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Mechanics of Meditation
SOUND EFFECTS US
Sounds have a corresponding wave, value, or influence. Different sounds produce different influences, and those influences are increased as the sounds get closer to their source.
Think of different qualities of sound – the sound of fingernails scraping on a blackboard, a car crash, a bubbling brook, your favorite song - each one produces different effects on its environment. Think of a thought as a mental sound. Since following a thought back to it’s source brings you to more powerful levels of that thought, it is a good plan to choose a thought vehicle that produces specific positive effects.
A particular thought that is used as a vehicle in meditation is known as a mantra.
THE SECRET!
So, what is needed is twofold: a sound that produces the desired influence at different levels, and a technique to follow that sound to its source in a consistent manner. If we had those two things, we’d settle right down into the silence and never have a thought, right?
Here’s the part of meditation that has been forgotten. Here’s the BIG SECRET.
Here’s what philosophers have been arguing over for centuries:
The following graphic explains the process:
HOW TO MEDITATE
Bet you looked for this first, didn't ya? Well, this won't actually give you the experience, but it will explain the mechanics:
And here's the detailed version, to break it down into words:
The mind and body are intimately connected, remember? When the mind settles down, the body settles down. When the body settles down, its natural reaction is to release stress. That’s the body’s job - to get rid of the stresses we gather during the day, to rejuvenate itself while we rest.
STRESS RELEASE
During meditation the body gets this extraordinary level of rest (twice as deep as during deep sleep) and shouts, “Eureka! I can get rid of deeper levels of stress than I could even while sleeping!”
The body starts doing its job, dumping stress, and that causes a literal increase in physical activity.
Guess what? In the same way that the mind and body are intimately connected and respond when you hear a disturbing phone message, when the body has an increase in activity due to stress release, the mind has a corresponding increase in mental activity. And that’s... a thought!
So, when you have random thoughts during meditation, they are simply a signal that the body is getting rid of stress. The mind simply grabs from the back-up disks of information stored in its database, tosses something into the computer, and voila! random thoughts. Or, it picks up on environmental cues like traffic sounds or clocks ticking or something like that – and there you go, off on that thought string.
As the physical stress release winds down, the intensity of the thoughts lets up, and eventually you will have the particular thought, “Oh! I’m not meditating! I’m sitting here thinking about what the boss said in that meeting yesterday morning!”
In fact, you are meditating. It’s just that you reached the part of the experience where you are aware of the random thoughts instead of being absorbed by them.
BOTH STROKES OF MEDITATION ARE VALUABLE! The Inner Stroke brings rest and quietness, the Outer Stroke releases stress, allowing you to dive more deeply into the next inner stroke, allowing even deeper stress to be released on the next outer stroke, and so on. It is a beautiful, perfect spiral. The key is to not try so hard! And a teacher can lead you into the effortless experience of Ahhhhhhhh!
CHOOSING MANTRAS AND TYPES OF MEDITATION
So how do you get a mantra that is particularly suited to you, and where do you learn how to use it? There are a lot of meditation instructors available. I’d say research, research, research and find a source with which you feel comfortable.
There are many differing styles as well as belief systems about meditation. I was attracted to the particular style of meditation that I taught and continue to practice because it made sense to me.
It had a logical progression that I thought seemed valid in theory and then proved itself through long-term practice of over 30 years to date.
I learned how to meditate and went on to become a certified instructor of the Transcendental Meditation Program as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He formulated the technique and brought it to the western world based on the teachings he received from his teacher, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, Chankaracharya of Jotir Math. The technique is based in ancient Vedic knowledge that has been around for over 5,000 years.
The mantras are chosen from that vast core of ancient knowledge as well – sounds that are reputed to vibrate with only constructive influence. (Yes, I know I am broaching that slippery slope of defining “constructive” – but, as with most things, this technique is based in a particular belief system, and every belief system has some trappings. I am also aware that the TM organization has had some bad press over the years. My position is that just because an organization has broken places, it doesn’t mean the technique doesn’t work. Again, I encourage you to find what works for you.)
Why are there so many different ways to meditate? Well, first and foremost, it’s because meditation evolved in different cultures in different parts of the world, through different people, over long periods of time. Woohoo for diversity! But it seems most meditations can be categorized into one of three styles:
Concentration - focusing on a particular object, thought or experience, such as a candle flame, your breathing, or some other object of attention.
