Learning to Meditate
Practicing Stillness as a Means to the Higher Mind
Nearly every belief system employs meditation in some form as a bridge to the higher realm. Here's how the discipline of meditation can be learned in three easy steps.
What is Meditation
In the most simplistic sense, meditation is the discipline of using the will to still and quiet the mind by employing an object, thought or awareness as focus. In the practice of using meditation to become more aware, the mind becomes conditioned to turning inward rather than outward. This allows one to develop a sense of awareness separate from physical circumstance, which engenders higher states of consciousness and vibrational energy.
Aspects of Meditation include:
- A relaxed concentration of awareness in the moment
- Presence
- An opening up to the Divine, more spiritual aspects of existence
- A pathway different , but not separate from, corporeal existence.
- A higher experience of consciousness
Types of Meditation
Meditation is as varied as religion and includes as many different variables and practices as there are faiths. No singular way is more right or wrong than another, rather each are individual choices based on the path of the adherent.
Choosing a specific discipline is not nearly as important to the beginning practioner as is actually meditating itself. The basic starting point is fairly universal - the key is employing it as daily discipline.
Basic Meditation Techniques
- Choose a quiet place that is free from distraction.
- Incense and appropriate meditative music are good tools to focus the mind on the purpose of its intent.
- Position yourself either seated on the floor in classic Lotus position (or the closest approximation thereof that you can achieve), or prostrate.
- Allow yourself to relax fully by visualizing each part of your body and actively tensing that part of the body for five-ten seconds, then completely let go of that tension.
- Begin your meditation by breathing deeply in and out, focusing on only the breath itself.
- See your breathing as a wave with no beginning and no end, but note the moment it shifts from inhalation to exhalation. In further study, this moment will be a point of knowledge in your practice.
- Maintain this state of gentle breathing and no-mind for at least five minutes, working up to 30 minutes progressively.
.Common Issues and Problems
- Focus - The mind does not easily adjust to being still, so it is likely that in the first days of practicing, you will become aware of different thoughts. It can almost be torturous, but know that every moment you spend in the practice of this state is a moment that brings you closer to awareness. Trying to think about nothing is the most common mistake that many beginning students make, rather usher the thought out gently like a friend, returning focus to your breathing. Learn to practice the art of non-resistance, simply allowing without your attention being given over to your thoughts.
- Discipline - Like any new practice, actually doing the thing is often what hampers success. Disciplining yourself to practice for even just five minutes a day will offer almost immediate results.
With consistency, practice and quiet determination, meditation can be one of the most effective tools a spiritual seeker can employ in their quest and pursuit of the higher mind.
