A Way

In the video series, A Way To God For Today, Anthony deMello, SJ, makes a reference to an East Indian saying that, “the fish in the water is thirsty”. What Anthony is referring to is the mystery of the ever present, all pervading God who empties Himself out to creation (the Eastern view is that God “dances” creation, becomes creation; the Western view is that God is above and separate from creation but reflected in creation). The point of this saying is that, like the fish living in and sustained by the water all around, yet still thirsty, man tends to search high and low for a God that is actually around and through him at all times, staring man right in the face yet somehow still invisible. Perhaps, man simply needs to change his mind to be able to see what stares him in the face.

Sages, saints and saviors, including Jesus, tell us to look within ourselves for truly meaningful spiritual experience. “The kingdom of heaven is within you” is an actual instruction to look within. To “be not of this world” is a reminder to keep our minds on higher things. That does not mean we don’t have responsibilities in the mundane world. It means that we should imbue all of our activities with spiritual purpose. From simply being kind to others, praying for a stranger in need or helping a friend to more difficult practices like fasting, we can put a spiritual “flavor” into everything we do. In referring to the need to elevate our thoughts and actions above the typical negative emotional responses people have to personal conflict, Mother Teresa echoes (Kent Kieth’s summary in his “Paradoxical Commandments” or the prayer of Saint Francis) with, “You see, in the final analysis, it is all between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway”.

Keeping one’s thoughts in a higher , more charged attitude is a central theme in many of Christ’s teachings. Instructions like, “Be thou perfect as the Father is perfect” challenges our sanity as well as our humility. Surely Jesus wasn’t serious about the perfection part or maybe we have mistranslated or misinterpreted something here. But at the least, maybe Jesus is telling us to try a little harder to think and act in spiritual ways from a spiritual perspective. Jesus’ encouragement to go well beyond the do’s and don’t’s of Judaic law tell us that we are capable of a higher consciousness. Comparing, “Thou shalt not kill” to “Don’t even be angry with your brethren lest you become liable to judgement” is a good example of this consciousness difference. In the latter, Christ is telling us to keep our consciousness on a higher level than simple obeisance. We are to develop the ability and habit of seeing things from a higher perch, to try to see things as God might see them, to “be perfect as the Father is perfect”. Of course, mortal man will never be perfect (in this life) and shouldn’t be presumptuous or blasphemous in this regard. It simply is an instruction to raise our consciousness.

Observe

How does one do what one knows to be right? Great philosophers and religious leaders have told us what is right and what is wrong, encouraged us to turn from wrong to right, but have they given us the mechanics to do that? There are centuries of examples of man doing wrong and some say that is the nature of man. The enduring debate is whether man is innately good but weak and subject to sin or innately bad with an occasional glimpse of truth. Without getting too deeply into religious debates on the nature of man, it is still clear that there is only so much man can do, the rest being left to his God, the universe or whatever concept he may have to describe the infinite, unknowable that must be in control.

So for now, let’s think practically. The few things man may have some control over are his free will (and sensible life choices) and regularity in practices he knows to be positive and life affirming.These positive choices appear to be diet, rest, exercise, a good mental attitude and finally, a method to enhance the choice making process. This method (meditation) produces another benefit, mindfulness. This mindfulness can be acute awareness of each experience, a thought, an action or an attitude but eventually will become one’s own silent observer.

This silent observer watches over oneself with calm, nonjudgmental detachment, almost like watching a movie of one’s life. This silent observer exhibits a self-referral quality, validation from within. It helps clear the garbage out of our minds by identifying it and letting it go. The self referral quality of this observer enhances one’s conscience, one’s self esteem and one’s humility while maintaining an appreciation of the present moment. It reminds me of Christ’s instruction, ” Be transformed by the renewing of your mind“.

Choices

The previous mention of the need for balance in one’s life emphasizes the importance of taking care of essential health concerns. Once a person has established good habits for healthy living (rest/activity/diet/positive self image), he can pursue philosophical or spiritual goals with an attitude of being unfettered. It is hard to keep one’s thoughts on things above if things below continue to usurp one’s energy. Some believe that philosophies or spiritual practices of the past that actually praised the value of suffering were misguided or at least, simple rationalizations of some circumstance of suffering. That does not mean that one doesn’t or can’t benefit spiritually from a negative circumstance; it means that one shouldn’t pursue it intentionally, suffering for suffering’s sake (for example, a Christian cannot imitate or achieve Christ’s suffering and sacrifice for mankind because that is not the Christian’s place, that’s Christ’s alone and to assume otherwise insults or degrades the reality of His mission). However, should one find oneself amid suffering, it is beneficial to sublimate suffering to a spiritual intent. The change of perspective is the key difference.

