From time to time I wonder what got me into meditation. Maybe there are some regular activities that are “conductive to meditation”.

That got me thinking because there are a lot of people that I interact with, that really aren’t into anything resembling meditation.

The first thing I remember doing was a lot of reading. I read A LOT of books. Very different types of books. So, what can be in reading that is conductive to meditation?

Well, reading definitely needs a quiet place and some concentration. But I think the most important aspect is that when you read a book, you mentally have to set “rules” or “context” in order to understand it. You have to try to make contact with the idea or the world that the author presents. For a moment, you leave your worries, your everyday life and you enter the dream world of the book.

The second thing I remember doing was trying to understand other people and myself better. I was pretty arrogant before and very sure of my ideas. I tried to relax that. To accept a lot of my and others “mistakes”. To be more tolerant. Even more, I tried to get in touch with the feelings and ideas of other people. To somehow “be in the shoes” of the other. This felt very, very liberating.

The third thing I remember doing was long walks alone in the open. I would set two or three hours a day to just walk reflecting on the things I’ve done, the things I wanted, the things that lead to other things, how my life and the life of the people I know unfolded.

Somehow these three activities (and maybe others that I can’t figure out right now) lead me to start meditating.

So, whats the point of all this?

To people that simply reject meditation I would recommend:

To have a hobby (reading, photography, painting, etc) and to do it all the way (give it time, money, etc). That relates to the first thing.

The second thing, that’s not going to fly. People are too used to punishing themselves and others. And the world is filled with “right” and “wrong” ways to do things.

The third thing, to make some time to walk in the open. To reflect about the past, about ideas, intentions. Specially at night when it’s quiet and you can see the moon and the stars.

I came across this thoughts when feeling my intention to meditate, why did I do it, what did I want to get from it.

Just some ideas.