5 Things I’ve Learned After Twenty Years of Meditating

I started meditating when I was 21. When I was in Kathmandu, Nepal, I bought a copy of Kathleen McDonald’s How To Meditate at a bookstore in Thamel and read it. I had visited Boudha, a stunning Buddhist stupa in Kathmandu, earlier on my trip and felt a strong connection to the chanting monks and the spherical, skyward wonderment of the Buddha eyes and tower.

I read through the book, finishing it upon my return to America where I began to meditate on some folded pillows, beginning a long journey into the present day. It’s taken time but now I’m a daily meditator — somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour a day — and I have also attended several mediation retreats in my life. This morning I was thinking about how meditation has helped me and thought it would be worthwhile to share it will you all. So without further ado…

1. I am Not My Thoughts

All of us identify with our thoughts. How can we not? Our internal voice has been with us for as long as we can remember. Our thoughts help us think through problems and give voice to the narratives of our life. But meditation has given me some distance from thinking. I am better able to see the running stream of thinking that injects itself into every moment. And because I am better to see my thinking, I am better able to let go of thinking, especially when it is…