Don’t worry. This post isn’t woo-woo. It is actually about personal finance. Meditation’s main cost is time. That’s not a trivial cost, but with prices going up and supplies going down, it can be handy to find a way to cope that doesn’t involve a wallet.

I’m also not going to claim that meditation is a panacea. Panaceas don’t exist. Sorry. During one episode in my life, meditation was my refuge, but the outside world became so chaotic that it was a shock to re-enter the world. Meditating was great, but the dissonance was too great to manage. 

I’m also not going to claim that you should always do more. When a person doesn’t have much money, time becomes even more valuable. During the stint when I was working 361 days a year and usually 10-14 hours a day, extending my meditation sessions meant not making enough to live. Suggesting more is better highlights someone’s opinion is based on financial stability. Not everyone can afford that luxury.

Meditation is a luxury, and it can be a necessity. My life has been far from flawless, but I’m been glad to find some time to do some meditation. Imagine how much more difficult it would’ve been without it. Thank you, meditation.

At an initial level, meditation provided that refuge that I mentioned. When the dissonance wasn’t so large the meditation was a reset. For a while, I reminded myself that many of my worries and anxieties were theoretical or at least not-right-now. When I had enough time I could start to feel my face muscles relax, then my neck, then lower. I’m sure it works differently for others.

There are meditation gurus and coaches. There are classes and support groups. They might cost money and they may take more time to engage with, and they can be worth it. You might be able to do it yourself.

I have been lucky. I study a defunct style of karate (long story about Okinawa, founder families, and humanity). My style rarely shows up in the movies because it is not flashy. One idea does resonate; karate is for defense. On the business side, offense sells better. Defense is good enough for me. We started and ended each class with meditation. It was a time to disconnect from the world’s worries and focus on the here and now.

Here and now sounds trivial and simple, but reality is not in the past or the future. Here and now is reality, or as close as I guess we can get to it.

Meditation is inherently simple. One instructor pointed out that the original meditation was simply a breathing exercise. At each person’s core, we have to breathe. The way we breathe affects our stress level, or its lack. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Use the diaphragm. 

I find it funny how hard it can be to breathe simply. I can be so wound up that a session passes and I just got past that moment’s worries before I have to go back out into that world.

But I shouldn’t have to. Meditation has an infinity of depths. To me, one ultimate is moving meditation, a moment that some describe as zen, a moment when meditation is no longer a stance or a posture or a way to sit. Gardeners can get there. Anyone exercising a skill or craft can have such moments. I’ve never had such a moment in a meeting unless I’ve clued out from boredom.

But considering the list the current day worries, it is a relief to know that a refuge is always readily available inside my head.

One monk pointed out that monasteries in remote mountains are great places to practice meditation, but that people living in society have it tougher, and that their practice has a greater effect. A monk on a mountain who achieves peace has an accomplishment, but a single-parent who is barely sustaining their family needs meditation more, and any peace they can pass along is far more beneficial. The refuge in the mountains should be preserved, but peace in normal life is more precious.

I’m retired now, so I have fewer excuses to not meditate more. I meditate about an hour a week. A friend meditates fifteen minutes a day. I know a month who meditated in silence for ten years. It’s all good.

I’ve been meditating for over four decades. I’ve experienced a few layers of relaxation. I’ve even experienced a few sessions that are best described in koans, an attempt to capture in words something that can’t be captured in language. My life in my tiny house (MyTinyExperiment.net) has too many distractions, ironically. I’m not that good, yet. More space is better, or maybe that’s because I think nature is more natural.

A meditation space costs money because land costs money. Using public lands costs time, too. I won’t trivialize modern meditation by claiming that it’s free, but its costs can be far less than its benefits. 

OK. I should go sit and breathe for a while, but first I have to publish this post. There’s just so much to do!