Some philosophies believe that the universe is analogous to a mirror, reflecting back whatever is projected (we project in every thought and action). Whether this concept is called the law of karma or reaping what one sows, labeling it isn’t really necessary for one to gain some understanding of the principle. “What you see, you become” or the efficacy of our attention and intention, can simply mean that our attitude, interpretation and outlook about life is a strong and important element in life’s outcome. This principle may even act on the basic level of our subconscious mind. Our attitudes are like constant programming for our subconscious. If our awareness (“what you see” or maybe how you see things) is always negative, filled with judgment, criticism, gossip and a sour outlook then that is likely all we will see and experience in our lives (whatever you put your attention on grows…). On the other hand if one sees life as positive, affirming, full of potential for positive change and growth, then that is likely to fill our lives. This attitude is not self deluding “power of positive thinking”, denying negative realities by trying to talk yourself out of suffering. It is the realization that the majority of minds, operating on the gross level of reality, has plenty of negative influence. Perhaps minds operating at the quieter, more subtle or finer levels of consciousness will more than balance the scales, bringing a positive outcome.

The idea of a gross level of reality not being as powerful as the finer levels of reality does have some examples in nature. In physical matter, the gross level exhibits itself in concepts like mass, gravitational influence, velocity, momentum, etc, whereas the finer levels of reality show themselves in concepts like electromagnetism, nuclear fission and fusion. The finer levels seem to demonstrate much greater influence in proportion to mass, for example.

Is there any chance that comparisons like this can apply to ideas like thoughts, consciousness or prayer? It may be a stretch but I think they do. I think that our thoughts have more effect than we realize. But I also think that these effects operate on principles not clearly understood. Gross level thoughts (and being gross usually include actions) like “I hate you”, “Let’s begin the meeting”, or “”Do you have change for a dollar?” typically produce gross level actions, emotions or other gross level thoughts, usually in a fairly short period of time (minutes, days, weeks, etc). Finer level thoughts, sometimes expressed aloud but usually expressed quietly within (prayer, meditative intentions) usually produce mysterious and often unseen positive effects that take place in time frames unknowable. This is one of the reasons that people aren’t very consistent in expressing these finer level intentions; They can’t readily see the results and subsequently fade in their diligence. The other problem people have projecting positive finer level thoughts is that, for the larger portion of our day,we exist, think and act on the gross level of reality. So observable cause and effect is often demonstrated by activity, busy-ness, chaos, reaction conflict and so on. If one could allow the quiet of our inner reality (experienced in meditation, deep prayer) to be prevalent more often in our activity, then outcomes like coherence, harmony, peace, tolerance, creativity and love might just take over. The choice is ours.

We just have to realize that our thoughts have more power than we give credit. Some physicists and cosmologists believe that there is only one conclusion from centuries of research, as to how and why the universe came to be. They believe in something called the Anthropocentric or Anthropic Principle, which implies that the only reason the universe exists is because man is here to understand and appreciate it. If this is true, man should be quite humbled by both the profound nature of this gift and its responsibility.

Balance

The practice of meditation can make profound improvements in the quality of life. The deep rest experienced provides healing and empowerment. Another important quality to enhance is that of balance, an absolute necessity for healthy living. As all aspects of life seem to follow through somewhat cyclical rhythms, one’s ability to go with that flow through balanced living should be a goal for every day life. One’s lifestyle should support the natural cycle of rest and activity. Too much of either will have a deteriorating effect on the quality of life.

Many people think about sleep as a certain number of hours of restful unconsciousness but this definition of rest is far from accurate. Especially in today’s stress filled world, the more important aspects of rest (and recovery) need to be the quality of sleep and the consideration of an additional stress reduction practice like meditation. Sleep quality is not defined by the number of hours of sleep but by one’s ability to recover from physical, mental and emotional exertion. One important element of that sleep quality is regularity. Whether a person can control the exact times of sleep in any 24 hour period (due to work schedules, etc) may not be as important as the regularity of getting to sleep and waking at roughly the same times each day.

