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Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn
As far as the topic...What ARE your reasons for meditating? 
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Not sure if you're addressing Gem specifically here, but since you asked - I've personally come to approach meditation in relation to that famous Rumi quote about how our task isn't to find love outside ourselves, but rather to seek and find the barriers within ourselves that we've built against it, and embrace them - that's essentially what my meditation practice is about, it's about bringing my attention into my present experience and noticing what's going on within me without attempting to manipulate or change my experience in any way.
Having practised meditation for a few years now, I've come to regard it as being primarily an act of self-compassion and self-acceptance, and by sitting with myself in this way, those barriers that Rumi talked about can slowly start to break down and the peace and love that is my essential spiritual nature can gradually emerge. That doesn't mean to say that it'll necessarily always be a particularly
comfortable or
pleasant experience, and it does require patience, discipline, and faith in the process; people in spiritual circles sometimes seek quick fixes and instant bliss, but I think that's a misguided and immature approach to spirituality and I don't think it ultimately leads to spiritual liberation, which is what I'm primarily interested in.