Many people who attempt to meditate find it a real struggle. Teachers across traditions have said as much for centuries—resistance isn’t new—but in our digital age it’s louder. Long hours, being “on call,” the constant pull to answer emails, long commutes, caring for children or aging parents… it can feel impossible to slow down and set aside time for quiet.

On top of that, we’ve become tethered to our devices—computers, tablets, and especially smartphones. Incessant notifications and endless social feeds are designed to keep us scrolling and to keep us coming back. By repeatedly triggering the brain’s dopamine reward cycle, they alter our biochemistry and, over time, our neural wiring. No wonder it’s harder to be still, to be with ourselves—and this is exactly why the practice matters more than ever.

What concerns me most is the sheer level of stress people are carrying. Many are overwhelmed—pressed by work demands, strained by relationship difficulties—and most have never learned how to work effectively with their own emotions. Without the deep-level processing, what we don’t feel and digest stays trapped within the body, where it remains indefinitely. Add to that the near-constant intake of digital content, and the brain, mind, and body’s processing capacity becomes overwhelmed. The undigested stress and emotion accumulate, layer upon layer. It deadens awareness, blunts sensitivity, fogs mental clarity, and quietly erodes our ability to function—and to be truly present with ourselves and others.

For many of us, silence has become unbearable. We struggle to sit still and be alone with ourselves. What scares me is this: the stress we carry, the backlog of unprocessed emotion and trauma, plus the sensory overload from our steady diet of digital media, are pulling us away from the authentic core of who we are. When we can’t be with ourselves, we outsource our attention to screens—and the inner signal—our intuition, instinctual knowing, even our connection to a higher power—grows faint.

With all this stress—with trauma living inside us, stagnant, often distressing emotions accumulating, and a growing distance from our authentic core—it’s no surprise so many of us are searching for a way to heal and reconnect. We want real guidance and a sense of purpose to help us navigate.

Meditation, practiced for thousands of years, holds a real promise—healing and reconnection with the authentic core residing deep within, and with a higher power. Yet when many of us actually sit down, it’s incredibly hard to stay still. Our minds wander… we fidget… feel agitated… we become frustrated and irritable. We start thinking about what we’re going to have for dinner. We open our eyes to check how much time has passed. Stay a little longer and emotions surface… parts of the body tense up… spots begin to ache.

Since my teens, I’ve been drawn to the esoteric… learning about traditional Native American doctors—medicine men and women—the vision quest, the kinds of visionary experiences they carried. I remember deciding then: if ever given the opportunity, this is what I will do with my life.

In my early twenties I was immediately drawn to meditation. I’d sit cross-legged on the floor. Sitting upright without back support was hard, so I leaned against the wall and would often sit an hour or two. For a while I practiced intermittently… then, over the years, I became more consistent.

Then came the 2020 lockdown—when the world as we knew it ground to a halt. I suddenly had all this additional time on my hands and wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Rather than binge on feeds or documentaries for hours, I committed to at least three hours of intensive meditation each day. I also spent a few additional hours in walking meditation, hiking Canfield Mountain near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

During those lengthy meditations, I encountered a lot of internal resistance that, at times, made it difficult for me to continue my practice. I felt restless, antsy, and kept opening my eyes to see how much time had passed. Parts of my back would tense up and even hurt. Rather than give in, I kept training myself to first acknowledge what I was feeling and then go straight into the middle of it. I would breathe with my awareness fully immersed in the tension—and, at times, the pain—in my back, and in the discomfort that comes from being completely present with myself for so long. Often the tightness would soften, the pain would ease… the almost-unbearable sense of being completely still with myself would dissolve. As that happened, I could feel myself crossing over multiple thresholds into deeper levels of awareness.

From there, emotions and thought processes that had been operating from my subconscious began to surface, material I’d been oblivious to. I started to recognize the cognitive and emotional drivers behind the dysfunctional patterns I had enacted in relationships and other interactions. The more I kept diving into the internal resistance I felt, the more I could feel myself entering progressively deeper, more powerful, and more enjoyable states of meditation. I could feel the innate healing intelligence within me activating, along with a comforting presence flowing from within. I felt nourished, fed from within.

Like so many people these days, I have enormous amounts of work to do, yet I still carve out time for lengthy meditation sessions every day, and usually it’s one of the first things I do when I get up in the morning. Emotions will, in many instances, continue to surface after my daily practice. I welcome them, because they give me the opportunity to keep processing what I’ve been holding in my body so I can keep moving forward.

Most people are not thoroughly digesting their lived experiences and emotional responses. The practices I teach facilitate the deep-level processing we need. In addition, you need to be making consistent use of the most effective therapeutic interventions to support the healing you cannot fully do on your own.

The practices I teach facilitate the digestive process I speak of. As you sit in meditation, you’re going to encounter internal resistance in various forms… feeling restless, antsy. The stresses and emotions held within can make parts of your body ache, and at times just being present with yourself will feel damn near unbearable. To the best of your ability, remain fully present with whatever feelings or bodily sensations arise, no matter how uncomfortable.

That said, if you’re in acute distress—unbearable chest pain, trouble breathing, signs of stroke—call 911 (or your local emergency number) or go to the nearest emergency room.

The challenges we're faced with, whether in work, finances, or relationships can evoke anger, frustration, anxiety, and a deeply unsettled feeling. Yet many of us are so busy, so overwhelmed, that we’re not taking time to really deal with our emotions; we may not even be all that aware of them. These emotions often make their way to the surface when we sit in meditation. Although it may be difficult at first, to the best of your ability remain present with these emotions.

Many of us, conditioned for years by our smartphones and social media feeds, find it especially difficult to focus our attention and remain still for any significant length of time—feeling bored, restless, and pulled to check how much time has passed or to check our phones. And for those of us living in survival mode, a voice inside says, “There’s so much to do… I have to keep going… no time to stop or rest.” I know that voice all too well. It’s the survival mind talking, not truth. It’s driven by fear and insecurity—the fear of falling through the cracks—and it makes it hard to slow down and let go.

As you sit down to meditate, tune in to your body and all its feelings and sensations. Breathe softly and deeply, fully immersing your awareness in the depths of any feelings or bodily sensations that arise, following them as they move through their progression. The discomforts you feel may initially intensify. The feelings and sensations may expand or shift to other parts of your body, and that may lead to the emergence of other feelings, thoughts, and memories. Yet as you continue the practice, you will often find the discomforts begin to abate. And as you move through these discomforts, you will, in many instances, experience more pleasurable feelings and sensations.

In working with this practice, you’re deepening your connection with yourself, while integrating the various aspects of your being. You’re also activating the innate healing intelligence that resides within your body and mind—facilitating the healing of the deep emotional wounds and, to some extent, easing stress-related physical issues, including those involving digestion. And you’re developing a stronger connection with a higher power.

Stay as present as you can with any feelings of resistance that surface. Even if you can’t see it all the way through in one sitting, stay with it—five or ten minutes more or longer if you can. As you keep practicing and sitting for longer periods, you increase your tolerance, along with your capacity to show up more fully present and handle challenging situations. In doing so, you're becoming ever more resilient.

If you’re ready to move through internal resistance and deepen your meditation practice, reach out. Call (332) 333-5155 or visit benoofana.com or teachmetomeditate.com to learn more or schedule a session.

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