What is Meditation?

Meditation is a state – when we can just be, present to the moment, open and aware in a relaxed and easy way. It’s an experience that is intrinsic to us. That’s reflected in the fact that we actually define ourselves as ‘human beings’; not ‘human thinkings’ or ‘human doings’! Because the space of just being is natural many of us, perhaps most of us, have stumbled into it at some time or other. We may not even have realized that what we experienced was meditation.

My first experience of meditation was some time back in the early 70’s, one sunny afternoon, somewhere on the coast of Turkey. Propped up against some rocks on a beach, I gazed at a seascape for over an hour – unmoving, totally absorbed. That was something of a record for me, generally so speedy, always such a doer! Others may have experienced moments through running (‘being in the zone’), playing the piano, or making love, or dancing, and so on.

Given, then, that meditation is a natural state, why can’t we voluntarily return to it? Because we have forgotten how to put the mind on hold. In The Role of the Mind we look at the nature of the mind, and how, rather than it getting in the way, it can help us meditate. The many different Meditation Methods, which offer a variety of routes to meditation, are useful until meditation has become so much our lived experience that we no longer need them.

When we meditate we activate a new faculty – that of awareness. Awareness or Mindfulness explains the difference, and it’s a significant one, between ‘being conscious of’ and ‘thinking about’. Having familiarised yourself with the Special Points you’ll want to know, of course, about the benefits. When we start living from our center of being or consciousness, we change qualitatively – physically, psychologically and spiritually. If there were a pill that provided 1/4 of meditation’s benefits we’d be downing them by the handful!
With all this under our belt, we’re ready for Getting Started.