Once I was a busy academic who did not even pause for a minute to think of myself. The moment I woke up in the morning (see my previous blog post), the external expectations that I brought into my life, such as getting a promotion and tenure, as well as external research funding, kept me running all day until I went to bed. I would wake up the next morning, then repeat the same day over and over again.
Not even once, someone (including my academic mentors) suggested that I practice meditation to alleviate stress from those external expectations. Also, I never gave myself permission to see my internal expectations, such as being a perfect mother and wife, friendly colleague, and compassionate teacher so that I could comprehend how those external and internal expectations relate each other. Not only did I have zero understanding of the coexistence of those two expectations, but also did not have the language to describe or explain what was happening in my life that was driven by those expectations.
Since I left the academy and took the time to learn about myself, meditation practices have become a part of my life. Like millions of other people, I am also one who believes in the immense power of meditation practice in living with a purpose. If I were still in the academy, this is how I would think and go about meditation practices. Meditation can be practiced at any time and anywhere. I could have practiced meditation during the work-hour between tasks. Here are the 5 hacks that I adopted from Light Watkins’ TEDx talk to make meditation practices easier for busy academics.
- Swapping the afternoon latte for meditation
A simple Google search will let us see how science and clinical studies are showing the benefits of meditation practices. But, when our workday speeds up and our energy gets depleted, we go for a cup of latte or a piece of chocolate for a quick energy boost. It may sound contradictory at first, but for busy academics like me in the past, let’s rethink meditation as our energy boosting power nap.
- Dumping your “racing mind”
When I first began to practice meditation, I always wondered, “Am I doing this right? Why can’t I quiet my mind? I can’t make my mind empty. I must be doing this all wrong!!!” Let’s accept the fact that there are many moving parts in our lives. When you meditate, how about just letting your racing mind show up and occupy your head? Then, go ahead to dump your racing mind by simply visualizing yourself lift up a bucket full of racing mind and dump it all out in the ocean.
- Taking off your “academic armor”
As an academic, I had the “academic armor” to defend myself with a theoretical perspective. I was trained to build that armor as strong as possible. What meditation practices taught me, however, is that I can form a flexible but firm shield as contrary to the academic armor that was inflexible and molded into the norm of the academic discipline. I can form a new shield at any time and any situation by simply being my authentic self. There is no need for “empirical evidence” to form your own shield or being your authentic self.
- Taking off your “teacher’s hat”
There is no right or wrong way to practice meditation. You don’t have to teach how to or explain to others what meditation practice means to you. You don’t have to stress over preparing for the meditation practices or grade how your meditation practice went. Taking off your predisposed teacher’s mind-set, you can practice meditation easier. After all, we say “practice” meditation, not “master” or “pass” as if meditation is some sort of exam or performance test.
- Being you
Years of academic training, especially the graduate program, conditioned me to operate within the frameworks of constructive criticism, peer review, evaluation and assessment to compare myself, scholarship, and productivity to others. Meditation practices taught me to remind myself to trust how I feel and who I am, which has become the foundation of my life.
Also, meditation practices guide me to lower my internal expectations when needed and to let go of my external expectations (here is how). In other words, meditation practices lead me to find a comfortable spot where both internal and external expectations coexist with minimal friction, tension, and frustration. Such magical place will swing to the right and left, up and down. Since I began my practices, I have become more flexible, resilient, and peaceful with the fluidity of my expectation swings.
I assure you, after your work-hour meditation practice, you go back to the evening teaching or late afternoon meetings with confidence and poise. By then, you would have regenerated yourself as being you. …Namaste
Soko Starobin is an Education Consultant/Evaluator living in Ames, Iowa. She is passionate about the role of community colleges play in the postsecondary education. Until June 2017, she was Associate Professor in School of Education at Iowa State University. She is also a plant-based athlete who loves to run, swim and work out in the gym. For her recovery and self-care, she practices her morning routine with stretching, yoga, upper body work, and meditation. She has contributed to the blog twice (very popular): Why Slow Down Even Before Tenure? and How I Ended the Abusive Relationship with My Body.