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Mediation is in all forms, even reading you are meditating, walking your dog. Anytime you are alone with your thought, you are doing a form of meditating.

Strictly speaking meditation is a single pointed focus, and while there is walking meditation and other forms of meditation, some forms are considered more spiritual, and more healthy, then others. Obsessing on something may be considered meditation but and obsession is generally not considered healthy.

True, any time we are alone with our thoughts we may consider that to be meditation but there is a meditation that transcends thought; a meditation where there is absolutely no thoughts. That is the meditation which is referred to as quiet silent meditation. When we slip into the spaces between our thoughts. In my humble opinion this type of meditation transcends all the other types of meditation.

I visited The City of 10,000 Buddha’s in Northern California some time ago; it is more of a small town than it is a city, and its’ administration is done by a Buddhist Council. It is a very beautiful place; monks doing walking meditation, wide open spaces, peacocks and deer strutting around. It has a monastery, school, small hospital, etc., and guests can come and stay rather cheaply; $15 per day with meals included last time I checked. They practice a lot of different forms of meditation there at various times each day. Meditation and selfless service are high priorities, but it is the evening chanting by the monks that is most penetrating.

Please let me share some information from my formative tradition. It is just one perspective. I don't mean to contradict or correct any other understanding. It is simply the definitions and discipline I have learned and practice over many years. Whatever your practice, stay faithful, and make an effort to grow and be transformed over time.

I practice 3 types of prayerfulness, or consciousness.

1. Recollection: One quiets the noise and lets the consciousness dwell on a subject, theme, object, or person. The mind is allowed to flow, but stays focused on the subject, immersing oneself in it.

2. Meditation: Inaction, both mental and physical, with an attitude of emptiness and waiting. This is a practice that puts the soul in the drivers seat. We are not conscious of the work of the soul in the process, and we lose a sense of our own awareness. There is no activity, although there can very well be new awareness that flows from the soul consciousness to our physical consciousness after the meditation. This can be a slow evolution of awareness, or a fast burst.

3. Contemplation: This is not something that can occur from our own effort. We facilitate the possibility through the discipline of meditation. It is when One, our Source, the Light, joins in union, or oneness with our soul, and bliss is experienced within the whole person. Time is suspended, and all we can do is be immersed in an incredibly beautiful experience filling one with a profound peace. This is the most powerful ways of learning and new awarenesses.

It can also be a time when we "know" what we must do, the next phase of our growth, the challenges and invitations that expand and evolve our spiritual being. This inevitably changes our lives in some way.

I might add that some of the contemplative experiences have had a bit different effect on me. There have been occasions when I must grow in a way that can be extremely difficult for me in reality. The contemplative experiences before the new growth appear to be for strengthening me, and as a encouragement to proceed and endure the difficulties. Pain and suffering within my ego self is not diminished, however, I am aware of the positive aspect and the grace I've been given to move through it.

There is a deep awareness of the goal, one trusts the Light and the outcome, and proceeds towards significant growth.

EZ2, when I was in California, I use to frequent a Camaldolese Hermitage of monks south of Big Sur. I would be in silence and prayer. One of the most beautiful parts was that I could join in with the monks in the times of recited and chanted prayer. I completely agree about the penetrating effect of such and experience. There is something quite extraordinary about communal chanting. It gives one a sense of the union of all souls in the Light, our Source. Another blissful experience. This is an occasion of "recollection", as I experience it.

Whatever form of going within, I can only encourage the effort to develop and grow in this activity. The benefits are beyond our physical self.

Peacewithin, thank you for your very wonderful and exact sharing. What you have shared is very specific and instructive and I appreciate your attention to detail.

Meditation has only been part of the American public discourse for some 50 years but it has been in India for about 5,000 years. I find that people in India, and elsewhere, have a different view of this venerable practice than most Americans.

I can remember back in the 1970’s when meditation was becoming widespread here in America some were frightened by it and hired “deprogrammers” to undo any notion which their relatives, especially their children, had about meditation. Some in the Christian church thought that meditation was evil, and American psychologist and psychiatrist generally felt threatened by people learning meditation instead of following their advice. I witnessed a lot of this during the 1970’s. If you did meditation back then you were thought to be part of a cult.

