How Do I Know If Meditation Is Working?

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Excerpt: Meditating is the act of, essentially, doing nothing. Which can feel totally counterproductive in our world. But, what if the opposite was true?

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The following is an excerpt from Think Like A Monk by Jay Shetty (found on page 278 – 279). In it, Shetty shares three distinct signs that we can look for to help us gauge whether or not mediation is working for us. Afterwards, I share a few thoughts of my own on how meditation is highly underrated and wildly under discussed in the productivity conversation. Enjoy!

Enter Jay Shetty:

A novice monk went to his teacher and said, “I’m terrible at meditating. My feet fall asleep, and I’m distracted by the outside noises. When I’m not uncomfortable, it’ because I can barely stay awake.”

“It will pass,” the teacher said simply, and by her expression the novice knew that the conversation was over.

A month passed, and the novice took his teacher aside, smiling proudly. “I think I’ve figured it out! I feel so serene—more focused and centered than I’ve ever been. My meditation is beautiful.”

“It will pass,” the teacher replied.

There is no measure of success, no goal, and no end to a meditation practice. Don’t look for results. Just keep doing it. Practice consistently for four to twelve weeks, and you’ll start to notice the effects.

The first sign that you’re doing it right is that you’ll miss it if you take a break. You only miss a person when you’ don’t see them. When you eat every day, you don’t think much about nourishment and fuel, but if you don’t eat for a day, you quickly notice the power of food. The same is true for meditation—you have to develop a practice before you know what you’re missing.

The second effect you’ll notice is an increased awareness of what’s going on in your mind. If you meditate and feel tired, you’ll understand that meditation is telling you to get more sleep. Meditation is a signal or a mirror. If you meditate and can’t focus, you’ll see that you’re living a distracted life and need to feel order, balance, and simplicity. If you can’t sit with your thoughts for fifteen minutes, it’s a clear indicator of the work to be done.

The third and most important benefit of meditation is that, though you won’t emerge feeling calm and perfect every time, you’ll gradually acquire a long-term mastery of self.

When you drink a green juice, it doesn’t always taste great. A nice glass of fresh orange juice looks better and tastes better. But, long-term, the less delightful green juice will better serve you. When you are adept at meditation, you’ll feel a shift in your general attitude. Your intuition will be sharper. You’ll be able to observe your life more objectively, without being self-centered. Your expanded perception will give you a sense of peace and purpose.

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Afterword From Matt:

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Sitting in meditation can sometimes feel like a waste. Like you’re spending time doing nothing when you could be doing something. And resultantly can have opposite of the desired effect on anxiety.

Yet, I am reminded time and again how it is often one of the most productive things I do in my days. Not because of how much I’m getting done during that time—I’m literally sitting down and doing nothing. But, because of how much clarity and calm I’m gaining during that time.

Clarity and calm is highly underrated and wildly under discussed in the productivity conversation. It’s on the days when I feel most busy, that I tend to forget the most (and make the most mistakes). And it’s on the days when I feel most calm that I feel most on top of things and effective.

Just the other day, in a simple 15 minute zazen meditation session I:

• Had a blog post idea arise
• Remembered a person I needed to reach out to
• Had an flow for an upcoming martial arts demonstration come to mind…

This, however, wasn’t the point of the meditation—don’t misunderstand what I’m saying.

The point isn’t to have blog ideas, remember people, and get things organized on your to-do list. The point is clarity… so that you settle the mudded busyness that wreaks havoc on our mind and can be more deliberate and focused in your approach when done. And in that instance, that’s what gaining clarity looked like for me.

Remember this: if you don’t have time for clarity… then you’d better make time for mistakes. Because that’s exactly what’s coming when you don’t give your mind time to settle.

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If you enjoyed the above excerpt from Think Like A Monk, you should read Jay Shetty’s book in full. It comes highly recommended:

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