Does practice make perfect? I suppose that is very dependent on what you consider perfect and practice.
Meditation is often called a practice. Some people think that might means there is a right or perfect way to meditate, and if you do it often enough, you will become good, better or best at meditating. I don’t agree with that. Like most things spiritual, I do not subscribe to the one way to do anything spiritual system. Humans are too diverse for there to be only one way to be successful at spiritual development. That in mind, there is no one way to meditate and be perfect at it. What makes more sense to me is that each person look to find their own way to meditate. Ask yourself these questions, what is my purpose for meditating? What aspects of meditation are meant to lead to that purpose? What makes sense in my life to add as a practice? What can I sustain at this moment in my life? Once you answer those questions, just try, just practice. Practice only means that you try frequently, perhaps on a schedule, but that is not required.
You can have any purpose for meditation, and that purpose can change over time. Humans are constantly changing and evolving who they are and what they do, their goals, purpose, path, etc. You can also do this with meditation.
When I first began my practice a few years ago, I started by stretching my joints and muscles so that I could get out of bed and move around more easily throughout the day. That worked. I added some focused breathing a few months into it, and continued with stretching routine. Sometime later, I decreased the stretching component and added a sitting still component. I added music, then added brain wave tones. Sometime I used singing bowls as tones. I burn white sage and/or Paolo Santo to clear my thoughts and the energy around me. I recently added a Tai Chi element that I do sometimes. There was also a yoga phase. I have done walking meditation, and my blog is a type of writing meditation. I have used Oracle cards to guide my focus. I have used recorded, guided meditation. I wrote some of my own mantras to meditate with, and I listen to different Hindu and Buddhist chants most days while I get ready for work, which is also a form of meditation.
I have a sort of routine, but it varies from day-to-day. I am not seeking to be perfect at meditating. I am seeking to find space to learn to be more calm and relaxed physically, mentally and spiritually. I find my blend of activities for meditating works for that. I also enjoy hearing from my higher self and spiritual guides. Quieting my body and mind allows those messages to come through more clearly and more often. Sometimes I focus on something I want to have, be, or achieve in my life. That also works well as a side benefit to meditating. Consider what you want to achieve. What activities will bring those goals into your life? If you do not know, try something, anything, and see what happens. If it works, great! If it doesn’t, also great! You learned what doesn’t work for you right now. Try something else.
A meditation practice doesn’t mean you find the one right way to meditate and you practice that until you are perfect at it, good at it, or best at it. That would actually be the opposite goal for most meditation seekers, putting pressure on themselves to be the best meditator. Set the goal to do something, anything, that might lead you to your goal for meditation. You might be looking to calm your body, mind, and spirit, as I am. You can do this by doing anything from sitting still to movement, from silence to chanting. Almost anything you try has the potential to work for you. All you need to do is start doing something and find what works for you.
If you are using the “Meditation Minutes” to have focused thoughts about the topics, you are already meditating! If you are allowing your thoughts to roll around and flow through you, you are meditating! It’s all part of figuring out what you need, and what works for you.
Meditation Mantra for today: My meditation practice is my own. I seek to . . . (and you fill in the blank here. For me would be like this . . . quiet my body, mind and spirit to achieve a more balanced sense of being) Today, I practice meditation for me.
Namaste, I meditate on my love for you all.