But today here in America meditation is more accepted but still too often generalized as insignificant. In India meditation is revered as a sacred disciple and not viewed the same way that it is here in the U.S. There are variations in how we choose to use our own consciousness, regardless how we label those variations; I for one see a difference between guided imagery and meditation. Nonetheless, I also encourage going within no matter what technique or form one uses.

Peace and Good Journey

Thanks EZ2 and all for your wonderful contributions here. I too have found wonderful benefits from the practice of mediation over time. Like most spiritual practice, it does take some gumption to keep going, but the benefits are deep and wide ranging, as EZ2 has pointed out.

Sadly, whenever I simply mention meditation to the vast majority of people I meet, there is simply no response at all. Just blank. On the other hand, when I offered to teach other lawyers at my former law firm how to meditate, a good 10% responded. That's a very interesting response, though it may reflect the awareness of many lawyers in this sort of practice (downtown Boston private firm) what sort of pressures they are under on a daily basis and that they need SOMETHING to help. I expect that pressure kept many more from responding.

I have practiced mindfulness (vipassana) Buddhist meditation and find that the practice can lead to many of the states mentioned by contributors above. Every one of those states holds its own great power and beauty. I believe that the discovery/invention of meditation, in its many forms, is one of the greatest discoveries of humanity, right along with the wheel! It simply has not yet been fully utilized.

I look forward to the day, hopefully in this lifetime, when I'll be able to mention meditation, and the eyes of my listener will light up.

I do not think a lot of people know the benefits of true meditation; meditation happens on such a subtle level and that is one reason why I think many dismiss it or generalize it.

Jeff, I agree with what you have said; I think that meditation is the greatest discovery/invention of humanity. Anyone who has tasted that deep and seemingly endless reservoir which can be found in quiet, still, meditation, comes away with a life changing experience.

I often get a blank stare from people also when I mention meditation, and I believe it is because many do not know where to begin to talk about it or how to address it. Some think you have to sit in a full lotus position, with your legs all twisted up like a yogi, in order to learn meditation, but the process of meditation deals more with your breathing than it does any posture or mental state.

I’ve been doing meditation, Raja Yoga, for more than 30 years, and it has lead me to the foundation of my being. I can appreciate vipassana and other traditions, such as what Peacewithin has mentioned, and know that there are many paths to the same one thing. But again I say, at least for me in my meditations, breath is the key; breath is the first and last experience which we have as human beings here in this world, and it is my experience that breath can take us to the source of life.

Namaste

EZ2 and others, in my tradition, when one seriously practices meditation, it can lead one into mystical experiences. I had access to spiritual directors who were my reality check and would guide me, or not.

From my experience and tradition, a spiritual director is not the same as a Yogi guru, or a Buddhist Master. Yet, they play an important role in discernment and the development of a mature practitioner.

Have you availed yourselves of someone who is your reality check when mystical experiences occur?

"Mystical" is a word that is scary to some as well. It could also be called "transcendental", or "metaphysical", or inward experience. When one is new to this path, I believe it is a good thing to have someone experienced and knowledgeable to guide the spiritual growth of a new practitioner.

EZ2, I expect that from your professional experience, you might see when such a reality check would be a healthy part of the journey. This is an area that I believe has generated some of the reactions from people who don't understand meditation and contemplation. Do you have something to share on this? Do you see how there are times when we need the guidance of someone experienced to help us stay on the right path, and not go off track with ego related events?

agapejeff, I understand the experience you have had with other peoples reaction to "meditation". I have come to my own interpretation of that.

Meditation is commonly related to "religion" in peoples minds, rightly or wrongly. What follows is the idea that someone might have to give up enjoying life's pleasures, the sense of strict practices. Most people fear anything that they sense would deprive them. Just the idea that something might change their lives is scary. Most often the blank look is displayed, or their attention is shifted elsewhere, or they "get out of here fast".

Anything that has been related to a "religious" practice can create a fear that is ego related. I think it is a natural reaction given our society today, and more so in some instances than in the 70's. With the pace of life today, I think many fear that if they stop the motion, they may not be able to keep going with live as they know it.

