I’ve been thinking, what is the importance of holding space for a mindfulness practice? 

Before I carry on, let me state that my mediation practice isn’t robust. It’s a minimum of ten minutes per day. Sometimes my sessions push closer to the twenty minute mark and sometimes I embark on two ten minute meditation sessions a day. I don’t want to give the impression that I am spending an hour or two a day in meditation, dancing among the beings of alternate realities, bathing in God’s lake, floating in the celestial timescape.  

I have decided that for me, one purpose of a mindfulness practice is to fortify the mind. It is to train myself so that I don’t get swept away in my thoughts. Presence is a huge hot-button topic in today’s day and age, and rightfully so. In a sense, it is a rejuvenation of Eastern cultural practices. Western culture is just finally opening up its heart and mind wide enough to recognize and adopt it. But I staunchly believe, through progression and experience, that mindful living is the key to a happier and more fulfilling life. 


When we adopt a mindfulness routine, we are deciding to navigate life in calmer waters. Think of it like this, the mind holds in it a metaphorical river where the flow can be depicted as thought, and every day, each of us is required to cross the waters of our mind, to travel in the current of thought. It’s a journey that makes up most of the time spent in the in-between, the space between sleep and wakefulness, our living reality. 

As we move throughout our day, we have two choices. The first choice, we can cross the parts of the river where the water moves fast and swift, where the rapids are crushing and all-encompassing. This is where most of us spend our time, being barraged amongst the rocks that jut up from the riverbed, pinned down by the strong current and heavy rapids. These are situations and circumstances. These are depicted as life events. Often, we get swept away in the rushing waters and find ourselves miles downstream from where we intended to be. We still make it across, but it’s a taxing journey. We arrive on the other end out of breath, cursing the water for doing what it does best; existing. Yet, we somehow decide it’s worthwhile to travel these same choppy waters again, and again, and again. Day in and day out.

The second choice, we can cross the parts of the river where the water moves slowly and leisurely, where the current is calm and serene. The movement of water may cause us to drift some, but we will not get swept away in its current. If we do drift, getting safely to shore is a much less daunting task. It won’t leave us gasping for air as we pull ourselves upon land. And we end up on the part of the shore we intended to when we set out on the other side. If we drift, it’s no big deal. We accept that the water is doing what it does best. We accept that it is simply existing, and we do so with grace and patience. This is what I mean when I say that the purpose of my meditation practice is to fortify the mind. It is a daily exercise in training the mind to fall into the habit of crossing the waters where they are at their calmest. By doing so, it serves as a defense to protect the mind from being swept away in the flow of thought.