Meditate in public.

“Every few minutes, I hear soft footsteps pass by and I’m aware of other people, imagine that they see me, feel the slight nervousness of being watched (or the possibility of being watched, as my eyes are closed), feel the tiny pricks of fear in my defenseless, open hands. This is uncomfortable and little bit scary. It’s not for everyone. It feels embarrassing and, to a degree, unsafe. Today, I hear workers conversing a few feet away and notice the moments where the conversation quiets to awkward pauses, possibly whispers, and I think, Ok, I get it, I look weird. They see me, and they are not used to this. And yet, the longer I sit, the more I feel that these strangers and I, collectively, are getting past the awkwardness of this scenario.”

“I'm used to meditating in public. I love to do it in the park, or whenever I get 20 minutes at the bus stop. I've seen many other posts about "How to meditate in public without looking weird?" and my strategy is to just go ahead and look weird. There's quite a few benefits. I like how it creates an impromptou sacred space. It has the same accountability as meditating in a sangha. And I've even found that the sounds around me, rather then distracting, help me drop into a meditative state deeper and faster. Soft snippets of passing conversation...birds singing...children playing in the distance...all just one more thing to focus on and observe without judging, like the breath.”