Meditation

Meditation has something for everyone, and has been proven by its adherents who regularly practise. It is increasingly recognised by the medical profession as a valuable aid in helping overcome stress and related illness.

For those who are sick, meditation provides a lifeline; it is a way back to health. For those troubled by stress it provides a way back to peace and equanimity, and for those confused in mind a means of achieving inner clarity. For the religious it strengthens faith, inspires hope and awakens the meditator to a perception of the Divine It is recommended that those who are sick, even the terminally ill, are encouraged to meditate, as meditation can change the course of an illness. At the level of the cell stress factors can cause a cell to oscillate and become confused so that it ceases to carry out its normal function. Meditators can create the conditions within themselves conducive to health, pick up the reigns of the mind and gradually guide themselves back to health.

For the person meditating alone or guiding a group, technique is all important. Books and articles on the subject are few and far between, and at the best only produce one or two ideas. Simplicity is undoubtedly the key, but we are all different and what is relevant and effective for one may not be suitable for another. Here we produce a fund of ideas, not necessarily to be kept too slavishly, but to awaken channels in one’s own intuitive nature.

Not everyone is able to accept the discipline of the temple, or an order of monks, yet can still appreciate the wonder of life in nature, be inspired by the early morning light, or lifted to a perception of the Divine by the Poet.

Many are the ways of man, we walk different paths and it would be ignorant to say to one, you should follow my path and no other. There is no value in meditation if it means sitting for hours at a time meditating blissfully, while the grass remains uncut and the litter piles up all around, to be worthwhile it has to be transforming and bring realistic and developmental change within ourselves as well as be a positive force for good in the world.

Meditation should never be static as it is about exploration, about discovering one’s Self and in the process learning to cope. It is also about relationship with that which is of value, seeing and sharing with that which is true and beautiful, and in the process opening parts of ourselves which may have been previously hidden. It is a continual process of awakening which is continued through the process of experiencing.

There is a story I remember of a man sitting out of doors meditating with his eyes closed, when a wise man came by and tapped him on the shoulder, asking “Why are you meditating with closed eyes? The day is beautiful and the Sun is shining. Open your eyes and see the beauty of the countryside. The question is one very much of balance. We should be able to sit in the Sun and feel its warmth touching the body, catch the fragrance of the blossom, listen to beautiful music and still know the difference between the knower and the known.

Read the meditations presented here. Meditations to try...Do not stick to them rigidly as they stem from many sources. If they create a flow of ideas and open a channel of meditation unique to yourself and spiritually uplifting, they will have achieved their purpose.