Meditation: What is it?
Meditation is a natural state of being. Consciously or not, we all experience meditative states from time to time.
The moments when we enjoy our own company, in solitude; when we are pulled into what we might call daydreaming; when we are absorbed in watching nature’s beauty – these are all forms of meditation. The times when we awaken with joy, celebrating the gift of life, or before we fall asleep, feeling cared for, secure, comfortable and protected.
Or when it is raining outside, we are warm and cozy on the inside, and the heart feels gratitude – these also are expressions of meditation. When we hear music and our hearts soar with love and we feel uplifted, that too is a sense of meditation.
Meditation is deeper than that, and the aim is that through understanding, the process should be brought under conscious control so that deeper and potentially life transforming experiences become systematically available.
There is a need for this focus, because today, for so much of the time, materialism traps our minds.
Earning, spending, and acquiring are all necessary to sustain life, but when they become everything to us, selfishness intensifies and the spirit atrophies. We may then feel that this is how human life has always been and will continue to be, but that need not be so. Meditation nourishes the soul as food nourishes the body. It is vital for each one of us. Meditation increases our ability to travel with balance, stability, and peace, much as a good set of tires improves comfort and safety on the road.*
* God’s Healing Power by B. K. Jayanti
Practice Meditation
- With eyes open, rest them gently on a chosen point. Relax the body and breathe in peace. Breathe out tension. Withdraw your thoughts from the external world.
- In the consciousness of being a soul, slowly let go of the awareness of the body.
- Focus deep within the self. Go within to your own inner sanctuary of peace… of bliss… of silence. Quietly feel these inner qualities. Allow the experience of peace and stillness to emerge.
- With your mind travel far beyond to a realm of golden light… the spiritual home of all souls. Absolute peace… absolute stillness. Let yourself bask in this.
- Give yourself permission to receive love. Allow waves of love to flow over you… soothing your mind… comforting your heart. Bathe in this feeling for as long as you can.
- On finishing – as you go about your day, keep remembering this experience and allow it to flow out through your eyes and thoughts to all you meet.
A great resource to help those who are new to meditation or have limited time to mediate but want to relax, refocus and re-energise is ‘just-a-minute’ guided meditations.
