A Meditation on Meditation

Posted by Elise Mitchell on April 23, 2014

The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices are vast and becoming increasingly publicized in our culture. Today, that mattered very little. What I witnessed today stood out against all the years I’ve been teaching meditation and mindfulness practices.

Under the perfect blue of a high desert spring sky, I led one of my favorite guided imagery exercises. The exercise invites the participant to loosen their imagination, broaden their dreams of their future, and tune into their inner wisdom. They are guided through the grandest vision they have of their life at some designated point in the future. Then, they take time with the older, more self-actualized version of themselves to ask the questions they need to answer to get to that vision. Fascinatingly and overwhelmingly, those who participate in this experience find that their ‘older selves’ are quite loving, compassionate, and wise. Today that made all the difference.

After the meditation, I asked if anyone wanted to share what their older versions had to say. Among the 10 faces staring back at me, there was one that struck me most. Only hours before, this young man had introduced himself as a sensitive Pisces. He has a history of being bullied, paralyzing social anxiety, a learning disability, and had lost his father to drugs and alcohol when he was six. Upon meeting him, I could see the fear and distrust of the world in his eyes as they squinted back at me through freckles and disheveled blonde hair. His story ran deep. Now, after 30 minutes of exploring the subconscious, there was a new look in those eyes. He couldn’t wait to share what he experienced. I nodded for him to begin and what came next was sublime.

“He told me it would be okay, that I am okay… That everything will be okay.” Tears poured forth with this exhale of relief and recognition. “I’ve never heard someone say it like that… that it will be okay.” In that moment, I witnessed someone reconnect to an innate wisdom and compassion that can support and affirm them when the external world cannot. Someone so removed from a secure, balanced sense of self and the world could spend 30 minutes in their imagination and rediscover a knowing that has the power to help heal years of depression and anxiety. Even if his experience was fleeting, it planted a seed that cannot be dug up. This is the power of mindfulness and meditation. The definition and practices vary greatly from person to culture to point in history but the invitation remains the same: Come back. Come back to the stillness in which dwells the ineffable truths that your heart longs to remember.

“I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.”

Oriah Mountain Dreamer, The Invitation

Elise Mitchell is the Health and Wellness Coordinator for Second Nature Entrada. To learn more about Second Nature for Adults contact one of our admissions counselors.