Don’t go it alone

With all the time we spend sitting with our eyes closed, it's easy to think that meditation is a solitary occupation. That would be a mistake.

Meditating with others is an important part of developing a sustainable approach to meditation. 

As far as I can tell this works on two levels. 

The first is the feeling of doing this with other people.

There is something about gathering with others that feels good, even if you are mostly sitting together with your eyes closed. This good feeling helps to nourish and sustain you when you practice on your own. Of course, being with others can also be challenging but as long as group sessions promote respect, agency and safety this should be manageable. 

The second way meditating with others works is that, over time, supportive relationships can develop.

Obviously, this requires there to be more involved than just being guided in meditation. For relationships to grow you’ll need to talk at some point. This takes time but as you move beyond the initial stages of learning meditation you’ll find that having a few people you can share this with really helps. 

You might even consider setting up your own meditation group. If you like that idea and need some help with how to do that, let me know.