I’ve Practiced Meditation for 49 Years

Here are the most important things I’ve learned.

Photo by David Brooke Unsplash

I looked up at the stars on a clear night recently — the beauty of our universe was undeniable. It puts our life in perspective, too, seeing this vast cosmos of which we are just a tiny part. I felt peaceful, blessed to be alive and humble. I thought to myself, looking up is good for us.

So is meditation, or looking within.

The purpose of meditation is not to control your mind, hear your inner voice, improve your health, find your passion in life, or solve your problems. Some of those may happen in the process of meditating, but they’re not the purpose.

The purpose of meditation is to connect to your inner self and experience joy, peace, and happiness.

Imagine someone told you there was buried treasure in your backyard. You start digging day after day, enjoying the exercise and fresh air. You notice you are getting stronger and feeling better, but you still haven’t gotten to the buried treasure. While there are benefits to digging, the purpose of digging is to find the treasure. The same thing applies to going within. We need not forget there is buried treasure within us.

Let’s put the word meditation aside for a moment — it can mean many different things. Let’s use…