Henry Shukman on Meditation, Awakening, and the Path to Inner Peace

Henry Shukman, renowned Zen teacher and author, recently sat down for an in-depth conversation about meditation, awakening experiences, and the journey to inner peace. As the creator of the popular meditation app "The Way", Shukman brings decades of experience and wisdom to the discussion.

The Challenges of Establishing a Meditation Practice

One of the first topics addressed was the difficulty many people face in establishing a consistent meditation practice. Shukman acknowledged that user churn is a common issue with meditation apps and practices in general. Many people try meditation but give up quickly, feeling it's not for them.

Shukman emphasized that the key is to frame meditation as a long-term journey of training, rather than just a quick fix for stress relief. While stress reduction is certainly a benefit, the greater possibilities of meditation go far beyond that. With regular practice, meditation can fundamentally change how we operate in the world and handle whatever circumstances arise.

Meeting People Where They Are

When developing the curriculum for The Way app, Shukman and his team focused on creating something that could guide users through the full journey of learning meditation. Rather than just offering targeted interventions, the app aims to train people in meditation skills over time.

Shukman noted that it's important to meet people where they are. For those who feel they don't have time to meditate, he suggests starting with very short sessions and gradually building up. The key is establishing a consistent daily habit, even if it's just for a few minutes at first.

The Nature of Awakening Experiences

A significant portion of the conversation focused on the nature of awakening experiences in meditation. Shukman described awakening as a radical shift in perspective where one's sense of self falls away, revealing a vastly different way of experiencing reality.

Some key points about awakening experiences:

• They can happen spontaneously, even to beginners
• They often involve a sense of profound peace, love, and "okayness"
• Time and space may seem to disappear
• There's often a feeling of unity with everything
• They can be disorienting if one doesn't have a context for understanding them
• They reveal capacities and perspectives we already have but don't normally access

Shukman emphasized that while awakening experiences can be profound, they shouldn't be the sole focus of practice. A well-rounded approach incorporating mindfulness, connection, and flow states is most beneficial.

The Paradox of Seeking Awakening

Interestingly, Shukman noted that actively trying to achieve awakening can actually be counterproductive. Awakening isn't something we can grasp or obtain through effort. Rather, it's more about recognizing what's already here.

As Shukman put it: "Awakening is not another view. It's not like there's mountains, there's the river, there's the hills, there's the forest, and there's Awakening. No, in looking at the mountains, awakening is already here."

The path of practice is really about coming back more and more to simply being present, including being with difficult experiences. As we develop the capacity to be with what arises without pushing it away, we may suddenly recognize that we've never been what we thought we were.

Benefits Beyond Awakening

While awakening experiences can be transformative, Shukman emphasized that meditation offers many other valuable benefits:

• Increased mindfulness and self-awareness
• Greater self-compassion and compassion for others
• Improved ability to handle difficult emotions
• Enhanced focus and concentration
• Access to flow states and deep absorption
• A sense of connection to others and the world

Shukman's app, The Way, is designed to guide users through developing all of these capacities, not just pursuing awakening experiences.

Practical Tips for Meditators

Some practical advice Shukman offered for meditation practice:

• Aim to meditate early in the day, soon after waking if possible
• It's better to do one 20-minute session than two 10-minute sessions
• If you're missing days, reduce your target duration to something you can maintain daily
• Experiment with caffeine - tea and coffee can be fine before meditating
• Don't get discouraged by a busy mind - keep coming back to the practice
• Consider using guided meditations, especially as a beginner

The Universality of Meditative Insights

An interesting point of discussion was how meditative insights seem to arise across different traditions and cultures. Shukman noted that while the language and conceptual frameworks may differ, there appear to be common experiential threads.

For example, he described meeting an Orthodox Christian abbot who had what sounded very much like a classic Zen awakening experience, but framed it as "seeing the face of God." This suggests that these profound shifts in consciousness may be a universal human capacity, interpreted through different cultural lenses.

Meditation and Everyday Life

Shukman emphasized that the goal of meditation isn't to check out of everyday life or remain in blissful states. Rather, the insights and capacities developed through practice should enhance our ability to engage fully with life and be of service to others.

By developing greater mindfulness, compassion, and insight into the nature of our experience, we become better equipped to navigate challenges and contribute positively to the world around us.

Conclusion

Henry Shukman offers a compelling vision of meditation as a multifaceted practice that can profoundly transform our relationship to ourselves, others, and the world. While awakening experiences can be deeply meaningful, the everyday benefits of increased mindfulness, compassion, and inner peace are equally valuable.

For those interested in exploring meditation further, Shukman's app The Way and his book "Original Love" offer guidance on this transformative journey. As Shukman reminds us, the capacity for profound peace and insight is always already here - we need only learn how to recognize and cultivate it.

Article created from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1I5ksXbL40