8000 hours.
That is approximately how many hours I have sat and meditated in my entire life. That is just shy of one year out of my forty one full years of existence.
Is that a lot? A little? Too much? Not enough? Am I good at it? Not good at it? Getting better?
No idea. I wouldn’t reckon a definitive answer on that.
But I value my meditation practice very much and that is why I return to it again and again.
Meditation can be challenging. Especially in world that is so opposed to being still and being present.
One reason (besides will, desire, impact, and interest) that I have had the steadiness in my practice for so long is that I engage in other practices that feed into meditation being possible. Just jumping from life at 100mph into stillness can be overwhelming. People often complain “My mind goes crazy when I meditate!”
Fair enough.
When I was very young (three or four years old) I was introduced to a practice called “The Pause” or “pausing.” Pausing meant taking a moment to connect with the senses (or just one sense if time was pressing) at the beginning and end of an activity – a meal for instance. But another instruction that came with pausing was to look for “natural points of rest that arise” during an activity and to pause there as well. An example of this might be at a party when somehow everybody stops talking for a moment and the music stops and it is just quiet.
To even attempt to tabulate how many times I have paused in my life would be impossible. But the practice has imbued in me the capacity to stop, slow down, be present and at rest during the most chaotic of activities.
In Crossfit everybody uses chalk to keep their hands from slipping on a bar. You may chalk often or not much. You may coat your hands in the stuff and leave big white hand prints on your clothing or just use a simple light dusting. But we all chalk.
The way that I see chalk used (and I often use it this way too) is as a distraction of sorts.
Frustrated from just missing a lift? Chalk.
Just hit a lift? Chalk.
Exhausted during a WOD? Chalk.
Want to do something workout related while chatting? Chalk.
The act of chalking up ends up being an activity that is absent minded or has us reflecting on the past or the future as opposed to an activity in and of itself.
Next time you find yourself at a chalk bucket and take a moment to stop there and connect to your senses with the chalk.
Feel the weight of the chalk in the hand. No need to try to guess the weight, just feel it.
Feel the texture of the surface of the chalk.
See the color. Note the variation in color if any.
Notice the temperature of it.
Feel the different size pebbles.
Notice how much or little pressure is needed to turn a small piece into powder.
Notice the smooth and rough texture as it coats the fingers and hands.
Hear the sound of the chalk spreading.
Doubtless you will discover other things there as well. Now you don’t need to go through all of these things, but you can. Just one sincerely connected with will do. Check what the state of mind was before and after being with the chalk and report back what your experience was.
Pausing frequently will condition the mind and heart and body to be used to rest, which is auspicious for being in a state available to meditate at other times.