Most people picture meditation like this: a calm person sitting cross-legged on a mountaintop, eyes closed, free of all worries, floating somewhere between awareness and enlightenment. The image has caused more harm to the reputation of meditation than any other thing. It causes common citizens to believe that they are doing it wrong even before they start doing it, and that’s a real shame, as the actual practice is far less perfect, more approachable, and more engaging than the postcard image. Read more now on walking meditation for ADHD minds.
The most damaging misconception for newcomers is the belief that your mind should go blank. Someone starts meditating, a random thought appears, and they think they’re doing it wrong. They didn’t fail. That is not how the practice functions. The thoughts are the same as the breaths of the lungs, they just come out, all the time, even when you do not want them to. The practice of meditation is not concerning the process of stopping that; it is concerning the relationship to it. You observe the thought, don’t follow it, and bring your attention back to your focus point. It is not the failure that seems to pop into mind. Getting lost in old memories for minutes? That happens—it’s normal.
The other myth that is worth burying is the notion that meditation takes long periods of time. The quote of not having an hour to sit quietly and be quiet is something that a number of people truly feel disqualifies them. It does not disqualify you. Deliberate attention on the present moment takes five minutes in reality. Consistency matters more than duration. The benefits don’t scale how most expect, that the frequency is proportional to the duration almost one hundred per cent of the time, especially when you are just starting out.
Another belief is that meditation requires silence. Sit in a room, there should be no distractions. However, there are many traditions, which make the use of chanting, music or rhythmic sound the main topic of practice. There are individuals who meditate best when there is no background noise, while others benefit from ambient noise like rain or white noise because silence can be distracting. Quiet is not mandatory. Follow what suits your brain, not generic advice.
Then there is the posture myth. People think there is only one correct posture. This belief stops more people from meditating than anything else. A chair is perfectly fine. You can lie down, though sleep is a risk. Standing is an option. Moving meditation is widely accepted. Body posture is only important in that you do not want to be stressed but comfortable enough to concentrate on your task, yet not so relaxed that you are likely to fall asleep. That’s all. Your couch in the living room is qualified.
A subtler myth often held by experienced practitioners, is that every session must feel calm. Sometimes it does. You sit down sometimes and find out that you are colliding with anxiety that you had been unaware of. Sometimes grief surfaces. At times, you feel nothing and question the process. That is part of it. It allows you to observe whatever exists within you. Expecting constant relaxation leads to disappointment.
Another misconception is that meditation belongs only to certain beliefs. Yes, in the past, numerous traditions of meditation were formed within the religious context. However, the fundamentals of its mechanics, namely, attention, awareness, returning, have nothing in common with any belief system. You do not even have to have certain beliefs regarding consciousness or universe to have the advantage of sitting quietly and doing nothing. This is like telling one that a person cannot have the physical benefit of the yoga practice on the grounds that they are not Hindu. There is a difference between the practice and the tradition of it.
Lastly, many individuals assume that meditation is something you become good at, where focus becomes effortless and quiet. Long-time meditators know this is not true. It is always a practice. You improve at noticing distraction, you gain awareness of your patterns, you are not as easily distracted by the noise. However, the sound does not end. Once you make peace with that reality, the process becomes smoother.