Discussions of sadness, depression, and meditation have become controversial, for the simple reason that severe depression has become such a widespread health condition. It is difficult to draw a bright line between depressions that are treatable through self-care and therapy and major depression requiring medication. We caution you, then, that meditation is not a panacea that instantly cures deepseated difficulties. If you are suffering from depression that is having a significant effect on your ability to lead a productive life, you need to seek guidance from a mental health professional.
One of the most common forms of sadness that all of us will experience is grief, arising from the loss of someone close to us. It’s well known by all who counsel the grieving that accommodating and healing feelings of loss is a process that can’t be rushed. It has its own clock, and the longer we were close to someone, the longer that time is likely to be.
Meditation can be helpful because when we get used to spending time with our own minds and not trying to rush things, we become more patient. We can also come to appreciate the necessity of sadness, how it…
