Meditation for Thursday 8th May 2025
At one level meditation is a personal, individual practice and yet it has a vital role to play in our interpersonal experience and in our quest for a more just society.
Meditation is never at odds with us taking action, in fact our meditation practice inspires and prepares us to work for real change in the world. Though we meditate daily and many of us as a group on a Thursday evening in the Malone Room at the Carmelite Hall, meditation is not just about sitting in some quiet place, escaping our current reality. Rather meditation and social justice go hand in hand.
A gift to those who meditate regularly and authentically is that we become even more connected to the truth of our circumstances, our relationships, and the roles we play within our communities.
Meditation cannot be removed from the cultural context in which it currently exists. Because of this its possible that we might mistakenly make use of meditation to perpetuate systems of inequality. Meditation for personal gain or fame, increased productivity, as an escape, or even as a simple means of stress relief can serve to help us adjust to inequities, versus inspiring us to transform them. At its worst, this misunderstanding of the purpose of meditation can lead to a toxic positivity and spiritual bypassing.
An authentic practice of meditation develops wisdom and compassion versus complacency. As such, the time we spend in meditation as individuals provides us with the motivation and energy to move back into the world and take action, facing injustice with greater skill and care.
To do the work of anti-racism, justice for asylum seekers and refugees, increased social housing and to work towards equal rights for all we need to be willing and able to listen, self-reflect and consider the unintended consequences of our behaviour. A deep capacity for living a more contemplative life with meditation as a daily practice can help us recognise reactive emotions and when and how we make assumptions that perpetuate systemic inequities.
Meditation
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- The material above is loosely based on an article, ‘Is There a Role for Meditation in the Fight for Social Justice?’ by Sara -Mai Conway, as published on the US MindWorks Blog.