Everyday Mindfulness

Returning to the 8-week course this week, with Fee's gentle encouragement, I found myself asking the question, "Why do I meditate?"
Why do I sit on my meditation stool or stretch out on my mat every day, when there's maybe a hundred and one other things my mind would prefer me to be doing? Why?
Ezra Bayda asks us to picture a clear glass of water with a layer of mud at the bottom.
"Imagine stirring up the water," he writes, "so that it becomes muddy. This muddy water is our substitute life - swirling with anxiety and confusion. We race around trying to keep up, but with little clarity about what we're doing. Taking this glass and setting it down is like setting ourselves down to sit. What happens? In the glass, the mud gradually settles to the bottom, and the water becomes clear and still. In sitting, we learn what it feels like to settle down. There is something strengthening about not moving when the impulse to move arises in us. Instead we just stay still, not feeding the agitation, not stirring up the water anymore. Over time, sitting fosters a settled quality, an equanimity, in the midst of the muddy turmoil of our lives."
And there's my answer, right there.

That picture is a very useful way of describing meditation

I have been thinking about the opposite of this over the last few days. I have struggled to meditate because I am finding my life very muddy right now and having to get in touch with that has felt very difficult. Of course once I realised that is what has been going on it felt easier and more inviting to sit again. Maybe this is what they mean by no pain, no gain!

The mud-in-water metaphor is the essence of the Shurangama Sutra, where it's stated: "It is like purifying muddy water by placing it in a quiet vessel which is kept completely still and unmoving. The sand and silt settle, and the pure water appears. This is called the initial subduing of the guest-dust affliction."

This, too, is my reason for meditating.

Although I wouldn't have thought of this metaphor, I too meditate for exactly the same reason. Meditation brings such clarity to my life that I know I wouldn't be able to achieve otherwise. Having MS means that life throws very challenging situations at me, and my possible futures are big scary monsters that like to try and show themselves to me. Mindfulness helps me to navigate my way through these difficulties and retain a huge sense of wellbeing.

Through Meditation were able to create an area of one's mind to conceptualize good thoughts and removing stress factors and going through a healthy lifestyle.