A Cynic Look Into Meditation
A
s a graduate student in marriage and family therapy, I have been introduced to meditation practices against my own will. One of the foundational courses in my program was about Milton Erickson and his revolutionary ideas towards the field of marriage and family therapy. However, the course required every student to meditate throughout the semester and journal their experiences as a graded assignment. While I particularly enjoyed learning about an important figure and his contributions to my field, I had conflicting thoughts regarding to my meditation experience. Throughout my training, I have witnessed the importance of mindfulness practices first hand. Yet,
14
meditation was everywhere. From that first awkward class demonstration where we all had to close our eyes and meditate in an awkward class room setting, to the one we had to drink tea while meditating in class. Without even a warning the practice of meditating was the pill we all swallowed. And before I could process the value of it, I have seen meditation everywhere in the social media, in television, in radio shows, even the big companies such as apple and google are all incorporating meditation into their practices. The act of meditating can be wonderfully calm and grounding experience. Allowing its practitioners to breathe and stay in
October 2021 InSession | FMHCA.org
the moment. My experience of meditating always left me in a state of just being. Devoid of any feeling or emotion just simply existing. When I asked my colleagues about their experiences, they all agreed into just being and not feeling any particular way. Which led to the burning question of why? Why are we trying to prune ourselves from our fundamental emotions? Why are we trying to escape our right to feel? I remember being employed in a field I despised. However, for the monetary reasons I had to continue working. I vividly remember feeling sick of it and wanting more. The emotion itself was so intense that it made it difficult for me to motivate myself. During those moments of
