7 Reasons Meditation Doesn’t Work (and how to fix them)

by Eric Klein

We didn’t have air condi/oning when we were living in Chicago in the

1970’s. So on hot humid summer nights, Devi and I would ride our bikes to the shores of Lake Michigan to take a dip.

The water was nice and cool. But to enjoy it we had to move through the

twigs, paper cups, and assorted debris that had accumulated at the edge of the Lake.

It’s the same with medita/on. The deep waters of your inner mind are pure, clear, and refreshing. But to get there you need to move through

some inner . . . um . . . debris.

This debris consists of thoughts, memories, sensa/ons, emo/ons, and concepts.

And among this debris are reasons why medita/on doesn’t work, at least not for you. These reasons can keep you from beginning to meditate, or if you begin, can

derail your prac/ce before you get to enjoy the life-changing benefits of

medita/on.

Here are 7 common reasons you might believe that meditation doesn’t work for you.

Deconstruc/ng these reasons will help you make your way through this conceptual debris to experience the cool, refreshing waters of the Wisdom Heart within.

Reason #1: Meditation is self-centered. As medita/on has become more mainstream, images of slim, beau/ful

people siOng in lotus postures show up in adver/sing for spas, exo/c vaca/ons, skin cream, perfume, jewelry, and even insurance!

These images reinforce the no/on that medita/on is the final refuge of the self–absorbed, that it’s the latest obsession in a narcissis/c culture of naval gazers who take themselves waaaay to seriously.

Actually meditation releases you from self-preoccupation. By cul/va/ng medita/ve awareness, you take yourself much more lightly and in the process open more fully and crea/vely to life. The prac/ce of medita/on reveals that most of what is scurrying around the mind isn’t that significant, much less real.

You discover that most of what you believe yourself to be is just a collection of beliefs. Medita/on reveals that all these beliefs about the self are more limi/ng than libera/ng. It frees you from being preoccupied with preserving a self image and you connect with more of who you really are. Hidden inner resources become liberated; new levels of clarity, crea/vity, and courage emerge naturally as you let go of the condi/oned paTerns of iden/ty that you took to be your self.

The practice of meditation is life-centered. Medita/on is the opposite of self-centered. It opens you more fully to the

life within and around you. You transcend the limits of your condi/oned self and learn how to embody and express the tremendous resources and

giVs that are within you. . .breath. . .by. . . breath.

Reason #2: I don’t have time to meditate. Here’s the boTom line: the scaTered mind never has /me for what

maTers most. It is driven by emo/on-fueled thoughts…it’s busy, busy, busy.

The scattered mind is always under pressure, always running behind. You find there’s barely /me to sit down for a meal, much less to spend a few moments in silence and s/llness. The day is overflowing with ac/vi/es, demands, mee/ngs, and tasks.

In the rush to get more done, the mind becomes more fragmented and speedy. And then when things do slow down – like in a traffic jam or a grocery line – it’s

intolerable. The mind rails against the waste of /me and the affront of slowing down.

“There’s too much to do!!” the mind objects. But everyone has exactly the same amount of /me each day: 1440 minutes. In this stressed state, the more you grab at the sands of /me, the more rapidly they pour through your fingers.

The key is to change your experience of time. To downshiV your inner gears and train the nervous system to slow down. Note the word . . . train.

Changing your relationship to time – one of the benefits of meditation – requires training. It’s a process – not a magic bullet or instant solu/on. Seeking instant solu/ons and immediate results is a symptom of the scaTered mind. You don’t want to slam on the brakes or strip your mental gears.

As the mind integrates and slows down, the sense that life is constantly nipping at your heels dissolves, and the feeling of pressure liVs.

And when the pressure is gone, a veil lifts. A veil that reveals the tremendous depth and spaciousness in every moment.

Through medita/on you realize the preciousness of every moment. You are no longer short of /me. You experience the fullness of this moment, and this

moment is always enough.

Reason #3: My back hurts when I meditate.

Physical discomfort (pain the back, shoulders, neck, or elsewhere) is a sign you

need to:

• Adjust your posture. • Modify your chair or cushion arrangement. • Strengthen or stretch some muscles.

For most people, it’s a combina/on of all three. Nothing magical or difficult. You don’t need to suffer to meditate. Here are some simple guidelines:

Sit on the floor or on a chair. Keep your spine straight but not s/ff. Keep your chin parallel to the ground. Elevate your body on a firm cushion or folded blanket when seated on the floor. This will reduce strain on your back. Experiment with different heights of support. You will probably need more liV than you think.

Make sure your knees are below your hips. That’s what relieves back pain. Either raise your support or stretch and open your hips (probably both). If you sit on a chair, make sure it is firm. You want to sit upright and not sink into the chair.

Find your physical center of gravity. Gently rock from side to side in your seated posi/on. As you rock from leV to right, feel into the core of your body. You will no/ce a physical sensa/on I call passing through the center of gravity as your body shiVs from side to side. Sensing this center of gravity is key to effortless medita/on.

