Since I meditate daily and organize a group that meets regularly in person in Manhattan, I end up talking about meditation a fair amount. It turns out that people can mean many different things when they say meditation.
To meditate can mean to sit and pay attention to your breath, to focus on a mantra, to ponder a koan, to reflect on life, to plan your day, or any number of mental activities.
It may involve sitting still, walking, eating, focusing on a task or ritual.
Your eyes may be open or closed, you might listen to a recording or try to create silence, you might write notes or eschew recording anything.
You may follow a tradition from any number of people, places, and times.
You may seek relaxation, insight, calm, focus, liberation, awareness, enlightenment, or any of many other goals.
I hope you get the idea: there is a lot of variety. Sometimes I hear people describing meditation and they’re talking about activities almost unrelated.
No big insight, but I found a model for how I talk about meditation: To say I’m going to meditate is like saying I’m going to play ball.
To play ball could mean baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, ping-pong, or any of many other ball sports. It could mean competing, practicing, spending time with friends, exercising, and so on. Playing one doesn’t mean you don’t like the others. You’re just not doing it this time.
In other words, there are a lot of types of meditation.
Incidentally, here’s a picture I took meditating on a pier on the Hudson one morning in 2023. Usually I meditate indoors, but looking at this picture again, maybe I should go outside more.
