Maintaining a daily meditation or prayer practice is the single most common desire I hear expressed when talking with people about their spiritual lives. But often it is framed as a desire for something that is just beyond reach. I wish I had more time, they say. I wish I had more discipline. It is normal for people to struggle with a daily meditation or prayer practice. But lacking time and discipline, unfortunately, are not the reasons most people cannot commit.

Many of us, if not most of us, have a hard time committing because we experience discomfort in the quiet of contemplation. Or, we imagine we will experience discomfort and we want to avoid it. It is a discomfort with ourselves.

I believe the world suffers from a spiritual problem and the spiritual solution begins with the time I spend on my cushion befriending my anxieties and insecurities so I can understand and recognize them in my body.