|
The Meditation Room
|
Meditation
|
Why Meditation?
The high road to relaxationBy far the deepest and most direct route to relaxation is meditation. It is no accident that for over two thousand years almost every 'wisdom path' has featured meditation as the core practice to achieve everything from relaxation to inner peace to mystical states of enlightenment. The journey of the soulThe purpose of helping you to learn to meditate is not to turn you into a mystic (although there is always that possibility!) but to introduce you to the practice of meditation as a way to the deepest form of relaxation - the relaxation of spirit. The most profound calm and serenity lie at the core of our own being, we have simply lost awareness of its presence. Spirit is what we are, sometimes referred to as soul. We each radiate energy in the form of spiritual light. That light emanates from the core of your being, and is entirely invisible. The quality of your thoughts and feelings will be according to the quality of that light. The atmosphere in a room is the result of the collective radiance of those in a room, a building, a community and even a nation (what we sometimes call vibrations). The true and original nature of each and every soul is peaceful and loving. However, our peace has become disturbed and distorted by our attachments, wrong beliefs and misperceptions, all learned on the journey of this life, and possibly several previous lives. Unwittingly, we have learned to turn the energy of our hearts from peace into anger, from love into fear, from happiness into sorrow. Meditation is the deepest and most effective way to 'let go' of the attachments which distort our energy and heal the spiritual wounds of the past. Meditation is the easiest way to see and transcend our old beliefs, gain a true insight into eternal truths, and dissolve the blocks that have stopped us from experiencing our inner peace. However, practice and perseverance is required! The practice of meditation does not require any previous experience, the shaving of heads, the chanting of mantras, complex postures or the burning of sticks. All you need to get started is a quietish space at home, a comfortable chair (not too comfortable) and the intention to get to know yourself. If you are just beginning, then ten minutes in the morning and in the evening is about right. You will naturally increase this at your own pace. Ultimately meditation is not something that you do, but a way by which you discover and understand how to consciously create your state of being. You do need a little patience. We are not accustomed to inward focus, but are more inclined to pay attention to outer noises and events. So as you begin, many external sounds may interrupt, or your body may feel uncomfortable and distract you. But in time, with practice and patience, you will easily learn to be beyond anything ‘coming in’ through your physical senses. Meditation will help you to master your senses, maintain your focus of inner attention and therefore remain undisturbed by external events. As you sit for your meditation ensure you are fresh and not sleepy, alert in posture, but not rigid. Take each meditation in the book and practice twice daily for a week. Don’t try to recreate previous meditation experiences. No two experiences can ever be the same. If you don’t ‘seem’ to experiencing anything special stay with it. While your meditation may not have seemed to be very peaceful or calm, two hours later you may experience a wave of deep peace. The fruit of effort is not always immediate. Experiment with your eyes open. Find a spot somewhere in front of you and gently rest your eyes (you can blink) on that spot as you use the thoughts within the meditation to take you on an inward journey, beyond awareness of your senses. Before you meditate read the meditation through. Then read it again, stopping after each line to assimilate the thought. Then take ten minutes to take yourself into the experience. You do not have to remember every word exactly in sequence. In fact you may wish to depart from the suggested thoughts as your meditation develops. Ultimately our thoughts are simply vehicles to take us beyond thought, and into silence. Rediscovering meaningHave you ever been aware of the following questions flitting across the screen of your mind? "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" "What is the meaning of life?" These questions are amongst the most obvious signs of the absence of relaxation at the level of spirit. They also point the way towards the deepest and most profound dimension of life – the spiritual dimension of our self. While meditation will help you to focus, concentrate and think more peacefully and powerfully, the deepest purpose of the art of meditation is to reunite you with the answers to these questions. You already know who you are and why you are here but you are not aware of what you know! Meditation is the method to:
|
 |
|
|
