What is Meditation? Why do it?

For my part, defining meditation is pretty simple. To meditate is to bring awareness to experience. For many, it helps to start by taking an action to still the body. For others, this is not initially possible or available as an idea, so they will start with meditation in movement, such as yoga posture practice, tai chi or walking meditation. As an option, some people add some additional action at some times, to actively develop or even undo a particular element of being or experience. Examples of this would be repeating a mantra, concentrating on one object of experience, praying a rosary or saying phrases silently.

There are so many reasons why different people undertake some kind of meditation practice, so it’s difficult to answer this so succinctly. Let’s start by saying that all reasons are perfect. They are perfect because they signal an intention to be with what’s happening in a different way, a very effective way, in my experience. They are also perfect because all reasons somehow signal that faith is present, faith that change is possible and that effort can be taken to begin to effect change.

What sort of changes are people imagining might come out of meditation? Some changes might feel very practical, such as developing concentration for use in performance or bringing some attention to a behavior one may wish to break through, like anger. Some desired changes might feel more overarching, such as greater peace of mind. For many, a meditation practice accompanies a spiritual leaning. Maybe it’s felt that meditation will bring us closer to relationship with the divine, or a personal experience of divinity.

Notice, fellow yogis, that you can substitute “yoga practice” for “meditation practice” throughout what I say here and it works very fine!

In the practice of yoga, meditation is seen as a means for revealing to the yogi what is true. This truth business, as with much of yoga practice, works at multiple levels. At first, what becomes available as a newly seen truth may be something like “I didn’t realize how stiff my hips are” or “it turns out I’m pretty competitive, which I see by how I find myself comparing my meditation experience to how that guys’ sounded.” These truths can be accompanied by additional thoughts, judging ourselves, making resolves to change this or that behavior, etc. So our learning here begins to inform our life and inspire change right away. Mission accomplished! For some this can be the fulfillment of practice. This is very beneficial for such a person, and for all of us who know and interact with them, and therefore for the whole world by real association.

As we continue to settle into a meditation practice, truths will continue to present themselves. It seems very important to mention here that these truths may not match up very well with the original agenda. For instance, we may have undertaken meditation as a way to develop peace of mind. And after a short while, we may see that what is present here is a whole lotta NOT peace of mind. Maybe instead there are lots of judgment thoughts or anger thoughts or random-constant-movement mind or boredom mind or etc. It may appear daunting, if not impossible, to turn this around into anything resembling peace.

This is a very important juncture, and it brings us back to the original what and why of meditation. The practice is to bring awareness to experience, not to the experience we want to have or wish we were having or believe the blissful-looking gal is having or the one we had yesterday, but to this experience right here and now. So now we are invited to see beyond some original desire for acquiring a certain state or skill, to recall the original measure of faith and to allow this process to unveil what it will. Can we see this truth as it arises and even re-arises? Or do we stop when what is revealed becomes too uncomfortable or undesirable, or seems to be outside of the realm of the original intention? These are questions to keep in your back pocket as you proceed, with hopes that you’ll remember to take them out and review them when they’re most needed.

In many spiritual traditions of the world, the great transcendent truths are said to be available through the practice of silence and looking deeply at what is revealed thereby. This is certainly taught by the long-standing lineage of gurus and teachers of yoga. Patanjali, the great teacher and author of the Classical Yoga sutras, describes the goal of yoga/meditation as the possibility of a permanent state of being where awareness alone persists with the body/mind, and all belief in, and action as, a limited self falls away. Other traditions might refer to this as enlightenment or total awakening. This is a great topic all by itself for another post, so I will hold you in some suspense!

Nevertheless, I will close by giving away the ending in a way: just remember that every time you say “namaste” to your mat neighbor, you are in effect saying to your friend:

The complete, utter, selfless awakeness that I know I am sees the same awakeness in you; how tremendously sweet to meet my self like this!

Maybe go try that out in the mirror, right now, and let me know what happens! Really!

Cheer, Blessings, Namaste to you all! Love, Margaret