just Do It
One day, I received an email from a woman asking if we could meet. She said she was eager to discuss Buddhist lore and exchange ideas. And it became clear in subsequent emails, that she knew a lot. Her commentary was erudite, incisive and interesting.
But after a few exchanges, I declined to meet up with her – largely because when I asked if she meditated according to the principles she was eagerly espousing, she replied that she didn’t – and had no intention of doing so.
For me at that point, all the brilliant information she’d been sharing fell flat, and I disengaged.
We often assume that information changes everything. We buy books that promise to ‘change your life’ and we listen to speakers like Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle – and their information seems so exquisitely right that our hearts burst with joy, because everything they say makes sense, and we are amazed that it could be that easy.
Yet, even as we put down the book and walk back into our life, we usually revert to who we’ve always been. Then, a month later, we wonder why nothing’s changed.
For me, information is purely aspirational – it evaporates unless it’s put into action. To become a personal reality, it must become a set of habits. All the transformative ideas and life directions we might find in ancient scriptures, self-help books, and bibles are worth absolutely nothing unless we turn what we’re reading into consistent action over time.
And that very much applies to meditation practice.
This became clear to me a long time ago.
Back in the ’80s, as I began to emerge from my confusion about myself and my life, I attended various self-help seminars looking for answers. At each one, I was entranced by the information I found, and inspired by the possibilities that seemed to open up as I listened.
Then, at the end of the seminar, I’d go back to my life. And as my old habits closed over me, I’d find myself utterly unchanged, with the brilliant information that had so inspired me, slowly fading in the rear-view mirror of my life. It took me a few years, and a lot of the money I’d spent on books and seminars, to realize that information, however insightful, is useless without action to crystallize it as a life reality.
Research has shown that, on average, a habit takes about sixty days of consistent daily practice to become instinctive. And that especially goes for meditation, which will remain an esoteric mystery unless it’s practiced.
Because meditation is a skill, and like any skill, it must become habitual – and habits rely on muscle memory. That is to say, it’s not enough to understand something theoretically – our body needs to form an experiential, and very physical understanding of what we’re doing. That’s when our theoretical understanding joins with the actions we’ve taken, to become so innate it’s become automatic.
Only regular practice over time will achieve this, and it’s what meditation needs to come alive. Once you’ve developed the habit of meditation, even as you sit down and close your eyes, you’ll instantly be ready – because your body has the habit firmly ingrained.
So, as the Nike ad says, ‘Just do it.’
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Roger’s book, ‘BEING STILL – MEDITATION THAT MAKES SENSE’ is available now. Just click on the links below:
AUDIOBOOK (including ebook & MP3 exercises) – AUD $25.00
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Beautiful information is just Māra. Many thanks for saying what may be inconvenient for some and so vital for others.
It is indeed. And thank you for seeing my purpose.