Research has shown that people who work swing shifts (work shifts that change often from day to afternoon to night, etc) suffer the most from inadequate sleep rest because their bodies are constantly having to adapt to a new schedule. Adaptation is a normal function of one’s physiology but this case is excessive. Meditation, with its proven ability to provide deep levels of rest, is a good adjunct to sleep with regards to rest and recovery.

The other side of the rest / activity cycle is important for other reasons. Since today’s civilization requires less physical activity than in generations past, it is imperative that one includes exercise as part of balanced living. One problem with physical work as activity is that it very often is poor quality exercise. Physical work often requires exertion at ergonomically incorrect positions and repetitions. Physical movement that is helpful to one’s body should be performed with proper posture, a sensible repetition rate and number. Properly performed exercise is as beneficial to one’s physiology as the deep rest of quality sleep and meditation.

Diet is another key factor that supports both the energy requirement of the activity side of the cycle and the repair and rebuilding process of the rest side of the cycle. In today’s world, a good diet means more than food intake in accordance with the latest food pyramid. It also means taking in plenty of clean water along with a few key supplements (from your research) that science has proven to be beneficial without harmful side effects. Only after one has established a healthy regimen of rest / activity supported by a healthy diet can one maintain one’s direction in pursuit of personal goals in life.

Finally, one’s mental attitude can enhance life’s experiences or make life a drudgery of suffering. A person’s self image is probably the most important attitude to examine, with a positive self image being the desired outcome. But some people confuse self esteem or positive self image with pride, being self centered or arrogant. True self esteem is acceptance of oneself, complete with faults and inadequacies running parallel to positive attributes. Humility is actually the outcome of a correct self image and the important ability to laugh at oneself on a regular basis. . Even if one acknowledges that he is the world’s greatest tiddlywinks player, one can still have an attitude of humility if one is quiet inside, totally self referral, confident but willing to learn and be open to deeper levels of tiddlywinks knowledge.

Breathe

We have looked at a couple meditation types in the (generic) mantra method and a Christian meditation.These two examples are only samples of a simple meditation style. Some other types are a little more active in their approach, some use more active concentration, some use imagery or a guided (directed) thought process.There is nothing wrong with these mentally active methods but I personally prefer the quiet methods that lead to a transcendental state of being by the simplest means. There has always been a rather basic question that presents itself when one considers the various meditation styles and that is, ” What is the common thread that runs through all the different meditative practices ?”.

It is my opinion that the most meaningful feature congruent to all of these seemingly different meditation styles is breathing. For example, whatever the method, as the meditator begins to settle down toward a calm state, his breathing naturally slows down a little. Subsequently, as one’s breathing slows down, one becomes more calmer, quieter. In turn, as one becomes even calmer, one’s breathing becomes even more relaxed, more subtle. This process continues to alternate back and forth, quieting both the mind and breath until one no longer knows which initiated the process (or even cares). Finally, with the experience of one – pointed consciousness, it often appears as if one were not breathing at all. Of course, the meditator is breathing. It is just that the inner awareness of transcendental consciousness cannot be easily separated from the experience of finer and more subtle breathing. In this one – pointed awareness, the meditator experiences that ever present “one breath” that seems to halt time and transport the meditator to an experience of mindfulness in which he is aware of everything around him and nothing at all, sitting quietly, doing nothing.

What is this mysterious connection between thought and breath? For just a moment, consider the following question. If meditation has historically been linked to religious or spiritual traditions, being used to quiet the mind in preparation for spiritual awakening or blessing, is that experience available to all human beings or just a lucky few? Consider this extremely ridiculous example. Let’s assume that somehow a person is abandoned in early infancy, raised by wombats or grizzly bears or something and never has the opportunity to listen the wise teachings of sages, saints or saviors. Is spiritual experience available to that wombat raised (but still sentient) being? I say it is (by the grace of God perhaps) by virtue of nothing more than complicated than breath (bear with me here a little). For even without any formal instruction on any subject, one at least has one’s own realization of the most natural process of life, breathing, to contemplate one’s own breath. You see, as all of these meditation methods progress to transcendence, all of these methods eventually become meditation on the breath. The breath may be inseparable from the mental device of the mantra, prayer, chanting the name of the Lord or whatever device is being employed. Because the breath, slow and steady, is always there in the background. So if it is such a common element, can it be a method by itself? It can.

