Has Meditation Become Gimmicky?

Meditation, as we know it in the West, has come from Eastern cultures and I’m of the opinion that it has indeed become gimmicky with lots of little add-ons to make one “Teacher” different from the next. Here’s why I think that.

Meditation teachers, Gurus, Yogis, Wannabes and the like all say pretty much the same things when it comes to describing how you should meditate. They mostly say we should sit on the floor, crossed legged, hands in our laps on top of each other with palms facing upwards, thumbs crossed, back erect, head straight and facing forward and so on. After that they tend to differ slightly when it comes to breathing techniques, eyes open or closed, clear mind or not, focus on a thought, an object or nothing at all.

Now, before I get the wrath of Buddha or some other “god” called down upon me, I will say there is nothing inherently wrong with all of that. If you’ve been taught these methods and are happy to use them, or even teach them, that’s fine, that’s your choice. All I’m saying is that some of the “rituals” associated with meditation are not necessary and are, in my mind, a bit gimmicky.

As I’ve mentioned, the meditation practices we know in the West have come mainly from Eastern cultures such as India, China, Japan and Tibet. As such they are usually associated with religious beliefs such as Buddhism and each has its own set of rituals or traditions.

For example, let’s look at Positions. As mentioned the ideal position, according to the Teachers, is sitting crossed legged on the floor, upright posture, hands in lap and so forth. My question is, do we really need to be in a certain position to meditate? Buddhists, Tibetan Monks and similar do so because it’s part of their culture to sit on the floor. They find it easy to sit in those positions and, therefore, it’s a comfortable and natural way for them to meditate.

Us Westerners are chair users and have been since probably the Roman times, if not before. When we lived in Round Houses and caves, chances are we used to also sit on the floor or ground either crossed legged or kneeling as many Japanese still do. We have forgotten how to do that and, therefore, we mostly find it difficult and uncomfortable to adopt these positions.

However, it doesn’t matter whether we are chair users or not, there’s no need to meditate in a specific position. You can meditate standing, sitting, running or walking. When you consider those who have mobility issues, who are bed-ridden, wheelchair bound and so on, who are unable to adopt these positions, does this mean they are excluded from meditation because they’re unable to do so? Of course not!

There are numerous stories about people paralyzed from the neck down who meditated whilst lying in their beds and were able to either heal themselves completely or gain some mobility. Others did so whilst in wheelchairs or were dealing with a Stroke, all of which are (in my mind) proof that no special position is needed, although admittedly lying down to meditate does tend to end in sleep, however your subconscious mind is still at work even then, so you are still meditating.

It’s also said you should cross your ankles and your thumbs, or fingers, to create a circuit to allow the Energy to flow more effectively. I’m not certain about that and here’s why. Energy is flowing through everything all the time. We are Energy Beings encased in a slower vibrating Energy Body. What’s going to stop the Energy from flowing when all IS Energy?

In conclusion the way I see it is: It doesn’t matter how, where or in what position you meditate, it all works. Whether you want to follow the teachings of Tibetan Monks or a self-styled Guru in downtown San Diego, then do so if that makes you happy. All I’m saying is, other forms of meditation practices are available should you wish to use them. Don’t be put off from meditating because you think you need to be a contortionist or if you have mobility issues. Meditation is in the mind, not the body.

Book Recommendation

This is a great book about Mindfulness which I highly recommend. It also contains some Mindfulness exercises and Buddhist Sutras:

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Naht Hahn