Meditation is like surfing.
A good surfer practises techniques and hones skills. Preparation is essential; preparing the board, preparing oneself, finding the right break at the right beach.
Yet no matter how skilled, how experienced, how expert, without the wave the surfer is meaningless and helpless. All the best equipment, preparation and capacity is of no avail.
The essence and thrill of surfing is in riding the wave, experiencing its power and perfection. When riding a wave the surfer feels and becomes part of something greater and vaster than his or her self. He or she surrenders to that vaster reality in the freedom and exhilaration of the infinite. If there is no surrender, no letting go, the wave cannot be ridden and the endeavour is fruitless.
Preparation, technique, skill and the right attitude are all essential: yet when the surfer stands on the board, technique, equipment and attitude become secondary, as the wave itself takes over. The best surfer is the one who can most completely surrender to, and become the wave.
So is it in meditation. We must prepare ourselves with the right equipment, technique and attitude. When we are successful in clearing the mind is the moment when the surfer stands up on the board. At this moment, the wave must take control and we become spectators and enjoyers. We allow the meditation-wave of peace, power, light and love to carry us beyond and within to the freedom of the infinite.
After some time, it occurs to us to wonder: if the force of this experience is coming from the wave, from where does the wave derive its power?
Just as the surfer is nothing without the wave, so the wave is nothing without the ocean.
It is this ocean we must aspire eventually to become.