Contemplation - thinking about something, such as a visualization of a peaceful scene, reflecting on a scripture passage, and the like.
Transcendence - going beyond conscious thought to the underlying silence.
In my experience, transcendence is the most direct and simplest route to inner silence (and stress release), but each person should find the technique that resonates best with them, and choose the one (or ones) with which they feel most comfortable.
HOW CAN I LEARN TO MEDITATE?
Can you learn meditation from a book or from someone else who was taught by a teacher? Well… sure... you can. But I don’t recommend it. Here’s why:
Try to describe the taste of a strawberry to a person who has never had any kind of fruit at all - ever. Can your words do justice to the experience of eating a strawberry, or would you do better to pop a juicy, ripe, luscious, sweet, ready to burst strawberry in their mouth and say, “Eat!” ?
Getting someone who has been taught to meditate, but not taught to teach meditation, to teach you (there did you get that?) would be like having them cut this image of a strawberry out and hand it to you. Looks like a strawberry, might even make your mouth water, but it is still not that bursting, juicy experience of a real, live, fresh strawberry.
I truly believe it is important to learn meditation from a trained instructor, one-on-one. Not from a book, not from a friend, not from a DVD, and not over the internet. First of all, everyone's experience is very personal and unique. Not only does a trained teacher guide you into the experience smoothly, they can answer the questions that come up after you’ve had the experience. For example:
There are many more in-depth questions that may come up about your experiences over time. It’s good to have a teacher or source to turn to for clarification, not to mention having someone trained in helping you "tune-up" your experience along the way. (Just like a car's performance changes over time, the experience of meditation may also change over time. It's good to have a "tune-up" occasionally to insure you are enjoying the best possible experience.)
The next page will offer some insights into the goals and results of meditation: NEXT
Sounds have a corresponding wave, value, or influence. Different sounds produce different influences, and those influences are increased as the sounds get closer to their source.
Think of different qualities of sound – the sound of fingernails scraping on a blackboard, a car crash, a bubbling brook, your favorite song - each one produces different effects on its environment. Think of a thought as a mental sound. Since following a thought back to it’s source brings you to more powerful levels of that thought, it is a good plan to choose a thought vehicle that produces specific positive effects.A particular thought that is used as a vehicle in meditation is known as a mantra.
THE SECRET!
So, what is needed is twofold: a sound that produces the desired influence at different levels, and a technique to follow that sound to its source in a consistent manner. If we had those two things, we’d settle right down into the silence and never have a thought, right?
Here’s the part of meditation that has been forgotten. Here’s the BIG SECRET.
Here’s what philosophers have been arguing over for centuries:
MEDITATION IS A TWO-STROKE PROCESS -
BOTH THE INNER AND OUTER STROKES ARE IMPORTANT!
BOTH THE INNER AND OUTER STROKES ARE IMPORTANT!
The following graphic explains the process:
HOW TO MEDITATE
Bet you looked for this first, didn't ya? Well, this won't actually give you the experience, but it will explain the mechanics:
And here's the detailed version, to break it down into words:
The mind and body are intimately connected, remember? When the mind settles down, the body settles down. When the body settles down, its natural reaction is to release stress. That’s the body’s job - to get rid of the stresses we gather during the day, to rejuvenate itself while we rest.
STRESS RELEASE
During meditation the body gets this extraordinary level of rest (twice as deep as during deep sleep) and shouts, “Eureka! I can get rid of deeper levels of stress than I could even while sleeping!”
The body starts doing its job, dumping stress, and that causes a literal increase in physical activity.
Guess what? In the same way that the mind and body are intimately connected and respond when you hear a disturbing phone message, when the body has an increase in activity due to stress release, the mind has a corresponding increase in mental activity. And that’s... a thought!
So, when you have random thoughts during meditation, they are simply a signal that the body is getting rid of stress. The mind simply grabs from the back-up disks of information stored in its database, tosses something into the computer, and voila! random thoughts. Or, it picks up on environmental cues like traffic sounds or clocks ticking or something like that – and there you go, off on that thought string.
As the physical stress release winds down, the intensity of the thoughts lets up, and eventually you will have the particular thought, “Oh! I’m not meditating! I’m sitting here thinking about what the boss said in that meeting yesterday morning!”