This brings us to the breath meditation. The technique of breath meditation is actually the same as mantra meditation in that the breath is used in place of a (mentally) audible mantra sound. The breath as mantra does still make a sound, I guess, but it is more than that. The breath is what one would call a physical mantra in that whether or not it makes an actual sound (your choice), it always has a feeling. In breath meditation, that is the key feature. Breath used as a mental focusing device has no specific sound (unless it’s “hhhhhmmm” as one exhales) but is observed, followed, felt as it flows. As was mentioned in the previous examples of mantra and Christian meditation, the breath is not controlled but simply watched with detachment. The only noticeable aspect of inhaling and exhaling is that, for whatever reason, exhalation is usually about twice as long as inhalation (there are methods that control or time breathing but that is not the method described here).

So to practice breath meditation, use the gentle attention (no forcing) on one’s breath as the mental focusing device and follow the other mantra method steps previously described with regards to attitude, environment, technique, random thoughts, outside stimuli and so on. The only additional point to make here is the reminder that mantra meditation is probably the easiest to learn so one may want to try that for a while, gradually moving into breath meditation as it feels natural. As for the spiritual aspect of any or all of these methods, it is quite possible that spiritual expression (prayer, contemplation) may be an innate feature of consciousness development.

“Be still and know…”

Christian meditation has a slightly different technique from the previously described generic mantra meditation. The connotation of the mantra is one of the differences. For the most part, mantras are to be meaningless sounds used as a mental focusing device. One aspect of that is that the mantra is not supposed to stimulate thoughts such as thoughts about the mantra’s meaning, how that meaning relates to some other thought, etc. If that were not the case, repeating a mantra would have exactly the opposite effect of that meant in meditation. It wouldn’t calm the mind; it would stimulate the mind. However, some people prefer that their meditation practice remain within the comfort of their religious framework. That’s fine. There are just a few things to remember.

If one chooses meditation within a religious framework, Christianity for example, one needs to now choose a mantra that doesn’t stimulate random thoughts but becomes a comfortable and very simple affirmation. A good example of a Christian mantra that fits this idea is, “Jesus – Amen”, “Jesus”(inhale) – “Ahhhmennn”(exhale). The reason this will work as a mantra is that one having faith in the Lord Jesus will not need to think beyond “Jesus” (the name beyond all names) and “Amen” (verily, truly,”yes”, “I believe”). It kind of says it all, wraps up a person’s faith in two simple words and therefore requires nothing else (Christian ascetic monks living in the Egyptian desert in the 3rd and 4th century practiced a technique like this). So to summarize mantras – they either need to have no real (thought stimulating) meaning or have a meaning so deep and complete (no further thought is required) that they can be used as a simple mental focusing device.

Mechanically, the Christian meditation process is the same as the generic mantra meditation process. However, there are a few added elements which make it comfortable to one of Christian faith. Those steps that include these differences will be marked with an asterisk. The steps are:

