What is meditation and how can it transform your life? Meditation, sometimes called silent prayer, has many benefits. Among them are stress reduction, healing, peace of mind, a sense of well-being, love, joy, compassion, and attracting people, circumstances, and things. Also, increasing creativity, being more productive, and reducing personal suffering. In this post, we will take a deep dive into the “what” and the “why” of meditation. Next time, we will look at the “how”, especially how meditation works.
Meditation Defined
What is “meditation”? The Miriam-Webster Dictionary defines meditation as “the act or process of spending time in quiet thought. Continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a deep or abstruse nature; ‘the habit of meditation is the basis for all real knowledge’” (unattributed).
Wikipedia does a better job of addressing “what is meditation”. Here is its definition:
Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or as an end in itself.
The term “meditation” (much like the term “sports”) refers to a broad variety of practices that include techniques designed to promote relaxation, build internal energy or life force (qi, ki, prana, etc.). As well as compassion, love, patience, generosity and forgiveness. An ambitious form of meditation aims at effortlessly sustained single-pointed concentration meant to enable its practitioner to enjoy an indestructible sense of well-being while engaging in any life activity.
The word meditation carries different meanings in different contexts. Practiced since antiquity, meditation is a component of many religious traditions and beliefs. It often involves an internal effort to self-regulate the mind. Meditation clears the mind and eases many health issues, such as high blood pressure, depression, and anxiety. Done while sitting, or in an active way. For instance, Buddhist monks (and others, ed.) involve awareness (called “mindfulness”, ed.) in their day-to-day activities as mind-training. Prayer beads or other ritual objects help to keep track of some aspect of the training.
A Deeper Look at Meditation
Among the ideas expressed in these definitions and in the Wikipedia commentary that I think are salient:
- Meditation quietens the mind until thoughts cease for short or extended periods of time. Or to “induce a mode of consciousness” that, in spiritual traditions, brought the meditator closer to God or generated a heightened spiritual state. Mystical forms of our most familiar spiritual traditions use meditation–the Kabbalist form of Judaism, Yoga in Hinduism, Sufism in Islam, and Christian Hesychasm.
- The story of Gautama Buddha and his awakening ties directly with meditation. Enlightenment through meditation came after he spent years of exploring many spiritual traditions and studying with many teachers in India.
- In Buddhist meditation, the spiritual goal is to reach a state of Nirvana, an elevated state of awareness which very few who attempt this approach achieve. “Enlightenment” bestows on those who “get there”.
- Traditional meditation is difficult.
- Training the “wild horse” that is the mind must happen. Sitting quietly, observing one’s thoughts, and being aware of one’s breath is the process to do that. Sometimes, meditation incorporates the repeating of mantras (sacred words) and/or the use of objects (beads, a rosary, etc.) to self-regulate and/or subdue the mind. Unfortunately, such an approach often takes years and years of practice to be successful; to tame that wild horse is difficult.
Scientific Studies and Mindfulness Meditation
Meditation is a secular undertaking in the West these days. For the scientifically proven benefits it grants. Easing health issues, such as “high blood pressure, depression, and anxiety” as mentioned above.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program in the late ’70s, has shown scientifically that this practice increases the body’s ability to heal. Accompanied by a shift from a tendency to use the right prefrontal cortex instead of the left prefrontal cortex. This shift causes a decrease in depression and anxiety and towards happiness, relaxation, and emotional balance.
Mindfulness induces a state of “moment-to-moment non-judgmental awareness” using, among other things, thought and breath observation, body scanning, mindful walking, and being aware of the taste and texture of the food that we eat. It’s a way, with acute observation, to quieten the mind and allow 5D consciousness to flow into 3d situations.
A Personal Story
I have been meditating for over 45 years. Beginning at Swami Satchidananda’s Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco. Along with many other traditions. I have found that the methods I tried are a quest. An engagement with my mind, until it quietened down a little, and then more and more. I experienced it as a wrestling match. An attempt to take that wild horse that is the mind and tame it. This is difficult and many people quit before ever getting there. It’s hard. Worthwhile, for sure, but tough for most of us to do.
Consequently, I developed my own form of meditation called Higher Consciousness Meditation (HCM). For beginners and experienced meditators alike, it makes meditation easier to do and bypasses wrestling with the mind. It focuses more on encouraging the experience of Illumination directly. By passing mind training it goes directly to the ultimate reason for meditating — an experience of Higher Consciousness.
HCM is the key tool I discuss in my most popular book, The Meditation Book. In it I describe in detail how to do Higher Consciousness Meditation. A simple, short, but very effective process. It doesn’t conflict with any religious traditions. It adds to them. It’s an uplifting form of silent prayer.
Conclusion
Meditation is easy to learn and has many options for its employment. The benefits are many and the drawbacks are few. In the next post we will explore meditation and its benefits even more deeply. And reveal “how meditation works the way it does”.
Blair Abee is an author, poet, YouTuber, and ordinary mystic. His 5 award-winning books are available at Amazon Books. And his YouTube videos are available at Blair Abee Higher Consciousness. Get on his email list by going to https:www.HiCMeditation.com and receive a free copy of Book 1, The Amazing Benefits of Mediation.