Why Meditation Doesn’t Work For You

The Rise of Fast Food Meditation

“In mindfulness one is not only restful and happy, but alert and awake. Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.”

– Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926–2022)

There are lots of benefits to be gained from meditation in all of its various forms: From Christian contemplative prayer, to Sufi Zikr (chanting), to Buddhist Vipassana and Samatha techniques. Research suggests that daily routines of these kinds can help to reduce stress, strengthen your focus, enhance self-awareness, promote emotional health, and boost your overall immune system. Those are scientific facts. But here is another fact: It matters why you do it! And contemporary culture is having a hard time getting that message.

In its natural context, meditation is part of spiritual and wisdom traditions that promote values-based action, compassion for others, and moral development. In the Western world, however, they are often promoted as health practices — end of story. That is fine, but it can come dangerously close to the selfish promotion of personal calm over spiritual growth. Ironically, once there, the methods no longer deliver the benefits they promise.

Meditation is frequently implemented in the context of psychotherapy, where it has shown promising results for people…