1. Become awake – go to the bathroom, wash face if desired to awaken
2. Find a quiet place with little distraction, noise, etc
3. Sit with back supported but upright, be comfortable (a blanket if cold, a tissue in case you need to blow your nose – all so you don’t need to get back up – during the process, if your nose itches – scratch it, etc – the idea is to be comfortable and still but not a statue)
4. Take two normal but relaxing (natural) slow breaths as you sink into your seat
5. Tell yourself that there is nothing to attend to for 20 – 30 minutes, all can wait
6. * Mentally set the mood for your meditation with a short prayer, something like, “Thank you Father for this time of rest. My only desire is to sit quietly with you, knowing that each breath is a gift”.
7. * Begin mentally repeating the mantra, “Jesus” (inhale) – “Amen” (exhale) as you breathe naturally (don’t try to control your breathing, just observe it), repeat “Jesus”(inhale) – “Amen” (exhale), continue with a gentle focus on the mantra (no forcing)
8. * Continue mentally repeating this Christian mantra with a gentle focus on it for as long as you want to – the full meditation period if necessary. If you feel like letting the mantra fade away from time to time, let it (knowing that it is always there in the background). During the early phase of this meditation, resist the urge to transition into (traditional) prayer. I know that sounds strange but just wait until later in the process (more about this later).
9. If other thoughts float into your mind, that’s ok, just watch them as they pass through, but if you notice that they have captured your attention, gently return to the mantra  as you breathe naturally – “Jesus” (inhale) – “Amen” (exhale)
10. As thoughts come and go or bubble up into your consciousness, do not judge these thoughts – they can be totally nonsensical or relevant to you life – the point to understand is that any thoughts arising during this process are likely to be little bits of stress releasing – that is one of the great benefits of meditation. If you experience an emotion along with the thoughts (laughing, crying, etc), that’s ok – that’s just stress release. Let go of them and return to the mantra
11. If outside stimuli get your attention, simply realize that the furnace kicking on, dogs barking or the wind blowing are natural occurrences, ones that you normally ignore anyway – so unless the house is falling down, these stimuli don’t really mean anything. Observe them, ignore them and gently return to your mantra
12. Also, you may experience brief or long periods of pinpoint focus on the silence of your own consciousness (the gap) – when that happens, enjoy it for as long as it remains and if it gets interrupted by other thoughts, again just return to the gentle focus on the mantra
13. * As the meditation deepens, you may feel the impulse to burst into prayer, even short affirmations or thankful expressions. Having quietly held that urge to simply sit quietly with the Lord, you can now let those prayers flow forth from your heart. Typically you will find with this meditation process that these prayers  that seem to spontaneously spring forth are more often prayers of thanks and praise than prayers of petition (less about you and more about Him). But since everyone is different with a different relationship with God, as with other thoughts during meditation, don’t judge the value or meaning of even these prayerful expressions, express them freely and once you have expressed them, gently return to the mantra and its calming effect
14. * After settling a little, close your meditation with another short prayer, something like, “Thank you Lord for this time of rest, sitting quietly with you. I know that you are always there, sustaining me with each breath. Amen”
15. You may find that meditation periods sometimes fly by while others seem more gradual – don’t judge one against another; they all have merit in themselves; just BE
16. Remember that the greatest benefit comes with regularity. If at any time you have difficulty or are agitated from too much outside stimuli, stop and return to the process at another time. The key  is to never force it.

** Final notes – for some beginners, the initial calm of one’s consciousness becomes interrupted by thoughts like, “I should be doing something” (usually about 10 minutes into the meditation). That’s because we’ve been conditioned to be active. That particular thought means no more than the thought, “Hey, I’m meditating”. It’s just another thought, a thought to be observed and  released as one returns to the gentle focus on the mantra. With regular practice, some people fall into silence quite easily,with just the gentle intention. As for other Christian mantras, just remember that they need to be fairly short (like breathing) and be complete in their meaning to the point that they don’t stimulate thought. Mantras like, “I am the way, the truth and the life”, “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy” or “Amen” are ok. Long scriptural passages will likely change the direction of the experience from meditative to thought provoking. Remember that the goal of meditation is to quiet the mind. Spontaneous prayer that comes forth later in process is ok because it doesn’t come from the mantra or its meaning; it springs forth from your heart (not contrived, conceived or produced but allowed to speak for itself). In short, the mantras maintain the meditative nature of the process. Even as the mantra, “Jesus – Amen” fades in and out of your conscious attention, it is always there in the background, even if it becomes” Amen, Amen, hhmmm, “etc. It is always there.

The Gap

Between our thoughts there is a gap. Meditation allows the mind to settle into that gap, content to rest outside the framework of time, to reside in Being, if just for a while. I would like to give two examples of the mantra meditation mentioned before. One example is a very generic method and the second (next post) is a type of Christian meditation. For each, step by step instructions will help one to understand both the similarities and differences of these two methods.

