I’ve been a “meditator’ on and off since I was first introduced to yoga and meditation at a yoga retreat in 1972 at the age of 18. For the last five years , I’ve been meditating relatively consistently on a daily basis. My most recent realization came to me in a morning meditation reflecting on rebellion. What I realized is that mediation is the means by which we rebel against a mighty tyrant that has been running the show for way too long -- our minds. What do I mean by "our minds?"
Specifically, I am referring to the compulsive ego-driven mind. That voice that constantly chirps away about ourselves. The voice that tells us how we aren’t or don’t have enough, don’t measure up, we’re too fat or thin, don’t have enough money or recognition. We feel unsatisfied, unappreciated and on and on and on
Meditation affords us the break in that non-stop chatter. We can observe our thinking, realize what’s real and what matters. As we slow down and become quieter, a calm serenity washes over us. That chatter no longer controls us. We are free to experience a spiritual reality, our higher selves, God within us.
In truth, it is a daily reprieve. The more we sit quietly allowing the peace that surpasses all understanding, the freer we become from the tyranny of the compulsive ego mind.
For this rebel, who as a young man thought that rebellion meant a life without discipline, I have come to realize that the discipline of sitting quietly for 25-60 minutes a day is a path to ultimate freedom.