Is Meditation Escapism? Or the Opposite?

Someone once said to me, “you can’t just meditate every time you have a problem.” I felt a need to react with disagreement. It would have been something like: “that’s not accurate, this is why,” which would probably be interpreted as, “You are wrong. I am right and I’ll prove it.” This reaction pattern never works.

Instead, I explained that my meditation practice precedes problems, it is not a reaction to them. Somehow, this got me a, “yeah, that makes sense.” To me, that was a win for us both. So I thought I’d share the thought process.

Is Meditation a Form of “Escapism”?

To understand what we’re talking about I should define how I’m using ‘escapism’ and ‘meditation’ in this context. I practice Vipassana meditation which comes from the Theravada school of Buddhism. As much as I understand Vipassana, is as much as I can try to make a valid point. Meaning, these things aren’t easily put into words, especially not engaging words. Sometimes it’s best not to even try. 

Escapism

Escapism is a refusal to experience what’s happening in the reality of the moment. Usually, this is in the face of unpleasant situations. When a problem comes into our reality, we can face it or escape it by somehow avoiding it. Maybe we overpower it with work, relationships, clever explanations, imagination, entertainment, intoxicants, etc.

Ultimately, the unpleasant situation and associated unpleasant feelings wait for us until we are done playing games of avoidance. Once again, usually in some moment of vulnerability or inconvenience, reality gets its turn in our attention. Again, we feel the need to send it to the back of the line somehow, to escape. Every time, we gain a bit more understanding that this reaction pattern doesn’t work.

So we rewrite the narrative, again and again, with new illusions and reasoning. This pattern of reaction feeds the root of the original unsatisfactory situation and sprouts new roots. A loop of unpleasantness into escaping into unpleasantness into escaping…

One way to address the loop of misery and escape is to confront reality as it is, and a significant tool to give foundation to such a confrontation is meditation. 

Meditation

With meditation practice, one faces the reality of the present moment. Be it through observing breath or bodily sensation, meditation is attention to reality as it is, not a version of what we would like it to be. If our awareness is focused on the reality of the moment, it cannot be caught up in the stories of the mind, i.e., the escape strategies.

The meditator acknowledges and gives attention to what is happening within the mind and body as a reaction to the outer “reality”. This is the mind-matter connection. If there is anger, we observe the anger. If there is sadness, we observe the sadness. Thoughts, emotions, sensations – non-judgemental observation of what is happening.

By its very nature, meditation is not escapism. It is the opposite in many ways. Escapism is easy. It is quite literally escaping from that which is difficult. Meditation is difficult. To practice meditation is to accept the difficulties as they are, because… they are. Sometimes difficulties we’ve hidden away for another time can actually arise during meditation. That sucks, but meditation can help lower the suckiness.

Don’t take my word for it.

Try meditating

After you read this paragraph, close your eyes and focus on your breath for a minute. Notice the quality of the breath. Is it slow or Fast? Shallow or deep? Is it moving in and out of the right nostril or the left? Both? Evenly? You may notice that when the breath goes in it is cooler and dryer and when it comes out it is warmer and moister.

Try it, observe your breath for a minute…

How was it?

Probably not life-changing. Much like one workout won’t make you physically fit for life.

Observing breath is observing the reality of the moment, so to speak. Your body is breathing air into your lungs and expelling it back out. You don’t have to control it – but you can.

We’ve all experienced that when we are scared, our breath will go a little faster. We all experience biochemical releases of endorphins and adrenaline which affect the breath. Anger, sadness, fear, bliss, passion – these emotions trigger a response in the body we feel throughout our nervous system.

It is the sensation that arises to which we react when a problem arises. If it is unpleasant, we react with aversion. For example, if we smell rotten food, we want to get away from it. If it is pleasant, like a sweet fruit smell, we react with attraction. There are a lot of complicated psychological and evolutionary explanations for this. Rotten food makes us sick and is not conducive to survival or well-being. Fruit contains nutrients and energy that is good for survival and well-being.

At that level, if you think about it, attraction and aversion are dancing at the basis of every single thing we feel, think, and do. This reaction has roots in the subconscious level, but sprouts into our consciousness. If we can observe it, we can understand that. We can observe further and further down to from where it roots.

It takes practice. Which is why meditation is a practice.

Meditation Can Be Used as an Escape…

I must acknowledge that one can use what they believe is “meditation” as escapism. And I could argue that certain forms of meditation promoted by certain people are escapism. When one faces a problem only to go into “meditation” and begin to create alternate versions of the truth, play scenarios out in the mind, etc. one is simply rolling in and adding to a tapestry of ignorance, not confronting the reality of the moment. Some of this may sound arrogant but just observe. It’s hard to say it another way. 

The Regular Practice of Meditation

Meditation precedes problems, it does not necessarily react to them. With practice, when problems arise, I’m equipped to observe the thoughts and feelings that drive my reaction toward and away from reality.

In other words, the practice of observation retrains the thinking mind and physical nervous system over time. It becomes more natural not to react to interpretations and feelings blindly, as if always a matter of survival or consequence. The practice is to observe the nature of the unpleasantness and pleasantness, without craving or aversion, and understand it is impermanent. 

Maintaining a regular practice allows me to act with control, purpose, and values – while preventing me from reacting blindly. This makes all the difference, but it’s a long and difficult path. Not by any stretch is such a practice a form of escapism.