What Is Meditation?

What is Meditation?

I have been teaching meditation for 20 years and frequently a prospective student will say to me, "I would like to learn to meditate, but I just don’t have the patience for it. My brain just keeps buzzing around and I can’t seem to sit still long enough to empty myself or still my mind, so I just give up.”

Many people have the misconception that meditation is only sitting still, emptying the mind and feeling peaceful. This is only one type of meditation. If this type of meditation does not appeal to you, don’t worry. There are hundreds if not thousands of different techniques and styles of meditation.

Common Misconception
The meditation stereotype of sitting still, emptying the mind of all thoughts and feelings is similar to Zen style of meditation. This is actually a very advanced form of meditation and, when taken out of context, only represents a very small percentage of all traditional meditative techniques.

History of Meditation in the West
Meditation in the West, as well as Yoga, Martial Arts and Chi Kung, has been watered down and generalized to the point where we have this "one size fits all" idea about them. How has this happened? Beginning in the early 20th century, people from Europe and the US would travel to the East seeking to learn spirituality. Eastern masters are notoriously wary of new students especially foreigners and would initiate these new students into very preliminary, low level techniques. Now, we westerners have a tendency to want quick results. But this is not the eastern way. In the East, people understand that it may take many years of testing before a master will teach them "the real stuff". So, what has happened is that these western seekers had only been taught the most rudimentary and preliminary techniques. But, thinking they had mastered "the real stuff", these westerners came back to the west after only a few months or years of preliminary study and began teaching these watered down or incomplete techniques to others. So the result is that we have this idealized stereotype of meditation that consists of simply sitting still, slowing our breath and "emptying the mind." This is like trying to run a marathon your first day of jogging. In India, for example, it takes many years of mastering breath, Yoga, Mantra and Mudra before being able to be proficient at this "empty" type of meditation.

Active vs Passive Meditation
In traditional spiritual technologies, there are two main categories of meditation. This includes Active and Passive meditative techniques. "Emptying the Mind" is an example of "Passive Meditation". Emptying oneself and being receptive is a Passive technique which actually requires tremendous amounts of internal energy to master. This internal energy must first be collected and harnessed through active techniques. That is why most beginners are not able to achieve this “stillness” easily. Active meditation actually works much better for the novice, because the novice usually has difficulty filtering out the chattering of his/her mind. Why does the mind chatter? Because any meditative or energetic technique is designed to stimulate the subconscious to release mental patterns. The result is that when the novice sits down to "Still the Mind" these mental patterns of feelings and thoughts flood the awareness and the mind starts to chatter even louder! This is normal. But, since we have an incorrect, idealized preconception that meditation means that we must have a still peaceful mind, the novice begins to fight with him/herself trying to force the stillness and peace. The result is that the mind chatters even louder creating a self-feeding cycle of ever-increasing tension and mind chatter. Understandably, it is at this point that the novice gives up believing that he/she does not have the ability to meditate or even worse, the novice may simply try to "shut out" the thoughts and feelings driving this negativity deeper into the unconscious. Many meditators who believe themselves to be advanced practitioners continue like this for many years with little or no real results and, sadly, may pass on their misconceptions to other sincerer seekers. But, traditionally in the East, a meditation student is first REQUIRED to master active meditation which actually works better with a chattering mind! Active Meditation usually involves some sort of task or action which is fun and enjoyable and does not require stillness. Active meditation engages the body and mind in such a way that while the mind is occupied in the specific action or task, the spirit is freed from the ramblings of the mind. This process allows the Prana or Chi to circulate through the body. When the student has harnessed his/her energy sufficiently, then the meditator has the power to still the mind and achieve real peace. The tasks of active meditation can include; breathing exercises, moving exercises, mantras, visualizations, etc… Furthermore, the benefits of active meditation have very powerful healing effects on the body. If the body is not in balance, the mind cannot be still. It is always best to heal and balance the energies of the body first. Once the body and energies are enhanced and balanced, the mind will become still naturally.

Types of Meditations
There are meditations to still the mind, to energize the mind, to focus the mind. There are meditations to energize the body, to relax the body, meditations for balance, for power, for healing, for strength, meditations to enhance wisdom, to strengthen psychic abilites, to open up the emotions, to balance the emotions, meditations for stamina, to manifest ideas, to strengthen the body's energetic field... the list goes on and on. The best news is that you needn't worry about achieving the results. You only need to follow the instructions of the meditation and the techniques will do the work for you! So, forget any preconceived ideas you may have or may have heard about what meditation is. Focus on what you want from yourself and your life. Once you know what your personal goal is, there is a meditation to help you achieve it. Whatever your desire or need or personality type, there is a meditation that you CAN do. And more importantly, there is a meditation out there that you will LIKE to do.

So How Do I Start?
I recommend starting with active meditative techniques that use the whole body. Examples are: Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Kung. I also recommend combining your workout routine with daily mantra meditation. Mantras are a powerful way to energize the body and control the ramblings of the mind. If for whatever physical reason you are not able to engage in full body activities like Yoga or Tai Chi, I recommend starting with Mantra Meditation. After you have had some time to use these active techniques, I then recommend seeking out a qualified master to teach you the more advanced passive "stillness" techniques.

If you are ready to begin your journey into meditation, you are invited to log on to www.TheHolographicMind.com. There, you can browse our selection of instructional DVDs and CDs. Try them out and see which techniques work best for you.
Blessings on your journey,
Shabd Singh
(Michael Denney)