My Journey With Meditation

In the early days of COVID-19 lockdown, I found myself alone in my room for hours on end with nothing in particular to do. My schoolwork at the time was easy; I would finish it quickly, leaving the rest of the day available for whatever I desired. As a generally busy person, I had always imagined that if only I had more free time, I could be content and happy — with ample free time during lockdown, I realized this was not the case. Succumbing to levels of boredom unprecedented to me, I took on new projects: the TV show Stranger Things, the acoustic guitar, and, what would become the most important, meditation. 

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My introduction to meditation was through the simple practice of closely observing my breath. At first, it seemed trivial. What was the point of this? I had heard about all the potential benefits of meditation — reduced stress, increased ability to concentrate, improved sleep, and the list goes on — but it was hard to imagine how such a simple exercise could produce these profound effects. I persevered for a while but eventually gave up the practice. Over the next couple of years until now, I have returned periodically to meditation but have never sustained any long-term practice. 

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​I began this site with hopes of assisting anyone interested in beginning a consistent meditation practice — this includes myself. Personally, through the process, I have been exposed to different types of meditations, including open monitoring and Loving-Kindness meditation. Most importantly, for the first time, I have been able to sustain a consistent mindfulness meditation practice.

 

For the past three months, I have begun each day by meditating for five minutes on my breath. At the start of the semester, the practice was incredibly difficult, and I often became so lost in thought that I forgot I was meditating in the first place. Because of my failures, it was tempting to give up the practice altogether. 

 

As the semester progressed and the daily five-minute sessions slowly accrued, my ability to perceive my mind as it wandered dramatically improved. While I certainly still have plenty of thoughts, the time that it takes me to notice when a thought appears and recenter my attention on the breath is a brief couple of seconds.