Meditation

Meditate On This

Published On: June 11, 2024

Of all the practices we recommend, this is the one that matters most. In fact, your quest for the truth about yourself may begin – and end – with this meditation.

The reason: meditation alone creates the space between these anxious, hyperactive minds of ours and the innate wisdom that lies deep within us all. 

Although human existence has always been dominated by thought, the modern era seems hellbent on delivering a never-ending stream of devices and demands expressly designed to keep us agitated 24/7. The result, not surprisingly, is a population plagued by epidemic levels of anxiety, depression, addiction, sleep-deprivation, and so on.

And while a variety of movements and tools have arisen to help us secure brief moments of peace, what matters most – regardless of the instrument chosen – is you. You must find within yourself the commitment to diligently, patiently, and consistently practice meditation.

“A most useful approach to meditation practice is to consider it the most important activity of each day. Schedule it as you would an extremely important appointment, and unfailingly keep your appointment with the infinite.” – Roy Eugene Taylor

Done correctly, meditation does one thing above all others: create a steadily increasing sense of separation between thought and quiescence, between the mentally agitated you and the serene, thoughtless you. It is in that quiescence that peace is found and, with it, your innate, inborn strengths.

Getting Started

If you haven’t tried meditation before, we recommend the following steps to ease your way in.

Find a position that ensures your body won’t become a distraction. The lotus position might work for some, for others it may lead to knee pain. Similarly, don’t get so comfortable you fall asleep (translation: a prone position isn’t going to work for very long).
While meditation doesn’t require that one’s eyes be closed, we’ve found – particularly for beginners – that closed eyes help to eliminate distractions. Using this same logic, it’s best to eliminate other sensory stimuli, including noises (yes, even Gregorian chants and whale songs), the smell of baking cookies, etc.
Choose one thing to focus on – your breath, perhaps, or something of a contemplative nature (e.g., ‘Who am I?’ Or, simply, ‘I’). The goal here is to focus the mind on a single activity or thought rather than allow the usual mental maelstrom to infect and distract and take you on continuous rides elsewhere. Over time even this single element of focus will no longer be needed.

If you can at all help it, don’t set a timer or alarm or otherwise establish a fixed time for your meditation. Again, this can become just another distraction (‘I wonder how much time I have left?’ ‘When is the alarm going to go off?’). A successful meditation may last as little as 30 seconds or could go on for hours. If you experience even a brief sense of mental transcendence / quiescence, you’ve succeeded. Remember that your earliest meditations will be the most difficult.

The more you meditate, the easier it will get, the quicker you’ll ‘get there’ and, if you’re like us, the more of it you’ll desire. A key path to success is to incorporate meditation into your daily routine and make it as important as any other To Do item. Remember, too, that over time you’ll be able to meditate anywhere and any time.

“When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a candle in a windless place.” – The Bhagavad Gita

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Meditation

Meditate On This

Published On: June 11, 2024

Of all the practices we recommend, this is the one that matters most. In fact, your quest for the truth about yourself may begin – and end – with this meditation.

The reason: meditation alone creates the space between these anxious, hyperactive minds of ours and the innate wisdom that lies deep within us all. 

Although human existence has always been dominated by thought, the modern era seems hellbent on delivering a never-ending stream of devices and demands expressly designed to keep us agitated 24/7. The result, not surprisingly, is a population plagued by epidemic levels of anxiety, depression, addiction, sleep-deprivation, and so on.

And while a variety of movements and tools have arisen to help us secure brief moments of peace, what matters most – regardless of the instrument chosen – is you. You must find within yourself the commitment to diligently, patiently, and consistently practice meditation.

“A most useful approach to meditation practice is to consider it the most important activity of each day. Schedule it as you would an extremely important appointment, and unfailingly keep your appointment with the infinite.” – Roy Eugene Taylor

Done correctly, meditation does one thing above all others: create a steadily increasing sense of separation between thought and quiescence, between the mentally agitated you and the serene, thoughtless you. It is in that quiescence that peace is found and, with it, your innate, inborn strengths.

Getting Started

If you haven’t tried meditation before, we recommend the following steps to ease your way in.

Find a position that ensures your body won’t become a distraction. The lotus position might work for some, for others it may lead to knee pain. Similarly, don’t get so comfortable you fall asleep (translation: a prone position isn’t going to work for very long).
While meditation doesn’t require that one’s eyes be closed, we’ve found – particularly for beginners – that closed eyes help to eliminate distractions. Using this same logic, it’s best to eliminate other sensory stimuli, including noises (yes, even Gregorian chants and whale songs), the smell of baking cookies, etc.
Choose one thing to focus on – your breath, perhaps, or something of a contemplative nature (e.g., ‘Who am I?’ Or, simply, ‘I’). The goal here is to focus the mind on a single activity or thought rather than allow the usual mental maelstrom to infect and distract and take you on continuous rides elsewhere. Over time even this single element of focus will no longer be needed.

If you can at all help it, don’t set a timer or alarm or otherwise establish a fixed time for your meditation. Again, this can become just another distraction (‘I wonder how much time I have left?’ ‘When is the alarm going to go off?’). A successful meditation may last as little as 30 seconds or could go on for hours. If you experience even a brief sense of mental transcendence / quiescence, you’ve succeeded. Remember that your earliest meditations will be the most difficult.

The more you meditate, the easier it will get, the quicker you’ll ‘get there’ and, if you’re like us, the more of it you’ll desire. A key path to success is to incorporate meditation into your daily routine and make it as important as any other To Do item. Remember, too, that over time you’ll be able to meditate anywhere and any time.

“When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a candle in a windless place.” – The Bhagavad Gita