Meditation
What is meditation?
Meditation is a mindfulness exercise that has been used to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, pain, and increase a sense of peace and overall well-being. It is a way to control or quiet the mind, so to speak, to turn our attention away from distracting thoughts so that we can focus on the present moment. It brings a peaceful and calm feeling allowing us to simply observe and witness our thoughts and feelings that appear without judging them to be good or bad. This ability to “be present in the moment” helps reduce dysregulation of our emotions and destructive behavior when triggered. There are two main types of meditation: mindfulness and concentrative meditation.
Mindfulness meditation is a state of active, open attention or awareness to our present moment-by-moment thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and the surrounding environment. With concentrative meditation the mind is focused entirely on one thought, object, sound, or entity for the duration of the meditation.
The ancient practice of mediation is found in many cultures around the world, particularly as a component of Eastern religions. Hinduism, one of the oldest of these religions, has been a source of meditation practice for over five thousand years, and it is still currently practiced in the traditional sense in the East and in our western American culture. In the Hindu philosophy, meditation encompasses both mindfulness and concentrative forms of meditation, and the basic objective of meditation is to attain oneness of the spirit (atman) with the omnipresent and non-dual almighty God (Brahman), which is to reach a state of knowledge, peace and bliss. At the highest level of consciousness, it is a state of self-realization, awakening, liberation, and freedom.
In the Buddhist tradition and philosophy, meditation is generally associated with mindfulness and awareness that creates opportunity for greater understanding of our mind and emotions and our actions and reactions that leads to well-being and happiness in ourselves and others around us. Buddhist meditation practice help cultivate core values of awareness, compassion, tranquility and insight that ultimately leads to enlightenment and spiritual freedom on the path of self-realization or nirvana.
Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. wrote a book called “Meditation as Medicine: Activate The Power of Your Natural Healing Force”. In this powerful book, he talks about a form of meditation that utilizes a refined use of kundalini yoga, combined with different meditation techniques which he refers to as “medical meditation.” These advanced meditations include the following unique attributes: specific breathing patterns; special postures and movements, including exact positioning of the hands and fingers; particular mantras, consisting of distinct, vibratory sounds; and a unique mental focus. This unique form of meditation activates the charka system that transmits ethereal energy, comprised of both material and nonmaterial forms of energy, primarily through the nerves and endocrine glands, existing equally and promoting healing in all realms of the mind, body, and spirit.
I had my first actual meditation experience back in 2004, with the help of Eckhart Tolle, through his writings on pages 107-108, in his revolutionary book, “The Power of Now,” which I have cited below for you to read and hopefully find helpful in your own personal meditation practice. I have always had an affinity towards books about spiritual development; finding balance in the physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies has always been a necessary life goal for me, and “The Power of Now” was a book I was ready to read at that time on my lifetime journey towards enlightenment and spiritual freedom.
An excerpt obtained from Eckhart Tolle’s, The Power of Now, in chapter seven, “Portals into the Unmanifested” on pages 107-108. Canada: Namaste Publishing, 1997.
Make it into a meditation. It needn’t take long. Ten to fifteen minutes of clock time should be sufficient. Make sure first that there are no external distractions such as telephones or people who are likely to interrupt you. Sit on a chair, but don’t lean back. Keep the spine erect. Doing so will help you stay alert. Alternatively, choose our own favorite position for meditation.
Make sure the body is relaxed. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Feel yourself breathing into the lower abdomen, as it were. Observe how it expands and contracts slightly with each in and out breath. Then become aware of the entire inner energy field of the body. Don’t think about it – feel it. By doing this, you reclaim consciousness form the mind. If you find it helpful, use the “light” visualization I described earlier.
When you can feel the inner body clearly as a single field of energy, let go, if possible, of any visual image and focus exclusively on the feeling. If you can, also drop any mental image you may still have of the physical body. All that is left then is an all-encompassing sense of presence or “beingness,” and the inner body is felt to be without a boundary. Then take your attention even more deeply into that feeling. Become one with it. Merge with the energy field, so that there is no longer a perceived duality of the observer and the observed, of you and your body. The distinction between inner and outer also dissolves now, so there is no inner body anymore. By going deeply into the body, you have transcended the body.
Stay in this realm of pure Being for as long as feels comfortable; then become aware again of the physical body, your breathing and physical senses, and open your eyes. Look at your surroundings for a few minutes in a meditative way – that is, without labeling them mentally – and continue to feel the inner body as you do so.
Having access to that formless realm is truly liberating. It frees you from bondage to form and identification with form. It is life in its undifferentiated state prior to its fragmentation into multiplicity. We may call it the Unmanifested, the invisible Source of all things, the Being within all beings. It is a realm of deep stillness and peace, but also of joy and intense aliveness. Whenever you are present, you become “transparent” to some extent to the light, the pure consciousness that emanates from this Source. You also realize that the light is not separate from who you are but constitutes your very essence.