A common mistake we make with meditation

“Meditation serves the greater end of wisdom… We practice awareness in the service of wisdom.”

~ Joseph Goldstein

Meditation is gaining momentum in many areas of society. It’s being taught in schools, businesses, healthcare, and even the military.

Although the scientific study of meditation is in its infancy (and we are discovering that there have been many poorly designed studies), there are hints that meditation has interesting benefits. For instance, research suggest it sharpens our attention, increases resiliency to stress, increases compassion, and reduces many kinds of personal biases (see here).

And these potential benefits are great.

But pursuing meditation for these kinds of ends misses what is arguably the most meaningful aspect of meditation.

A wasted superpower

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years across many different cultures and religions.

But, when it is taught in North America, it is often stripped of the teachings that would have traditionally accompanied it. This, I suspect, is to make it more palatable to our increasingly non-religious society.

I am not a religious person. But I’ve come to see over the past couple years that rejecting…