Meditation transforms us from within. This process is completely natural and normal. If you bring forth divine qualities – peace, light, wisdom, love and compassion – your outer life has to change for the better.
Being a natural process, spiritual growth takes time.
When we are teenagers growing very rapidly, we don’t wake up one morning suddenly a lot taller. From day to day we don’t notice drastic change in ourselves. Yet when we visit our grandmother whom we haven’t seen for 6 months, she exclaims: “My, how you’ve grown!” Many changes in us will be noticed first by others. Our colleagues at work may remark on an air of calm and poise about us. A common question is: “What’s wrong with you? You’re smiling the whole time!”
Because the results of meditation are often subtle, we may not notice them ourselves until sometimes months or even years down the track.
When we live in our minds we are goal-oriented, focused on “success”. Yet when it comes to meditation, the benefits of which are sometimes imperceptible to our conscious awareness, there is no definable criteria for what constitutes success – other than a complete absence of thoughts, which we very rarely achieve. The value of meditation is in its cumulative effects. Each time we meditate we are building on the achievements of all our previous efforts.
We tend to focus on our shortcomings. While aiming at the summit, we see how much further there is yet to climb, neglecting the tremendous distance already covered. Intent on quieting our mind, we are intensely aware of all the thoughts that are still not under control.
Sometimes it’s good to look back down and appreciate how far we have come.
Don’t judge yourself. Enjoy the journey. You will proceed smoother, faster and further.