Gradually reduce the side-to-side movement and seTle your body so that it is aligned along the center of gravity. Gently feel inward and sense that place of balance.

Now lengthen your spine. LiV the back of your skull slightly so your chin is parallel to the ground. The base of the body is grounded. Now gaze gently at the root of the nose between the eyebrows. Easy!! Comfortable!! SiOng is a skill that gets easier with prac/ce.

Would you like to give this a try? Okay . . .

Click here to listen to a guided practice.

Reason #4: I’m not religious (or I am religious). You might assume that medita/on is only for the devout and associate it

with the spiritual life of monks, yogis, nuns, and other religious professions.

While it’s true that medita/on or similar prac/ces have been the central ac/vity of those on a religious quest, it does not mean that you have to subscribe to a religion to prac/ce. Religions are based on ar/cles of faith, but medita/on requires no beliefs. Medita/on is based on prac/ce and results.

Meditation is more like a science experiment than a religious practice. And you don’t need to believe in anything in order to conduct an experiment.

You just need to follow the protocol and pay aTen/on to the results. It’s a self-valida/ng process. Follow the steps and observe the results.

The prac//oners who developed medita/on methods used their minds and bodies as laboratories. They conducted experiments in consciousness to discover

what methods produced the kinds of healing and happiness, crea/vity and compassion that we all want. They recorded their results and passed them onto

their students for valida/on tes/ng.

Some of these experiments in consciousness have stood the test of time. Some of the prac/ces were so powerful and so reliable that they have been passed down through the centuries. Over /me these prac/ces have been revalidated in the experience of millions of meditators.

More recently neuroscien/sts have inves/gated the effects of medita/on on the brain and verified the findings of the ancient medita/on-scien/sts. Medita/on works regardless of whether you are religious or not.

If you are religious, the practice will enrich your understanding of your faith.

You’ll experience a deeper sense of connec/on to that which you hold sacred and the teachings you cherish will mean even more to you.

If you’re not religious, through prac/ce you’ll discover that which is deeper than believing or not believing. All you have to do is run the experiment!

Reason #5: My mind won’t get quiet. If you stop the average person on the street and ask, “Is your mind

agitated and out of control?” most people will say no.

But sit the average person down on a medita/on cushion and – BAM – aVer three minutes they’ll report, “My mind is totally out of control! It’s overflowing with thoughts!”

It doesn’t take much prac/ce to discover how noisy it is inside the coconut.

Meditation does not make the mind noisy. Instead it reveals the noise that is already there in the untrained mind. If you’ve sat to meditate and been disappointed by the running, ran/ng, raving of the mind . . . welcome to the club.

You’re seeing something that the average person never realizes: the untrained mind is incessantly busy. When you observe this, it means that medita/on is working.

You are now moving through

the surface layer of mental debris. There are calm, clear,

s/ll waters within. It’s the surface of the mind that’s choppy with thoughts, liTered with emo/ons.

All this activity isn’t an obstacle to your practice of meditation, it’s the gateway. It’s just the condi/ons that you encounter as you wade into the prac/ce.

Thinking is not an obstacle at all. Through skillful prac/ce, you learn how to respond to thoughts and emo/ons in a way that actually promotes s/llness.

The first step is to observe and not buy into the thought, “My mind won’t get quiet.” It will . . . as long as you don’t try too hard to silence it. A quiet mind can’t be forced. Using will power pushes against the mind. It’s like pushing down on a spring. The harder you push – the more the spring pushes back.

When you try to force the mind into stillness, it pushes back. It becomes more agitated and disrup/ve. So the mind isn’t quieted by will power or effort. It’s done in the same way that you allow a glass of muddy water to become clear. You just let the mud seTle. Gravity does the work for you. If you don’t s/r up the water, the par/cles will seTle . . . without effort. It’s similar with medita/on.

Meditation lets the mud – the noisy thoughts and emotions – settle. Instead of using gravity, medita/on uses awareness. Awareness will do the work for you . . . if you don’t s/r up the thoughts and emo/ons.

It takes prac/ce, because you’ve been condi/oned to s/r up the mind, churning up thoughts and emo/ons. You’ve been trained that the way to solve problems, improve your life, realize happiness is by s/rring the mud. But that’s not how it works.

The creativity and happiness we all seek is revealed not created. It’s already there within you, but obscured by the swirling thoughts and emo/ons. What seTles the mud isn’t more effort – it’s awareness.

Through prac/ce, you learn how to let go of struggle. You stop piOng thought

against thought and emo/on against emo/on. You cul/vate mindfulness and discover how awareness itself seTles the mind.

When the thought “My mind won’t get quiet” arises – just witness it. Don’t believe the thought or argue with it or push it away or try to change it. Be mindful. In that mindfulness, you experience the sacred power of awareness; and you marvel as the mud seTles on its own.

