Meditation changed my Perception

I wish I could articulate the benefit of meditating over several years.  If I could explain how I felt about who I was most of my life and who I now know me to be, I would.  But the truth is, the more I meditated the clearer it became that I never knew me very well. 

We are so much more than our thoughts. And my thoughts have little to do with who I am but have controlled so much of what I do and did. 

Don’t get me wrong, I did some fabulous stuff over the years.. My years working with kids and drug addicts and being a lawyer were fruitful, fulfilling and worthy. 

But I could have been so much more.  So much better.  But my mind was made up to live as an aggressor and to defy bullies.  Some bullies were other children when I was growing up.  My father was a bully. Bullies were often cops, judges, store keepers, teachers, coaches, etc.

I am no one’s victim and I never was. The biggest bully I ever met was my own mind. 

Meditation led to liberation from the perception that anyone was/could harm me emotionally other than me.

I try to be vigilant against spiritual arrogance but I have to say this. Talking to persons who reside in their own thoughts taxes me when we engage on matters of significant emotional substance. There is so often a disconnect between their reactions to events and their desire to react in a healthy way. I am often asked to guide persons through troubled waters, sometimes legally, sometimes spiritually. Guiding them to solutions often requires undermining the foundations of their belief systems, most especially when that system is the obstacle to liberation.

I learned and now teach Vipassana meditation derived from the time and teachings of the Buddha. I am certain there are other meditations and paths to enlightenment/self-awareness. But big shout out to the Buddha for teaching the nature of reality and the challenges to be free from suffering and to reside in happiness.

My time spent in meditation, training with teachers, living as a novice Buddhist monk, living in a temple in Thailand have been investments which have paid tremendous dividends in enhancing the quality of my existence. Visit me any Wednesday night at 7PM at the Buddhist Center of Dallas. Embark on a life transforming journey which begins with the simple but challenging admonition to focus on your breath.