Mindful Meditation
A few years ago, I discovered the concept of meditation, and it’s changed my life. I think it’s essential for almost everyone to learn this skill, and I try to work it into almost every treatment plan I help a patient create. Depression? Meditate. High blood pressure? Meditate. Colon cancer? Meditate.
Sometimes when people think about meditation, they imagine a robed monk sitting under a tree for days at a time. Or perhaps the image of a 70s hippie trying to levitate the Pentagon springs to mind. Usually the imaginary meditating person is saying “Om” and connecting with the spirits of the universe.
My meditative practice is nothing like that. It’s really no more than closing your eyes and thinking.
The reason meditation is so important is that it helps us understand what’s going on in our brains. If you don’t know what’s happening in your brain, you’ll have a hard time managing all kinds of problems.
Let me give you an example of how meditation can help you.
Let’s say you’re driving down I-64 (or “Highway Farty” to us old St. Louisans) and someone zips from across two lanes to end up directly in front of you. You’re in the far left lane, trying to hurry to work. Your thoughts probably go something like this: “Hey, that guy isn’t supposed to do that. You’re supposed to use your turn signal. I guess he thinks he’s just more important than the rest of us. Well he isn’t. He’s just an entitled ass. And check out that bumper sticker, he listens to that radio station? Oh I know exactly who this guy is. He’s no different than my Uncle Freddy! And Freddy is a giant jerk! He’ll probably be at Christmas dinner. I think I’m gonna call my mom and tell her I’m not coming to Christmas. She’ll probably pull her passive aggressive routine on me again!” …and so on.
Now your blood pressure is higher than the high temperature in August, your head is pounding, you’re pretty mad, and maybe you’ll just take your first chance to zip past this guy and give him the finger!
We all know that this isn’t productive. Maybe later after you’ve calmed down, you’ll reflect on that moment and think, “Gosh, I wish I didn’t get so upset about things like that. That guy really was a jerk, but honestly I was only a mile from my exit. It probably didn’t cost me more than fifteen seconds, if that. Why am I so reactive? What’s wrong with me?”
Meditation will not make you Mother Theresa. You’ll still get mad. But what it will let you do is understand when you start to feel that way, and pop out of it instantly.
Once you’ve meditated for a while, that same interaction might go like this:
“Hey, that guy isn’t supposed to do that. You’re supposed to… wait. That’s a thought, and I’m getting carried away with it. How do I want to react to this? I think I’ll just let this one go.”
(Or I don’t know. Maybe honestly you’ll think, “You know what? I’m gonna speed past this guy and give him the finger.” The point is, you’ll choose to do it. It won’t “just happen.” I won’t judge. Some guys just need the finger.)
Meditation is simply training your brain to recognize thoughts and observe them without judgement.
When you’ve meditated for a bit, you’ll start to realize that everything is a thought. And you’ll learn to stop judging them, because you’ll start to see that thoughts just spring up out of nowhere.
Do you want to give it a try?
You can meditate in just a few steps.
Sit down comfortably.
Close your eyes.
Notice you are breathing. Pay attention to where you feel the breath. The end of your nose? Your sinuses? Your chest?
After a few moments you will realize you’ve stopped paying attention to your breathing. This is where the magic happens.
Gently separate yourself from whatever you’ve started thinking about. Imagine the thought like a bubble that has popped up from nowhere. Now you are looking at the thought from outside it.
Regard the thought. Just let it do what it wants to do. After a moment, it’ll fade.
Now just go back to paying attention to breathing.
Repeat.
Do this for about five minutes.
And that’s it!
If you’re like me, you’ll stop paying attention to breathing and start thinking about something else after maybe five seconds. It’ll just keep happening over and over again. You’ll be amazed at how good your brain is at distracting you with thoughts. Each time it happens, just notice it, and then come back to your breathing.
At some point you’ll think, “Man, I suck at this.” When you think that, recognize that it also is just a thought! Regard it like you would all the other thoughts. Let it bubble out of existence. Return to breathing.
There’s no weird spiritualism to it. It fits with any set of religious beliefs (or none). And it’s super easy.
If you want to learn more about how to meditate, and how it might help your medical problems, just ask.
