Tag: perfectionism

How I Changed Everything in the Universe, Including Meditation

,
A dramatic cloud-filled sky with a single open red parachute gliding gracefully across the vast and peaceful canyon below.

This is a true story about how I changed my meditation practice and everything else in the universe in one simple step. Well, one simple jump, anyway. In an effort to overcome fear of something entirely different, I jumped out of an airplane because I thought skydiving would be scarier. As it turns out, I was wrong: skydiving was way less scary than the thing I was avoiding. But the point is that the overarching result wasn’t what I expected. I sought to overcome fear, but instead I learned  first-hand how everything becomes different when seen through the lens of…

8 Common Meditation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, Part 2

,
A young man is seated, fingers interlaced in front of his face as if to meditate. His eyes are open and he seems caught in thought. There are cardboard boxes in the background.

In Part 1 of this 2-part series, we explored 4 of the 8 most common mistakes people feel they make in their meditation practice. In this second half, we’ll look at 4 more common mistakes and how to fix them or avoid them all together. Plus, be sure to read to the end to discover the secret bonus mistake that’s super common yet can be fixed in less than 30 seconds. Yeah, less than 30 seconds!  Okay, onto the next common misstep people make in meditation. 5. Meditating at the Wrong Time Finding time to meditate, let alone the best…

Practice Makes Imperfect in Meditation and I’m Okay with That

A sea surfer on a skimboard in the middle of the sea seems to be surfing alone. The sea surfer seems to be a young woman but the photo is in black and white making it difficult to tell.

Practice has been given a bit of a bum rap. Whether it’s sports of some kind, one of the arts, or any other discipline of the mind or body, we often expect the impossible out of practice. That is, we expect to be made perfect at the pursuit. Or at least some aspect of the pursuit. And then we take it as a personal failure when that doesn’t happen. Does this sound familiar to you in your meditation practice? If so, would you like to change that? There is another way of looking at perfection and imperfection – in meditation…