Many people say that meditation is stilling your mind. Sometimes people feel unsuccessful when in a sitting practice they recognize that their mind is moving and full. The Sanskrit word for to measure is maya. It is also the word for illusion. Supposing that your mind should be still is a set-up for the maya of the measuring stick that is an illusion. Discovering how your mind moves and what it is full of may be the observation that has more of a relationship to meditation. The quiet part out loud may be letting go of who is supposed to be stilling the mind. And letting go of the meme that says your mind should be empty and still. If we let go of the meme that says meditation is only a still and empty mind, perhaps we will also let go of the me-me that tries to achieve, attain, or control the mind.

Sitting still and pondering this may be your first meditation. Just getting yourself to sit, and to sit comfortably, may be a first step. Or perhaps the first step in your particular mind and body is a healthy, balanced, non-aggressive asana practice that allows you to be comfortable in your body. This can be the moving meditation that also sets the environment for sitting comfortably still. Lots to engage with here. You know better than anyone your particular pressure points. Sitting is its own reward. And that is no illusion.

Meditation lives outside the bounds of what we do, what we practice, or what we think we are supposed to achieve. Meditation has no achievement. Meditation is something outside of thought and control.

That’s also the quiet part out loud.