Whys And Ways To Meditate

Meditating can be like cleaning the house. Everything is in place, looks okay, just needs a little dusting, right? As soon as you start vacuuming behind the furniture and redoing the bookcases and washing the windows, the place is a mess. When you are cleaning your spiritual house you may notice this same phenomenon. Ordinary considerations are jostled about in search of the pristine truths. These are hidden underneath the gunk of everyday life and lies; under the programming we were born and reared with; under the guise of truth from the politicians and the storekeepers. All of a sudden we’re a mess. This is called spiritual growth. Meditation gets you into it and it also gets you out of it.

There are many ways to meditate and each has its own merit in our lives. Meditation is being still, letting the chaos drain away, finding yourself inside and hopefully, learning more about the self, and why you happen to be here right now. Meditation can also be exploration and discovery. When stillness reigns, one can begin to question: What is the most important thing to focus on right now? What is my next step? What has been causing my insomnia? What is that stuckness I feel in my chest when I think of writing (speaking)? In the stillness one listens and receives a truth that is valid for that moment. Meditation can also be active in the sense of healing: healing oneself, healing our relationships, working with the energies of the planet. It’s important to achieve stillness so that truth is seen and understood before action is taken and harm is not done.

Many people say they can’t find the time to sit and just be. They would like to have that luxury, they say, but there is only so much time and so much to accomplish. Time for meditation is not a luxury, but a necessity, in my view. It allows for the flotsam and jetsam of life to be recognized and released. When we came into this body there was a plan and a dream that is often forgotten. Meditation allows for the original goals to be recognized, validated, appreciated and put in the forefront, rather than after everything else is accomplished. We are spiritual beings in a physical body. Being still and recognizing the spiritual within us allows us to accentuate the part of us that is eternal, the part of us that will go into other realms when we leave this one.

So,you want to meditate, but are having trouble focusing. Where do you start? The first thing that comes up when we’re still is what is currently causing us to gnash our teeth and lose our hair. It’s sitting right there and as soon as we go inside and begin to relax, these concerns show their face. This is what usually discourages people, but it is actually the first step to meditation: letting go of whatever is coming up. Students say they get strong messages to get up and do something, that there is a judgement about “just sitting there” that has to be overcome. It does take practice to bypass this stage. A positive grounding technique is helpful. Connecting your first chakra or base of spine to the center of the earth and residing in the sixth chakra, behind the eyes, helps to achieve neutrality to the body and the environment. When emotions come up you can “see” them from the sixth chakra, but won’t “feel” them in the same way, making it easier to let them go. An inner amusement, I’ve heard it called “a smile in each of your cells,” is useful to achieve a quiet state.

Noticing your breathing helps you to stay in the body and also to release pain and discomfort. Simply sitting and noticing your breath can bring a wonderful sense of peace in a small amount of time. More peace to you!