What is the purpose of Meditation? Why would anyone want to sit perfectly still for any amount of time, let alone hours at a time? Sitting still in meditation seems to be at odds with everything thought to be worth while in western culture. Something good must be happening for Meditation to be popular for so long. The purpose of Meditation is to be aware of your self beyond your thoughts. Feeling who you are while the five senses are still. Imagining your entire presence undivided by concepts learned from your family and society at large. At ease with your body, relaxed and unhurried by the demands of time and responsibility. Ultimately seeing a glimpse of the ever expanding joyful light you truly are.
Why does Meditation seem to be so hard to do? If it is just a matter of not thinking, how hard can that be? OK, I will sit down, stop thinking and all of these great experiences will dawn on me automatically, right? Meditation is easy. Stopping thought is a challenge on all levels of inner experience. A challenge that requires attention from all who hope to Meditate; beginner and master both wrestle with the restless mind. We will explore many methods of stopping thought in future blogs. For now do not feel alone in your struggles to quite the mind. Since the beginning of time, mankind has invented one device after another, attempting to find peace from the ceaseless gyrations of thought. What a strange paradox, we work hard to learn how to think, life becomes over analyzed and complicated because of it. We then feel the need to find refuge in meditation.
What is the best Mediation for me? Why are there so many different styles of Meditation any way? Is Meditation a religious practice? There is no best form of Meditation. Many are very simple. Some are complicated and require beginner levels to be mastered to reach the desired result. All Meditation reflects the culture it came from. Indian yoga has a different flavor than Chinese Chi Kung. American Indians meditate in ways that will seem odd to mystics in Bali. Modern science has developed techniques to harmonize brain chemistry that they would prefer not to be called Meditation. Early Christians would mortify the body to bring on visions of ecstasy. Shamans in the Amazon rain forest stupefy the mind with psychoactive plants to induce a visionary trance. Stressed out modern man has a cocktail or two and reclines in front of a TV, in order to find relief from the mind. Mankind has always searched for escape from the mundane. Why is this? Perhaps we all know that a mind beyond our thoughts is waiting to be discovered. I hope to help with this search and discovery in these blogs on Meditation.
