One of my readers asked, "What's the difference between meditating on your issues and denial, or putting things on the back burner?” Good question. I invite others. This month I’ve been addressing using meditation to get a new perspective on your issues and on yourself as a gentle way to grow and stretch yourself. It’s certainly not denial because denial indicates a complete lack of awareness. The issue is on a subconscious level. (Others can see it but you can’t.)

Comparing meditation to putting things on the back burner, however, opens some interesting ideas. To me the back burner works when you know there is a problem, it seems solvable, but not now. Or you know there’s some information pending that will let you solve it later. I proposed using meditation for issues that seem currently unsolvable. They may be old or new, but there’s not enough information. Focusing inside ourselves (meditation) helps us access the part of our brain that gives us the big picture. (See the famous nun study.) Of course, sometimes we can’t step back far enough. That’s where we have to strengthen our trust that we can still move forward even with burning questions. Again, I’m reminded of Rilke’s “learn to love the questions…and some distant day you’ll live into the answers.” But back to the reader’s question. My sense is that it comes from the dominant Western point of view that the only way to solve a problem is to keep working at. The mindset I’m suggesting here is that meditating is doing something, something very active. In fact, most people I talk to about meditating say it’s just too hard. It is challenging to sit still and look inside. All kinds of stuff comes up. And it is an amazing way to experience yourself and your issues in a fresh way, and perhaps gain awareness or insight.

As a mental health professional, an owner of a fitness studio, a writer and a wife, mother and grandmother, I have found meditation to be helpful in every aspect of my life. Let's talk... To learn about my meditation classes you can reach me at susanmmorales@yahoo.com or check out my websites: susanscottmorales.com and bodiesinbalancefitness.com