I am often asked how one can become regular and committed in the practice of meditation. My thoughts on this follow.
The inner factors
- First consider the ‘why‘. When we are clear about why we are doing something, it is easier to keep the motivation and commitment up. A previous post here talks about this in a little more depth.
- The second thing that helps keep up a steady and regular practice is discipline. This is more a character trait than anything else. A disciplined person has the ability to commit themselves to something and see it through to the end, and that applies to anything they choose to achieve in life. This is why cultivating discipline is a very desirable quality. Discipline is simply willpower expressed in action. Brute strength cannot achieve what a consistent, continuous effort can. Pouring five million gallons of water over a large rock in one second has no effect on the rock except perhaps to wet it, or at best to move it a little. The same amount of water, if dripped on the rock over a long period, has the potential to shatter the rock. That is the power of discipline.
- The third very important factor is focus. A focused mind can achieve great things, whereas a distracted mind cannot achieve very much. Imagine that we wish to visit five destinations. The best way to do this is to go to one destination, and then to the next, in an order that we deem to be the most efficient. If we don’t choose the most efficient order, it may take longer, but we will still manage to reach all destinations. If, however, we walk five steps towards one destination, then try to walk five steps towards another destination, then some steps towards another one … in all likelihood, we will never reach even one of the chosen destinations. Hence, focus is important. The ability to concentrate and focus builds with time and practice. Even a few seconds at a time is a great achievement, as it lays a strong foundation for longer term focus.
The “external” factors
It is recommended by great masters that the practice of meditation should be carried out at the same place, at the same time, and using the same practice. Doing this helps build up the energy of the practice and to deepen it. That said, these are guidelines which should be implemented with a bit of open-minded rational thinking, without getting fanatical about them.
- Same place: This is important because it brings a feeling of being rooted, grounded and stable. If we visit the same shrine over many years, it starts becoming an integral part of us. At one point, it becomes so internalized that the physical action of visiting the shrine becomes optional; we can recreate that space and how it feels to be in that space in an instant, in the mind’s eye. It may not always be possible to be in the same place physically; for example, when travelling. What can one do in that case? For example, I travel around quite a lot, and am hardly ever in any one place for more than a few months at a time. Often, the physical space I am in changes every few days! However, my anchor in space is the mat I sit on for my meditation. I have been using the same mat since I started more than two decades ago. No matter where I am in the world, the moment I step on to the mat, I am in my meditation space. Having a physical anchor helps. It does not have to be a mat; it could be a specific posture we sit in, or clothes that we wear for meditation, pr a particular object we use for meditation. If we have to change the mat or the clothes or the posture once in a while, it does not matter; it is the long term consistency that counts.
- Same time: Certain times of the day, such as dawn and dusk, are considered most conducive for a spiritual practice, as the environment at that time helps to quiet the mind. That said, if we practice at a different time one day due to practical reasons, it is totally fine. Remember, it is repeated practice over a long period of time that really builds up the energy in the practice, not the physical time of day. For example, I travel across time zones often, so what was 5am one day can be midnight in the new time zone the next day! Does that mean I have to get up at midnight to do my morning practice? Of course not. What if I am jet lagged, or am tired from travelling, and am unable to get up 5am in the local time zone? Sometimes, I may have a meeting that overruns, so I cannot do my evening meditation at the usual time. None of these things matter. I still manage to anchor my practice in time. How? For my morning meditation, my anchor in time is that I meditate immediately after my morning bath or shower. It does not matter what time zone I am in, and it does not even matter if I have my bath in the afternoon one day! If for some reason I am not able to have a bath (for example if there is no water or it is too cold, and so on), even that does not matter! I simply wash my hands and face – either physically or just mentally – and that’s it; the anchor is in place! I have found that after having kept up this practice over many years, what happens now is that by the time I complete my bath, the mind is already in a meditative state, to the degree where I begin to feel the same physical sensations in the body that I feel when sitting in meditation, from the moment I step out of the bathroom and even before I change into my meditation clothes or sit down. This is the power of habit.
- Same practice: If we wish to dig a well, we are most likely to succeed if we dig in one place, and dig deep. Digging a few feet and then moving to another place is highly unlikely to meet with success. Therefore, it is necessary to have a stable practice (whatever ours may be) for a significant period of time. Whether it is the practice of watching the breath, repeating a mantra or anything else, it will reach a certain depth only after a certain period of time. Once we have “reached water”, we may continue the same practice, or when the time comes, even change our practice. That in effect will be like starting to dig a second well, and why not … perhaps that well has water that tastes different, and we wish to experience it! The important point it to keep at it until we “reach the water”, and to not change the practice before then. A practice is not inert and unchanging; a living practice will often go through some modifications now and again. Guidance will come either from within or from outside in the form of a competent teacher, an article, or something else. My personal practice has changed in the past, and it continues to evolve even now.
So there is flexibility, but it is important to be honest and authentic. It is the intention and the commitment that counts. There have been times when I was travelling the whole night, and was extremely tired, and yet I did my evening practice before I sleep. At other times, I was simply too tired and fell asleep, and that is okay too! That said, I make it a point to at least do my practice one a day, and never miss it twice consecutively. From my experience of a steady practice for the last 20-plus years, I can say that is possible, regardless of any emergencies that life throws up There was one time when I had severe pain in my back because of an aggravated muscle. The pain was so severe that I had to lie down for around 20 hours a day, and it took me a good 20 or 30 minutes to crawl up into a sitting position from a lying down position. And yet, with all the grimacing, trying to get up, falling down, and trying again till I managed to sit up … I still did my practice. At another time about ten years ago, I was terribly unwell from a combination of a bacterial infection and a viral infection at the same time. I was lying down almost all day, often delirious, for about a week. I did not have the strength to do much, and I lost around 5 kilos in a week. At one point, I actually thought that perhaps I might even die! And yet, even in that state, I continued with my practice. I could not physically sustain doing it twice a day, nor could I do as much as I normally did, so I did a shorter routine. It is the intention that counts. Remember no one is watching or judging, but we will always know whether we did our utmost, to the best of our ability. It is not someone else who needs to make that decision, it is us.
We could liken a spiritual practice to a tree. When it is a plant, we need to pay more attention and look after it in many ways: water it, make sure the ground is aerated, add compost regularly, and so on. Once the plant grows and eventually develops into a tree, it has a strong life force of its own, and is capable of managing by itself. At one point, it matures, and from that point onwards, the practice becomes a tree that blesses us with many gifts: shade, flowers and fruits, for the rest of our life. If we look after our practice in the beginning, it looks after us forever. In this sense, a spiritual practice is very much like life: you only get out of life what you put in. We must learn to give first, and then we receive. More often than not, what we receive is much more than we put in, but we have to first demonstrate the willingness and dedication to put in the time, effort and energy that is needed.