Meditation is a very well known word. But the meaning is not so well known. There are many misconceptions about what meditation means. Let us try to clear some of those misconceptions.
The past and the future exist only in our minds! The past is
nothing but a bunch of memories that we have stored in our minds, possibly not
even accurately, and which we relish reviewing from time to time. The future is
nothing more than speculations in our minds about what could happen. We can do NOTHING
about the past. We can PLAN for the future but we cannot DO anything about it.
It is only the present that we can actually DO something about. Our present is
the world’s gift to us.
Think about what is bothering you right now, perhaps at the
back of your mind, but still nagging at you. The chances are it’s something
from the past or perhaps something from the future. If you look at things
rationally, right now, you are probably quite OK. If something is bothering
you, that is very likely something that has already happened in the past or perhaps
something that may happen in the future, or even a combination of the two.
That is the case with most people. They spend their entire
lives living in their minds – worrying about the past or the future. If they
put a little more effort into living in the present, their lives may be totally
transformed.
The easiest way to meditate is to become connected to the
present. Enjoy a sunrise or a sunset. Listen to the birds sing, listen to waves
breaking on the shore, walk through a forest and share your breath with the
trees, play with children, solve a puzzle, cook a meal… if you can do any of
those things will fullness of mind, you have immersed yourself in the present.
You have done the first level of meditation.
The most important criterion is fullness of mind. Don’t get
distracted by the past or the future. Be focused on the present. Of course you
will need to allocate time to plan for the future. And you will need to reflect
on the past to decide how to move forward. But do that in the allocated time. Don’t
allow what is in your mind to intrude into your engagement with the present.
Then you can become meditative.
If you want to go further with meditation, it is best if you
get guidance. Join a meditation group that is in sync with your belief system
and enhances the way you think.
I personally have discovered two goals that I am working towards.
The first involves my engagement with the physical world. In my meditation, I
am seeking to reinforce my understanding that the real “I” is the awareness
within, not this restless mind so full of memory and conjecture. The purpose of
my life is to engage with the external world in such a way that, when I leave
my body, my awareness will be able to carry positive impressions of what I have
learned in this life and have become as a human being. Knowing that whatever
happened to me in the past was simply the unfurling of karma, I wish to shed whatever
traumas there were and simply learn from them so that I can face future
challenges more effectively. During my meditation, if I can immerse in the
realization that I am neither this body nor this mind, then I can completely
engage with the present, unburdened by what I carry in my mind.
The second goal of my meditation is more difficult to
achieve. Because of a lifetime of using my mind, my intellect has become a
barrier. My awareness, the true “I”, has the potential to connect with the
source of all our awareness. If I can detach from the constant examination by
my mind and allow my awareness to soar free, I may be able to make the
connection. And if that happens, a whole new world can open up to me. If I have
attained the required degree of stillness. I continue to try.
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