I noticed on my father-in-laws copy of Time Magazine that the cover had the beautiful actress, Heather Graham, in the classic meditation pose with the caption, The Science of Meditation. I mean, who wouldn’t want to meditation if that is how good you can look (I guess you can actually read the articles).

I then turned to my wife and said, “Well, it looks like I’m going to have to stop meditating— it has become too popular.” I mean, nothing I do has ever been in style or anywhere near being popular … well, except for eating and sleeping. Alright, I do keep a blog and that seems to be popular … granted, I was blogging before we came up with the term, but that is beside the point.

Is it bad to teach meditation techniques at the local school, hospital, health spa, or 7-11?

I guess I can see it both ways … it is great that people realize the other-than-spiritual benefits (like increased immune system and lower stress and that sort of stuff), but do we need credentials to teach meditation? Does the fact that you can’t swing a gucci matt without hitting a yoga class lessen its effectiveness?

My point to spiritual journeys has always been to find your own way, but meditation is really just a tool for getting somewhere, and receiving instruction from a teacher can be quite beneficial. I guess that almost famous Shunryu Suzuki quote may be applicable:

We shouldn’t be disappointed with a bad teacher or with a bad student. You know, if a bad student and a bad teacher strive for the truth, something real will be established. (Not Always So, page 41)