Dear Meditation Seeker...

Dear Meditation Seeker,

It feels like everyone is vying for our attention these days and with so much stimulation pulling us from all directions it’s no wonder that mindfulness practices have been on the rise. In 2019, according to The Good Body, the top ten meditation apps generated $200 million in revenue, and that was before COVID! They estimate that in 2022, Americans will spend up to $1 billion on meditation related classes and resources. And if you’re like me, you’ve probably downloaded a few of these apps in hopes of finding the holy grail.

Regardless of which app you use, it’s really the consistency of the practice that makes this tool useful. The research shows an overwhelming number of benefits to having a meditation practice. But if you still need convincing, here’s one of my favorite poems written by Wes Nisker:

I meditate because I suffer. I suffer therefore I am. I am therefore I meditate.

I meditate because there are so many other things to do.

I meditate because of Siddhartha Gautama, Bodhidharma, Marco Polo, the British Raj, Carl Jung, Alan Watts, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Alfred E Neuman, et al.

I meditate because evolution gave me a big brain, but it didn’t come with an instruction manual.

I meditate because I have all the information I need.

I meditate because the largest colonies of living beings, the coral reefs, are dying.

I meditate because I want to touch deep time, where the history of humanity can be seen as an evolutionary adjustment period.

I meditate because life is too short and sitting slows it down.

I meditate because life is too long and I need an occasional break.

I mediate because I want to experience the world as Rumi did, or Walt Whitman, or as Mary Oliver does.

I meditate because now I know that enlightenment doesn’t exist, I can relax.

I mediate because of the Dalai Lama’s laugh.

I meditate because there are too many advertisements in my head, and I’m erasing all but the very best of them.

I meditate because the physicists say there may be eleven dimensions to reality, and I want to get a peek into a few more of them.

I meditate because I want to remember that I’m perfectly human.

I mediate because I love Jack Kerouac.

Sometimes I meditate because my heart is breaking.

Sometimes I meditate so that my heart will break.

I meditate because a Vedanta master once told me that in Hindi my name, Nisker, means “non-doer.”

I meditate because I’m growing old and want to become more comfortable with emptiness.

I meditate because it’s such a relief to spend time ignoring myself.

I meditate because my country spends more money on weapons than all other nations in the world combined. If I had more courage I’d probably immolate myself.

I meditate because I’m building myself a bigger and better perspective, and occasionally I new a new window.

I meditate because I want to discover the fifth Brahma-vihara, the Divine Abode of Awe, and then I’ll go down in history as a great spiritual adept.

I meditate because I’m composed of 100 trillion cells, and from time to time I need to reassure them that we’re all in this together.

I hope you found inspiration, revelation, and a good laugh like I did!

To your health,

Kim