For the first example, one first uses his free will to decide and intend to adopt a relaxed, passive attitude toward the process. The meditator should have no agenda or expectations except to sit quietly, let any extra thoughts go until later, use the somewhat mechanical technique and become a silent observer. Please note that early morning, before breakfast and engaging the activity of the day, is the best time for a single meditation while afternoon before the evening meal is good for a second meditation. There is a positive synergy from two meditations and regularity is important. A good meditation period is 20 – 30 minutes but don’t watch a clock, just a close idea is fine. The steps are:

1. Become awake- go to the bathroom, wash face if desired to awaken
2. Find a quiet place with little distractions, noise, etc
3. Sit with back supported but upright, be comfortable ( a blanket if cold, a tissue in case you need to blow your nose- all so you don’t need to get back up – during the process, if your nose itches-scratch it, etc, – the idea is to be comfortable and still but not a statue)
4. Take two normal but relaxing (naturally) slow breaths as you sink into your seat
5. Tell yourself that there is nothing to attend to for 20 – 30 minutes, all can wait
6. Begin mentally repeating the mantra “so – hum” as you breathe naturally (don’t try to control your breathing, just observe it), repeat “so” (inhale) – “hum” (exhale), continue with a gentle focus on the mantra (no forcing)
7. “so hum” is a very calming mantra so if your breath wants to slow down, let it but don’t try to slow your breathing, just watch
8. Continue mentally repeating the mantra with a gentle focus on it for as long as you want to – the full meditation period if necessary. If you feel like letting the mantra fade away from time to time, let it
9. If other thoughts float into your mind, that’s ok, just watch them as they pass through, but if you notice that they have captured your attention, gently return to the mantra as you breathe naturally – “so” (inhale) – “hum” (exhale)
10. As thoughts come and go or bubble up into your consciousness, do not judge these thoughts – they can be totally nonsensical or relevant to your life – the point to understand is that any thoughts arising during this process are likely to be little bits of stress releasing – that is one of the great benefits of meditation. If you experience an emotion along with the thoughts (laughing, crying, etc) that’s ok – that’s just stress release. Let go of them and gently return to the mantra.
11. If outside stimuli get your attention, simply realize that the furnace kicking on, dogs barking or the wind blowing are natural occurrences, ones that you normally ignore anyway – so unless the house is falling down, these stimuli don’t really mean anything – observe them, ignore them and gently return to your mantra
12. Also, you may experience brief or long periods of pinpoint focus on the silence of your own consciousness (the gap) – when that happens enjoy it as long as it remains and if it gets interrupted by other thoughts – again, just return to the gentle focus on the mantra
13. You may find that meditation periods sometimes fly by while some seem more gradual – don’t judge one against another; they all have merit in themselves, just BE
14. Remember that the greatest benefit comes with regularity. If at any time you have difficulty or are agitated from too much outside stimuli, stop and return to the process at another time. The key here is never to force it.

A final note – for some beginners, the initial calm of one’s consciousness becomes interrupted by thoughts like “I should be doing something” (usually about 10 minutes into the meditation). That’s because we’ve been conditioned to be active. That particular thought means no more than the thought, “Hey, I’m meditating”. It’s just another thought, a thought to be observed and released as one returns to the gentle focus on the mantra. With regular practice, some people fall into silence quite easily, with just the gentle intention. Remember, don’t force, don’t try, just BE. After 20 – 30 minutes, sit quietly for a moment before engaging in activity. Some people use this time to stretch, think about the day’s activity or take some time for daily prayer.

Benefits

The wide spectrum of benefits from meditation experience is quite impressive. These can range from physical benefits to psychological, emotional and behavioral benefits. There are even benefits that are demonstrated at the level of group consciousness. There have been many studies done on many types of meditation practices but for the sake of simplicity, I will talk about the studies done on perhaps the most systematic and well known of the mantra types of meditation, TM, or transcendental meditation. Many other meditation practices show similar positive results.

Studies of TM practitioners are probably the most published. Many reputable universities including Cal State, Stanford and Hardvard have studied TM for its benefits and placed articles in publications such as Science, Scientific American, American Journal of Physiology, the Journal of Criminal Justice and the Journal of Mind and Behavior to name but a very few. From the many studies, evidence shows TM’s effect on one’s physiology, intelligence, emotional stability and behavior to be very positive. Of the quite long list of beneficial effects of regular TM practice the following stand out (get ready and be patient- it’s a long list) – evidence of deep levels of rest ( blood chemistry), increased brainwave coherence (especially in alpha, delta and theta frequency ranges), increased intelligence growth rate (one year study) and increased learning ability, increased job satisfaction and improved job performance, greater adaptability and tolerance (tolerance to stress and conflict), faster physical reaction time, slower heart rate, normalized blood pressure, decreased anxiety, better sleep quality, less illness in general, lower biological age compared to chronological age, increased creativity, increased self actualization. This is just a portion of the list but I think it should be enough.