Reason #6: Meditation is boring. During summer vaca/ons, my parents would take the family down to the

bay to watch the sun set over the water. As a child, I didn’t get the aTrac/on. To me, the sunset was boring. But, what made it boring?

Boredom is a symptom of not paying attention. When you really pay aTen/on to something, it becomes interes/ng. The depth of your aTen/on reveals the depth of what you are focusing on.

Imagine siOng next to a sleeping newborn and watching the child breathe.

What could be simpler? There’s this kid breathing . . . in, out, in, out. But as you gaze at the infant, an awareness, a sense of awe, and gra/tude dawns.

What could be more amazing? It’s s/ll the same old in, out, in, out, but as you

look deeply, you recognize every breath as the very rhythm of life itself.

When you pay attention to something very deeply, it becomes very interesting. This is one of the miracles of medita/on; as your aTen/on seTles, whatever you are focused on reveals itself more and more completely.

Whether you’re focused on the pulse of an infant’s breath, the aroma of a bowl of soup, the sound of a bird, or expression on the face of a dear friend; when your aTen/on is seTled, you recognize the beauty, depth, and sacredness of what is before you.

Conversely, the more scattered and superficial your attention, the more boring life appears. The surface mind skates along on the . . . um . . . surface of life. It can’t perceive or receive the beauty, wonder, and meaning of experience. The scaTered mind can only touch and be touched by life superficially.

Trapped in this superficial rela/onship to life, the scaTered mind needs constant

entertainment and distrac/on. Nothing is sa/sfying. Nothing is meaningful. The scaTered mind leaps from one object to another. It’s ironic that the constantly

moving mind is also chronically bored. But this is where medita/on becomes so powerful.

Meditation dissolves boredom. Medita/on cul/vates mindfulness and strengthens your capacity to bring deep aTen/on to whatever arises – within your mind and within daily life. Through the prac/ce of medita/on, you naturally infuse moment-to-moment experience with awareness.

Awareness does all the work. Awareness dissolves the veil of boredom; the richness and wonder of the moment is revealed. But this doesn’t mean that we have leV the subject of boredom.

Reason #7: Actually, meditation is boring. OK, you’re right. Medita/on is boring, but it’s boring by design.

This boring-ness can be transforming. Here’s why: when the untrained

brain is given repe//on, it habituates. It stops registering the input and focuses elsewhere. This is where medita/on can truly change your life.

Here’s the science: in a groundbreaking study from the early 1960’s,

researchers*compared the brain waves of non-meditators and experienced meditators when presented with a repe//ve sound.

After just a few beeps, non-meditators habituated. The beep was boring. It faded into the background and their aTen/on went

elsewhere. The untrained mind wandered into thoughts and fantasies. This

habituated response was reflected in the brain wave paTerns.

But the meditators didn’t habituate. They didn’t allow the repe//ve paTern to

become mental wallpaper. They remained present and aware, apprecia/ng the arising and passing away of the repe//on.

The meditators brain wave paTerns reflected the ever-newness, the richness of

their subjec/ve experience.

Each repetition of the beep registered as a fresh, unprecedented event. It’s not that the meditators forgot what had just happened. They knew that the

beeping paTern was repea/ng. But they didn’t experience the repe//on as

boring. They experienced each moment as precious.

* Dr Akira Kasamatsu and Dr Tomio Hirai of the Department of Neuro–Psychiatry, Tokyo University.

The meditators brains didn’t habituate. Their aTen/on didn’t wander off into day dreams, associa/ons, thoughts, or

memories. They were able to meet their experience from a level of awareness

that is inherently engaged and awake.

There is a level of consciousness within you that is inherently engaged, awake, and present. The prac/ce of medita/on reconnects you with this level of

consciousness. And it does this by . . . being boring. Medita/on

methods are boring by design. The repe//ve, boring, structure of the

medita/on prac/ce facilitates a shiV: from the easily bored surface

mind to the ever-new, life-enriching depths of your inner mind.

Meditation trains your attention muscle. Your capacity to focus aTen/on and to sustain that focus is like a muscle.

When you begin prac/ce, your aTen/on muscle is weak. Your mind gets

easily bored and wanders into distrac/ons (and starts s/rring the mud.)

But with prac/ce – and not a lot – the aTen/on muscle strengthens. The

wandering tendency is re-trained; you learn to sustain focus without effort.

Ahhhhh . . . .

As your attention muscle strengthens – a new level of awareness emerges. You don’t create this new level

of awareness. It’s already within you. Through prac/ce you

develop your capacity to connect with and embody it.

You become more and more acclimated to this deeper level; more capable

of func/oning from that deeper level for longer and longer periods of /me.

So the repetition in the practice has a purpose. As you prac/ce, you break out of the trance of habitua/on and discover

the ever-new, ever-wondrous nature of life as it arises in this moment.

Those are 7 reasons that people have told me get in the way of their practice. What about you? What has made star/ng, sustaining, or deepening your

medita/on prac/ce challenging?

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