In fact, you are meditating. It’s just that you reached the part of the experience where you are aware of the random thoughts instead of being absorbed by them.
BOTH STROKES OF MEDITATION ARE VALUABLE! The Inner Stroke brings rest and quietness, the Outer Stroke releases stress, allowing you to dive more deeply into the next inner stroke, allowing even deeper stress to be released on the next outer stroke, and so on. It is a beautiful, perfect spiral. The key is to not try so hard! And a teacher can lead you into the effortless experience of Ahhhhhhhh!
CHOOSING MANTRAS AND TYPES OF MEDITATION
So how do you get a mantra that is particularly suited to you, and where do you learn how to use it? There are a lot of meditation instructors available. I’d say research, research, research and find a source with which you feel comfortable.
There are many differing styles as well as belief systems about meditation. I was attracted to the particular style of meditation that I taught and continue to practice because it made sense to me.
It had a logical progression that I thought seemed valid in theory and then proved itself through long-term practice of over 30 years to date.
I learned how to meditate and went on to become a certified instructor of the Transcendental Meditation Program as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He formulated the technique and brought it to the western world based on the teachings he received from his teacher, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, Chankaracharya of Jotir Math. The technique is based in ancient Vedic knowledge that has been around for over 5,000 years.
The mantras are chosen from that vast core of ancient knowledge as well – sounds that are reputed to vibrate with only constructive influence. (Yes, I know I am broaching that slippery slope of defining “constructive” – but, as with most things, this technique is based in a particular belief system, and every belief system has some trappings. I am also aware that the TM organization has had some bad press over the years. My position is that just because an organization has broken places, it doesn’t mean the technique doesn’t work. Again, I encourage you to find what works for you.)
Why are there so many different ways to meditate? Well, first and foremost, it’s because meditation evolved in different cultures in different parts of the world, through different people, over long periods of time. Woohoo for diversity! But it seems most meditations can be categorized into one of three styles:
Concentration - focusing on a particular object, thought or experience, such as a candle flame, your breathing, or some other object of attention.
Contemplation - thinking about something, such as a visualization of a peaceful scene, reflecting on a scripture passage, and the like.
Transcendence - going beyond conscious thought to the underlying silence.
In my experience, transcendence is the most direct and simplest route to inner silence (and stress release), but each person should find the technique that resonates best with them, and choose the one (or ones) with which they feel most comfortable.
HOW CAN I LEARN TO MEDITATE?
Can you learn meditation from a book or from someone else who was taught by a teacher? Well… sure... you can. But I don’t recommend it. Here’s why:
Try to describe the taste of a strawberry to a person who has never had any kind of fruit at all - ever. Can your words do justice to the experience of eating a strawberry, or would you do better to pop a juicy, ripe, luscious, sweet, ready to burst strawberry in their mouth and say, “Eat!” ?Getting someone who has been taught to meditate, but not taught to teach meditation, to teach you (there did you get that?) would be like having them cut this image of a strawberry out and hand it to you. Looks like a strawberry, might even make your mouth water, but it is still not that bursting, juicy experience of a real, live, fresh strawberry.
I truly believe it is important to learn meditation from a trained instructor, one-on-one. Not from a book, not from a friend, not from a DVD, and not over the internet. First of all, everyone's experience is very personal and unique. Not only does a trained teacher guide you into the experience smoothly, they can answer the questions that come up after you’ve had the experience. For example:
-
How do I know I am doing it right?
- How will I know when my meditation time is up?
- I forgot my mantra, what do I do now?
- What do I do if the phone rings?
- I get a massive headache when I meditate – why and what do I do about it?
- I felt disoriented when I came out of meditation – is that normal?
- I had really wild memories come up – what does that mean?
- I got a message from my Spirit Guide while I was meditating – should I act on it?
- My cat refuses to leave me alone when I meditate – what’s up with that?
- I felt like I left my body and wasn’t sure how to get back in when I became aware of it, it was scary, should I be concerned?
There are many more in-depth questions that may come up about your experiences over time. It’s good to have a teacher or source to turn to for clarification, not to mention having someone trained in helping you "tune-up" your experience along the way. (Just like a car's performance changes over time, the experience of meditation may also change over time. It's good to have a "tune-up" occasionally to insure you are enjoying the best possible experience.)
The next page will offer some insights into the goals and results of meditation: NEXT