The Practice of Coming Home

Meet resistance with curiosity

Some days meditation feels easy. Other days the mind wanders, the body feels restless, or sitting feels like one more thing on the to-do list.

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Check in, breathe, adjust to feel for the ease amidst the dis-ease. Love pain into the fold of mindfulness. This is compassion in action.”
﹘ Susan Morgan

When these experiences arise, take a moment to notice them. Is the body tired? Is there boredom, anxiety, or an expectation that meditation should bring calm straight away? The Morgans invite us to investigate these reactions with curiosity. Even a few moments of observing what is happening can turn resistance into useful information about our habits and expectations.

Create conditions that support practice

A sustainable routine begins with what is realistic for your life. Choose a time you can usually protect and start with a manageable period, even ten minutes. Keep your cushion or chair ready. If mornings are often busy, try another time of day. The goal is to create a rhythm that makes returning to practice easier.

“We want you to look forward to meditation, rather than seeing it as another ‘should.’”
— Bill and Susan Morgan

The Morgans also emphasize cultivating an “inner holding environment.” In psychotherapy, this means developing a sense of safety and support that helps us remain present with difficult experiences. We can nurture this inner environment by meeting discouragement with patience, setting realistic expectations, and treating each session as an opportunity to learn. A regular place to sit and a supportive community can help, too.

Bring the practice into everyday moments

Meditation can inform how we respond throughout the day. Before replying to a frustrating message, pause for one breath and notice the tension in your body. During a busy afternoon, check whether you are rushing or reacting automatically. Before bed, reflect on a moment when you acted with patience, and a moment when you might respond differently next time.

This is where the brahmavihāras, the qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, can help. Instead of just trying not to react, we can offer ourselves compassion during a stressful afternoon, or try sending kindness toward the person who frustrated us. We don’t need perfect conditions to sustain a practice. We just need ways to keep returning to it, even when life gets complicated.

Stay connected to practice

A community can help sustain our intentions when home practice feels difficult to maintain. The Morgans’ free weekday online program, The Daily Sit, offers meditation, Dharma talks, sangha discussion, and silent sitting. It gives practitioners a regular point of connection between retreats. A lasting practice grows through regular return, curiosity about what we experience, and adjustments that suit our circumstances.