Do We Have To Make Meditation Entertaining?

I have to admit that when I first saw the headline, David Romanelli set out to make meditation entertaining, and I cringed. I really did. The last few years have challenged me, observing many of our Sacred and Venerable rituals and practices become watered-down and made cute or sexy by Mother Culture. My immediate thought was simple, “Oh no, not meditation; please do not do this to meditation.” This phenomenon has manifested in Reiki, Hatha Yoga, Qi Gong, Acupuncture, and many other traditional healing practices. Isn’t it enough that almost every image of meditation has a very thin, white female with perfect hair and skin with no pores? Please, not meditation too!

I read the article trying to be open-minded, or at least not closed-minded. The truth is that it is an interesting concept David Romanelli is creating. Maybe it is time for meditation to be brought into our culture in a way that fits modern society better. I was trained in traditional methods, stiff and hard, more like Brillo than sponge. I wonder if it was offered to me in a softer method and if I would have improved quicker. I doubt it, but it is possible. I needed the school of hard knocks version of meditation training; maybe not everyone else does.

I have shifted how I train students in meditation over the years; I imagine it is softer than the way I was trained.  I am also a more dynamic teacher than my Teacher. I am not necessarily a better teacher than her; I am just not as hardcore. I leave a bit more space for support and processing. I am not sure it is more effective; it is just the direction I have been guided in teaching meditation. Many of my students are young women in their late teens and early twenties. They have needs different from what I did; we all need something different than the next person. A skilled and experienced meditation Teacher recognizes this and is guided in determining the most effective method to meet the needs of their students. I am sure I have not made meditation entertaining, at least I doubt it. I am not even sure I know how I could make meditation entertaining. I have my doubts that we need to make meditation entertaining to motivate folks to begin a meditation practice. My inner sense is that we begin when we are ready, and we stick with our commitment if we are willing to honor that commitment.  It is not easy; I can tell you there are many days I am not in the mood to sit and meditate. It is not unusual for us to rebel against such a positive force in our lives; it is completely natural. The question is simple: are we going to honor our spiritual commitments, or are we going to let our ego and need for stimulation rule our lives?

I invite you to read this piece on making meditation entertaining. I would like to hear your comments on whether we should make meditation entertaining for students.

David Romanelli sets out to make meditation entertaining.