Meditation – A Reality Within

The world is such a busy place. You try and find solice, a minute to yourself, yet it seems impossible. What is even worse is that you know you should, yet you don’t. You stay stuck in the same loop over and over, feeding the same bad habits that ultimately create the void you’ve always wanted to escape. A part of you whispers, solitude is required; but somehow its just not that important. I wanted to speak to you about the power of meditation and why its not just a practice, but a skill that needs to be developed over time.

Today, the modern human consumes a wide range of emotions at a high rate. The age of information technology has allowed the consumption of information to increase at a rate we cannot measure. Digital & mental overload are very real in today’s age. As we increase our absorption of material, we naturally also increase our ability to handle and process all of this information. When we cannot, our mind starts to give way. We may seem like there is too much to do, too little time. This creates tension in the mind.

The human experience is widely capable of handling a range of emotions, but the rate of how many we can handle is another question. We can increase our positive input but due to the nature of information, we will also naturally relate to things in a positive or negative fashion. Perceptions are reality, they are the the essence of the world. Each mind perceives differently. People may see a rose for the flower or for its thorns. The same rose can create fear, anxiety, stress and a stress response. While it can create joy, happiness, love for another. So how do we allow our brain to process all the information we have taken in for a day? The answer could be mediation.

Meditation is the art of focussing on the inner world. Allowing all that came in to be given time to be processed and understood. But what does it do? How do you start? Are there different types of meditations? Does everyone go through the same process all the time? Is it just sitting there with your eyes closed trying not to think? What is walking meditation?

Meditation in short; allows a person to shift their perspective on life from the outer world, into the inner world. The world within is a place that many do not understand, but a place many others have found the secrets to a better life. Think about it, everything you know about life is stored within you. Language, personality, perception, intelligence. These are all stored within ‘the self’. So it makes perfect sense to analyse the self within to create a better understanding of ourselves, and in turn the world. The deeper we understand our own being, the greater we are able to understand the world around us.

The Buddhist way to meditation is through Sila, Samadhi and Panna. Which means – morality, concentration and wisdom. First, we have to develop our moral background by voluntarily observing certain moral principles and virtues. If we violate the universal law of cause & effect (karma), we will indeed experience its ramifications sooner or later. Maintaining a healthy & peaceful atmosphere promotes the well being of all including the self.

Before we start meditation, we must first practice Samatha (Concentrated meditation). Samatha refers to the calmness we experience by controlling and reducing the arising of mental impurities. Mental impurities refer to the thoughts that create a disturbance within us, its an interesting play. Even at times the desires we experience can be classified in this category. Who’s to say the desire is not the mask of a painful emotion? Has that thought ever crossed your mind? What if your craving of alcohol on the weekend is the result of the mind creating a mask to hide deeper insecurities and pain? We can all enjoy our lives, but do not allow inadequacies to be cracked over, this is the meaning of gratification. Understand the excessive reach to gain gratification may ultimately lead to your own long term unhappiness.

You understand the outside world as you’ve been focussed on it all the time. Your street & the houses, the bus route, the walking track you take. These are all observations of the external that through repetition you’ve become familiar with. Meditation allows you to sit with yourself and become familiar with the inside world. You become familiar with where your mind goes, what emotions arise out of nothing, how frustration builds. The inner world is a huge place and sitting with yourself or turning your attention inwards starts the journey of self discovery.

The art of observing the self can be done while walking. Imagine walking but you are focussing solely on your breathe, the sensations of your body (feelings), and the random thoughts your mind creates. Its the art of observation without attachment. If a thought or feeling arises, can I create a separation from it and just purely observe it. Closing your eyes has its benefits, as you cut of one the largest sensory inputs to your brain (sight). When all this awareness is now free to not analyse surroundings, you can focus this awareness on your inner world.

There are several ways to meditate. An easy way to start is to close your eyes, sit with your legs crossed with your hands cupped together, back straight up. Take some slow deep breathes and calm the body down, giving all your attention to the breathe. Try and focus on the breathe and keep your focus in a singular place. The mind will always bring up random thoughts, feelings & things to do. You may get caught in them, the practice is to return to the breathe and let those thoughts & feelings pass. If anger arises, then allow the anger to come up, feel it, but create a separation from the feeling. YOU are not angry, the body is creating anger. Disconnect from the feeling. Thoughts & Feelings are not YOU. You are the observer of the thoughts and feelings. Try and sit for 5 minutes without thinking or feeling. The mind & body will continue to create these out of nothing.

Separation is the practice. The realisation that we are not the mind or body, but beyond it. There will come a point when the self realises it is pure awareness, thoughts and feelings are merely energy that is being created through experience. The self attaches it self to identities, feelings & thoughts and then affirms “I am upset”. If something ‘upset’ you. Can you close your eyes, feel the sadness, then say, this is not me, but a reminent of an experience, then allow it to move through you? Or do you hold onto it? Create a sense of identity and say “This thing always makes me upset” or “I can’t get over this”. These are emotional blocks. Which need to be released. Meditation is a great tool.

When your focus shifts away from the material world, you start to understand that a world exists within us that cannot be defined by words. Where there are no objects, smells, tastes, sounds but something deeper than the 5 senses can comprehend. The idea that the mind itself is capable of fractioning life into mere words is interesting. Certain events have no words, emotions can create such joy that ecstasy isn’t enough to truly describe it. Life is an interesting manifestation of creation, to analyse it within its deepest roots is a question many of us yearn to answer. Drop deep within yourself, you will start to experience a world so powerful, timeless & vast. A world where you won’t need hours to describe it. Everything will be answered in mere moments. This is what scientists referred to as the quantum field.

We are all energy & atoms moving in flux, when you connect to the quantum field you are able to change the inner world which in turn changes the experiences you have in your outer world. During these great times of immense change, these is nothing to be found and everything to be realised. What you are seeking, is within you. You do not need to ‘find’ love outside, it is already within you. You need to start becoming the source of the love. You are love. You are joy. This practice is learning how to emanate your own frequency into the world around you. Rather than living like a sponge which relies upon absorbing energy, realise you do not need to attract anything, for you are already it.

A personal mentor of mine is Dr. Joe Dispenza. He has great insights into the world of meditation and healing. The Buddhist meditation techniques of Samatha & Vipassana are a great way to gain insight into ancient meditative practices. Otherwise, applications like Headspace also provide a great tool in learning how to meditate. I won’t go too much into the ways to meditate here, but the references I’ve listed above will get you started. I wish you all happiness & health.