The most important thing is not the reaction of others, but that our lives are changed and the change is positive, producing a sense of happiness and peace deep within a person. That make people curious and interested.

Still, I consider that there is a right time for each individual to seek spiritual growth. Maybe not in one lifetime, but eventually, if one believes in reincarnation. It will happen, but we might not see it. We can on allay fears by the life we live.

Thank you Peacewithin, you have made a very important observation. I agree with what you have said; it is extremely important, especially for those who are beginning inward meditation, to have a director, a guide, teacher, etc., who can help them stay grounded in a reality check.

Yes, the meditation which I do also offers mystical experiences, inter-dimensional, out-of-body, etc., and it is highly necessary to be around people who are familiar with this type of unfolding; because when you do deeply focused meditation what is inside of you comes out, and I agree that this can be scary. What we give our attention to will grow and when we give our attention to our inner being it expands.

Prior to my receiving meditation techniques from my teacher back in the 1970’s I had to go through months of selfless service and listening to satsang. Selfless service is helping others, especially strangers, with no compensation other than self gratitude, and satsang is a Sanskrit word which loosely interpreted means speaking about inner truth. I would go to a satsang hall and listen to experienced meditators talk about their journey, which was very inspiring to me. The daily selfless service that I performed was to help keep me humble and humility was stressed over and over again.

When the Mahatmas felt that and aspirant, such as me back then, was ready, and that usually occurred only after lots of selfless service and satsang, then they would show you the basic techniques for beginning meditation. If a person learned meditation without being ready then most likely their ego had not received any preparation and that could be disastrous or fruitless. Some people do learn meditation without preparation but I don’t advise it. It is necessary to have a context for doing meditation if you want your practice to be fruitful. In my opinion the ego needs to be prepared through selfless service, through humble prayer, through reading spiritual books, etc. before a person begins a serious practice of inner meditation. Some guru’s will literally break down the personality of their devotees, like in military basic training, but I don’t think that is necessary. Nonetheless, the practice of meditation requires discipline.

Yes, as someone who worked in the mental health field I met people who had been messed up by too much too soon and no guidance along the way. Meditation, in my opinion, speeds up our growth process and all sorts of things can happen if you don’t have the right kind of support system, including megalomania. I mean when you start to see that light; there are those who believe that they are God, or that they can get away with anything because they had a mystical experience. Meditation does not make a person better than anyone else it just gives them and additional tool to work with.

It is my experience that once a person has been meditating for many years that teacher transfers from the outside to the inside. It seems that it takes time for most, including myself, to form a strong connection with that inner teacher/guide. When I first began meditating and having mystical experiences it scared the hell out of me, but being surrounded by people with integrity who had already gone through this, I was able to continue and maintain balance on the inner path. Today, my teacher, my Master, is within me and I am firmly connected to that, or at least I hope I am. Humility is very important on my path.

I have had lots of experiences which were gained while in meditation that I do not readily share because they are sacred to me. There is a knowing which I feel you know Peacewithin that has nothing to do with linear thinking; in fact it has nothing to do with thought or any other kind of mental construction. It is a knowing that surpasses understanding; call it intuition to the nth degree, or whatever because it is beyond words; but it guides me when I listen and trust it. This guide is with me even when I am not with it, and I believe that all persons have such a guide, but there is no limit to how strong one can make that connection with their inner guide. In fact that connection can be so strong that you and it become one. Surrendering to your inner being is quite the courageous infinite journey.

The inner journey takes courage; it takes trust. As a former mental health professional I learned that most people do not want to face their demons; and meditation has a way of showing us what we’re hiding from. In my opinion most people do not want to do inner work. A lot of people just want to take a pill or wave a magic wand to make everything okay. Humanity is so used to treating the symptoms on the surface and many feel that they just don’t have time to do anything more, or they just don’t know how to safely go below the surface. But l am grateful that there are enough people out there in this world today which can safely guide others, with integrity, on that inner journey. The only teachers for this road are those who are successfully traveling it themselves. I understand why some people are hesitant and I agree that when the student is ready the teacher will appear.

I consider myself blessed to have gone on this journey, and I know what I do to, or for, others I also do to, or for, myself. As meditation has literally shown me that we are one; we are all connected.