Who? - Steven Thirkle

We all meditate. The Oxford dictionary would define meditation as “A written or spoken discourse expressing considered thoughts on a subject.” Therefore, we can consider meditation simply as deep concentrated thought. Which is something all of us engage in, occasionally.

We all Meditate? Really?

Yes, we do. You are just not aware of it. These meditations are unconscious to our awareness. But we do invest our attentions in these activities and thus are considered meditations. When we eat, drink, make love to our partners, talk with our family and friends, write, create, build – we are meditating. These engage our attention, although, in many cases not to their full extent, which can ultimately affect the experience. To become fully immersed in experience, one requires presence. And presence can be achieved through focused and dedicated concentration. This is meditation. To improve our ability to deploy a focused and dedicated concentration, we must practice, practice, practice. If we wish to enjoy our lives, and live our experiences fully, we must become present.

Not all Meditation is Meditation

A Deliberate Practice

We have meditation, and then we have meditation. Many of us engage in deep thought daily. But few of us actually create the space to engage in it deliberately. By merely investing our whole attention, we can make any activity, an activity of meditative practice. If you enjoy tea, then making a pot of tea, for you, can allow you to concentrate your attention and become fully present. Yes, meditation can be considered deep concentrated thought, but it is much more than that. If you desire to meditate, then you must be willing to create the time and space to the present. By simply focusing on how the breath enters and exits the body, the mind is silenced and the attention is fixated upon a single subject.

My Deliberation

I love to walk, hike, and climb. I am obsessed with nature. This website will inform you on that. I find that when I am out in the forests, on the mountains, in the waters of the world. I am consumed by its beauty. I am forced to be in the present, because nothing else is of concern but the moment. I want to savour it and spend as much time there as possible. I exhibit my body wholly. On the mountains, where a false move could spell my doom, my mind has no choice but to be present, because it is not possible for my mind to be elsewhere, otherwise, there is a good chance that I am going to miss my step. This allows me to forget about the past, and the future. And to fully enjoy the now.