Sparrow’s Guide To Meditation

Mary Beth Gilligan’s complaint about Sparrow’s “cynical musings” [Correspondence, January 2020] appeared in the same issue as “Sparrow’s Guide to Meditation,” where he writes, “Meditation is largely a pretense. Sitting with eyes closed and legs elegantly folded, you resemble an ancient sage. Inside, you’re still the same idiot you always were.” These lines alone are evidence that Sparrow’s not just a cynic. He’s humorous and humble, too.

I can’t begin to tell you how much “Sparrow’s Guide to Meditation” [January 2020] meant to me. Meditation is a struggle, but Sparrow shone a new — and humorous — light on it. It doesn’t make sense! It does make sense! It’s OK! It’s like two discos going on in your head, as Sparrow says.

Though it’s always a good day when a new issue of The Sun arrives, it’s icing on the cake when Sparrow is a contributor.

Sparrow is the big brother I never had. He sits on the empty twin bed, home from college, and explains the world to me: Here’s how it works. Here’s what you’ve been missing. In “Sparrow’s Guide to Meditation,” he explains the obstreperousness of the unquiet mind and whispers, Don’t worry, it will all come clear to you. And even when it doesn’t, it’s all good.

His voice lingers in the room. There’s still an imprint on the bed. Don’t worry, I hear. Don’t worry.

After twenty-five years of on-and-off attempts, “Sparrow’s Guide to Meditation” [January 2020] finally gave me permission to accept the blissful failure of it all. Fifth consecutive day, no regrets, no anguish, not looking back.

My heart has been completely opened by the writing in your January 2020 issue. I loved “Sparrow’s Guide to Meditation,” and Brian Doyle’s essay “Joyas Voladoras” [Dog-Eared Page] made me fall to my knees with praise and worship. I wish I could tell him this, but I trust many others did before his death in 2017.

“Sparrow’s Guide to Meditation” [January 2020] is the only helpful instruction on this subject I have ever found. I don’t tend to re-read things, but I will keep this guide on my desk and review it every month or so.

I was afraid Sparrow was going to treat meditation with his glib sense of humor, but he was humorous and respectful — and seems completely devoted to the practice. I do think it’s good to meditate for more than “three or four minutes,” but he seems to have figured that out for himself. Maybe his readers will, too.

A few months ago I had to back off from some very close friendships. Though it was my decision and the right thing to do, it left me devastated. In the months that followed I looked for answers and prayed for solutions. I found none.

Then along came “Sparrow’s Guide to Meditation” [January 2020]. It was not what I expected from him, knowing — and appreciating — his other essays. I remembered my own limited experience with meditation decades ago, and I decided to give it another try.

I was able to shut down my inner voices and start the new year with the clarity I have been yearning for. Sparrow showed me that my mind is, at least sometimes, more efficient at solving problems when my consciousness is quieted.