So what other benefits can one realize from a regular experience of deep silence? Well, there are some that cannot be proven through scientific study using electrical probes, test tubes or statistics. These can be the general feeling of well being, better decision making and so on. But for still others, meditation stills the mind in order to allow for deeper prayer, prayer that seems to flow effortlessly from the heart. Perhaps this is just a stress releasing process or perhaps it is something more. Only those having the experience can appreciate its importance.

Meditation

Meditation is a topic that could take up volumes. Meditation has been described by some as profound, mystical or enlightening. While that may be true in some cases, it is primarily a practical technique for stress reduction, a healthy maintenance habit like brushing one’s teeth or regular exercise. Each meditation has value in itself but it can also be the groundwork for something deeper. For now, the primary goals of meditation are enough to consider.

Meditation has a multitude of scientifically verified benefits while at the same time, is a very simple process. There are many types of meditation, meditation on the breath, mindfulness meditation, prayerful meditation, the Jesus prayer, to name just a few. But probably the simplest and easiest to learn is mantra meditation. A mantra is often given several misleading definitions but in truth, it is simply a mental device. As a mental device, a mantra is a pleasant sound (even just a syllable) that is repeated mentally (or sometimes aloud). As the mantra is repeated, the mind gradually lets go of its attachment to other thoughts, becoming calmer, more settled and quietly focused. The mind finally becomes focused on itself, letting go of the mantra as well to arrive at a one-pointed awareness that is not devoid of thoughts, but has transcended thought to arrive at the source of thought. From this self aware vantage point, the mind is content to reside in that present moment. Should a thought arise in the mind, one can actually perceive it as it forms, moves through one’s consciousness and finally fades. This experience does not interfere with the calm experience of transcendence as long as the meditator does not form an attachment to the thought, quietly observes it and then gently returns to the focusing device of the mantra to follow it back down to a calm silence.

This process will be described in greater detail later but it is important to notice that this process seems very mechanical. That’s because it is very mechanical. Being a mechanical technique is actually of great importance. The fact is that this mechanical technique produces the desired result regardless of any preconceived ideas about its efficacy. You see, this technique is not a belief system. One does not have to believe in it for it to work. This fact makes it rather generic in its approach to calming the mind. Once calm, the user can put any flavor he desires on it as a framework for subsequent practice (spiritual, religious, philosophical, etc) as long as the mechanical technique is done correctly. The generic nature of this technique has been studied by researchers trying to identify the various mental, physical and emotional benefits of the process (much more about those later). It can and does benefit millions worldwide daily.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness or singular awareness of the present produces many benefits. Some of the benefits of mindfulness in this Eternal Now appear at the first experience while others are accumulative. When focused on the transcendent present, one’s thoughts don’t drift toward reliving or regretting the past or worrying or procrastinating about the future. Also, this gentle focus on “Now” reduces the potential for fragmenting one’s thoughts. Fragmentation is a form of subconscious stress we impose on ourselves when we never actually finish or fully engage the thought process such as when we continually participate in the multitasking mentality of this modern age.

In Alvin Toffler’s book, “Future Shock”, he describes life, as it moves into the future, as one being stressed and cluttered with what he calls “overchoice”. Most people have experienced simple examples of this while staring at the seemingly endless shelves of shampoo, deodorant or toothpaste in a store or while watching television with its streams of commercial after commercial. There’s just too much going on for our minds to settle onto any one thing for too long.  Toffler’s definition of “Future Shock” is simply “…too much change in too little time”. Often we think we are adapting well to change only to find out later that it can overwhelm us. But that doesn’t have to be so. The key here is to be practical and not let our consciousness be pulled out of place, but to focus it on where we want it to be.

Consider the great thinkers of history, philosophers, scientists and inventors. Many achieved great things in several different disciplines. Much of this can be attributed to their innate intellect but some was due to their deep focus or total absorption into their studies. Certainly, they did not have today’s distractions but they also had trained their minds to focus. It is on the topic of training the mind that we are presented with options and questions. There are many methods of training the mind for specific tasks such as memory, problem solving, organization and so on. But the easiest and the most practical training one can do to positively influence many areas of thinking (and living in general) is meditation.