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No one really posed this question online, but I hear it a lot offline and thought I could address it here.

To answer, we should go back to the definition of meditation for the purpose of this discussion: the practice of deepening your awareness of Spirit. Some may argue that it’s just a relaxation technique, but just go with me with this.

First, meditation is a practice. If I wanted to run a marathon and I started with a coach at 250 lbs, should I expect to run 26 miles on the first day? Would I be doing it “right” if I trudged through a 3 mile walk on the treadmill or if I panted through a 1 minute run?

The word practice implies that you are doing it consistently and, overall, you are getting closer to your objective. If you’re now starting and you find that you have a lot of thoughts bouncing around in your head, you aren’t doing it “wrong”, you just got started. Be very gentle and compassionate with yourself as you engage in this practice. Unlike, practicing for a marathon, there is no stretching and being more aggressive. In fact, you need to do the opposite. In meditation, the more the thoughts go wild, the more you surrender to the process. Meditation is a lessening process, not an acquiring process. It’s one of shedding and releasing, not trying and grasping.

Let’s consider the objective: to deepen your awareness of Spirit. You might feel like you are chasing air, if you chase. On a very hot day, it’s more effective to sit still and feel the soft breeze than it is to vigorously fan yourself. It is the same with meditation. Rather than chase Spirit, be still and know that It is here. Your mission is to become aware of something that is always there. It is not going anywhere and it is waiting for you. The twist is that you can’t catch it either. You can only rest in it.

One day, you will realize that you have no objective, no experience that you are looking for, no zinging feeling, not even peace. I agree with Mike of The Absent Mind when he says, “last attachment of the seeker is seeking itself.” You will realize that you don’t have to do anything special to experience Spirit because you will know that you are It.

So the short answer is YES! Yes, you are doing it right. Yes, you are taking the time to sit and be in the moment, or to be present on your walks, or empty your mind onto the pages.

In Spirit,
Nneka

This article is part of the Meditation Question and Answer Series. For other articles in the series, you can visit the introduction post.