Why Do I Meditate? By Tracy Martorana
I think about this often…why do I meditate? I have a graphic I use to show people the benefits of meditation and how meditation supports Holistic Wellness (balancing Body, Mind, Heart and Soul).
But do I meditate to lower my blood pressure? No. It’s the more esoteric benefits that I gravitate to…mindfulness, awareness, peace & serenity…but to what end? What do these even mean and why do I care?
I have realized that sitting in meditation, being mindful of the present moment and letting go of judgment, slowly trains your brain to let go. It’s not so much that I stop caring, but I have begun to realize that my thoughts and opinions are not reality and that in clinging to them and in trying to push them on others, I am causing much of my own stress and suffering.
In the introduction of The Issue at Hand by Gil Fronsdal, he explains this phenomenon pretty simply:
“Mindfulness entails knowing what is happening in the present moment while it is happening. It is a training in how not to be lost in thoughts, opinions, and reactivity. It is also a training in how to see things as they really are, as opposed to seeing them through the often distorted lens of preconceived ideas and interpretations.” (p. ix)
Learning to meditate is simple, but it is far from easy. Meditation is about so much more than sitting in silence for 20 minutes. That is the simple part! The more difficult part, but also the most valuable, is learning how to take what you learn about yourself in meditation and let it change the way you interact with the world.
As I have learned to pay attention to my thoughts, as I have noticed the lies I tell myself and the stories I make up in my mind to support what I want to believe, when I notice the patterns in behavior or the reactions to certain people or emotions; as I learn about me, I learn to laugh at my thoughts and just let them go. I have learned to cling less to my judgments and accept that the opposite is also true. These are gifts I gained in meditation, but it wasn’t until I took what I learned off the mat, that the benefits really started to emerge.
I continue to learn about me and the way tiny little inconsequential things in my past have colored my views on all kinds of things, big and small. The more I sit in meditation, the more I learn about me and the more I can let go. The more I can let go, the more I enjoy mindfulness, awareness and peace & serenity.
This is why I meditate.
Tracy Martorana
Guest Blogger
New Leaf Meditation Project
NewLeafMeditation.org
Tracy Martorana is the owner of Holistic Wellness with Tracy and Tracy’s Teas,in LeRoy NY. She is a Nutrition & Wellness / Lifestyle Coach, an Herbalist and a Meditation instructor. Her mission is to teach people how to make healthy choices easy and enjoyable. You can learn more about Tracy, her blog, her teas and her book (90 Days to Holistic Wellness – balancing your Body, Mind, Heart and Soul) at her website: www.holisticwellnesswithtracy.com.