Meditation Process

Meditation

Meditation as per dictionary means, “thinking deeply and quietly”. Some scholars feel, “Meditation is quite similar to self-hypnosis”. Others have mentioned “Meditation and self-hypnosis are the same”. And I think the true meaning of meditation extends beyond those opinions. Meditation is an inner method for working with the mind. It is not religious practice. Meditation involves applying a series of systematic steps to produce certain desirable and helpful changes in one’s state of consciousness, which is called an altered state of consciousness. Meditation is a method whereby a person reaches an altered state of consciousness, deeper levels of mind, alpha state, theta state, subconscious or whatever you can call it.

Meditation as described here is distinct from the common meaning of meditation as process of pondering or ruminating on some topic. “Meditation” is the English equivalent of the Sanskrit word “Dhyana” this term is clearly and very specifically defined in the number of classical yoga texts. The ancient yogis, who achieve self-development, carefully systemized, Studied and described the practice of meditation. One of the clearest descriptions of meditation can be found in the “Yoga Sutras” of Patanjali, a classical text on yoga practices.

As you already know, Meditation has different meaning to different people and so as the Methods of Meditation. There were thousand of Meditation Techniques available for the practitioners. Among those you have to choose which is suitable to you, and as per your requirements, like if you want to be calm, serene, and the get rid of tension you can follow simple techniques of mediation described below and If you want self-realization, enlightenment then of course you have to do a bit more things. But the below given methods are the best for beginners and suitable for other regular practitioners.

Nowadays, if you go to your Doctor for stress related problems, even he or she will likely tell you that perhaps the best treatment for stress is Meditation. Meditation leads you to two things. The first is where to get appropriate direction in how to meditate. The other is understanding exactly what Meditation is.

So, Meditation is the calm, unbroken, one-pointed flow of concentration upon a subtle inner focus. Regular systematic practice of a scientific and correct method of meditation in necessary to actually attain a true meditative state.

Meditation is a three step process that leads to a state of consciousness that brings serenity, clarity, and bliss. As depicted in the first illustration, our "normal" state of mind is actually quite abnormal. We receive sensory stimuli and react in a completely uncontrolled way (although we tell ourselves we have great control). We bounce from one thought to another and follow with our emotional and physical reactions. The same thought can bring about diametrically opposite reactions at different times. For instance, we may see a dog and then start a thought process that reminisces about a pet dog we once had and loved. Emotionally, we then start feeling all warm and cuddly; physically, we feel very relaxed. Another time, we may see the same dog and fear it may attack us and start thinking paranoid thoughts, get fearful and uptight physically.

1. Normal Mind	2. Concentrating Mind
3. Meditating Mind	4. Contemplating Mind

The second illustration demonstrates Concentration. This is the first step in Meditation and is the start of gaining control over the mind and thereby life. The procedure is deceptively simple and seems like it would be very easy to do, but there are few tasks more difficult to master. The idea is to pick an object/subject to place your attention on and then to focus exclusively on it without diversion. An example of this would be if you decided to focus on love. To start, you would relax your body, sit in a comfortable position, calm your emotions and begin repeating the word "love" over and over. The problem is that your mind has been your master your whole life and won't easily relinquish its position. To trick you back into obedient slavery, your mind will divert your attention, often by giving you a tantalizingly interesting distraction. It usually goes something like this: You're sitting there repeating love, love, love when your mind suddenly adds "I love candy. They sell the candy I love at the 7-11 up the road. I can get into my car and drive there and get that candy. I know it will be delicious when I bite into it ..." and so there you are --- instead of concentrating on love, you're eating an imaginary candy bar at a 7-11. What you are supposed to do is to witness your being distracted and return to concentrating on the object of your meditation. Concentration is well worth persevering in and ultimately liberating, spectacular and a blessing.

The third illustration depicts Meditation. Here we have unbroken attention. The classic description of the difference between Concentration and Meditation is given in the example of pouring oil from a bottle into a bowl. At first the oil drips out a drop at a time. This is concentration. Then the oil comes out in a steady stream. This unbroken pouring out is Meditation. If you really examine the process closer, you would notice that when the oil was coming out drop by drop, each drop caused a splash and the droplettes of the splashing can be considered analagous to the distractions that interrupt our concentration. Once the stream starts becoming steady it flows effortlessly. Similarly, when Concentration flows into Meditation, the attention paid to the object of Meditation becomes deeper and deeper effortlessly and spontaneously, true knowledge about the object presents itself.

Using love as the example again, you would concentrate on love, love, love, love. You might then find your mind filling with thoughts of love -- motherly love, fatherly love, love of country, love of money, qualified love, unqualified love, puppy love. Everything in the universe that love is connected to will come to you. Every feeling of love, every sensation, every thought. And since, as Albert Einstein tells us, everything in the universe is relative to everything else, ultimately your meditation on "love" will connect you to everything. At this point, the unity of the object of your meditation and your mind, as illustrated in the fourth illustration, occurs. This is the state of Contemplation and is the pentultimate state of consciousess. Where we usually are only conscious of our body and ego and consider ourselves apart from the rest of the universe, with the experience of Contemplation we become conscious of the cosmos and know ourselves to be a part of it and realize our unity with all of it. This is Realization, Cosmic Consciousness. It is our birthright and destiny to know this exquisite state first hand and enjoy the Truth, Consciousness, and Bliss that is our eternal true nature. Thus the justification in expending whatever energy is necessary to learn to meditate and to begin to make Meditation an important part of our lives.

Additional

We here at Inspiration Zone feel that one of the main reasons we have incarnated is to grow in consciousness and one of the most important things we can do in life is to share those things that have helped us evolve in consciousness. Inspiation, Meditation, Spiritual Growth can help you become a loving, compassionate, blissful, productive good citizen who enjoys every second of life. This conversion is a loving gift of Grace by the Infinite Consciousness that generates and sustains everything, everywhere. We are confident that everyone has the potential for true mystic experiences, good health, calmness, and the love of life.
It is rare to find a way to learn this valuable information without having to become involved with a cult or religion. This is your opportunity. All of the material we provide in our site are scientifically sound and can make a profound and positive change in your life.

When you are traveling, you should be prepared to take an alternate path if the road most traveled is blocked. Meditation Station offers dozens of different ways to get to this most desirable destination: peace.

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