The meditation world has been dominated by non-threatening, gentle idiots who are more than happy to encourage the ignorant masses to zone out and relax (which is what the ignorant masses want).
(Don’t forget that meditation teachers pretend to be happier than they are because they feel social pressure from their friends to fit in.)
Canceled meditators have insight
My prediction is that in the next couple of years, people who have been victims of cancel culture will be speaking out more. Lots of them have real insight, but up to now, have been afraid to share their insights.
Meditation matters more today because we’re in a time of greater diversity and interconnectedness. There is no way to make everyone’s verbal system line up with everyone else’s. So, it’s more important than ever that we learn how to attain some degree of equanimity that can absorb those shocks until culture can learn to synchronize on its own.
The pandemic has caused so much disconnection and fighting online.
I’m hopeful that one day we’ll figure out how to create a critical mass of enlightened people who can influence the culture to become more tolerant.
Practice is more important than beliefs
We’re wasting too much time in the meditation world arguing over stupid things, too much time trying to convince people to look at things a certain way.
None of that’s important. People will always have their own unique ways of looking at things based on their own personal learning histories.
Instead, we should be practicing: giving practical exercises and doing them.
It’s not about “self-care”
Looking at Instagram, meditation people seem to be talking about “self-care” and “fully showing up for yourself.” This feels untrue to me because there is no self. It encourages people to engage in emotional avoidance.
That’s fine and all, but it’s not meditation. Meditation is about observing sensory phenomena as they are. Don’t get it confused with psychotherapy or assertiveness training or anything like that. They’re totally separate. Meditation requires you to accept even the parts of you that aren’t interested in self-care.
People are anxious about this because they’re becoming aware of how society has been controlling them and they want to break free.
It’s about untying knots
Yet, I have high hopes for meditation because of the potential for it to untie knots in the human mind, to increase empathy and compassion and save the world.
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