When someone hears today, in the Western World, for the first time the word meditation, there pops into his mind the figure of a Bhuddist monk or a Hindu one, sitting cross-legged and humming the syllable of AUM.
What the modern man does not know is that meditating is a perfectly natural, normal and necessary for his well-being state, just like sleep, dreaming or waking up.
Actually we all meditate although we do not do so either consciously or intentionally, in those instances when we need to solve problems, or take decisions or in many other instances such as when losing ourselves in melodies or in a wonderful sunset, or when admiring a scenery etc.
The only difference with the Eastern man is that he is entering into meditation intentionally, consciously and on a regular basis.
The next question will then be why? Why do we meditate? Actually for one thousand reasons.
The Eastern man enters into meditation in order to achieve spiritual advancement and enlightment, to reach the higher levels of consciousness and experience absolute unity with all there is, that enables someone to become a better man.
Can the same apply to us, Westerners, with quite a different mentality and way of living, who are used to face the world with an outward look and not an inward one? An Eastern man does not have to put up the stress and competition so predominant in the Western man's life and meditation comes easier for him.
Can we meditate in the same way and for the same purpose? I doubt it! At least definitely not for the majority of us.
What can we then do in order to get the benefits that meditation affords to people and adjust it to our way of life? First of all we do not have to sit cross-legged.
Eastern men sit this way because this is the way they sit anyway.
That is how they sit to eat or have conversation and the rest.
We can simply sit back comfortably in a chair, as we usually do, with our back straight and relax.
Do we need to spend hours and hours meditating? Not if we do not feel like it, or if we have not enough time, which is usually the case for the busy Westerner.
We may sit in meditation only twenty minutes a day.
The important thing is to do so everyday.
It is easy to understand why.
If someone exercises his body he is doing so every day.
This is what an athlete does or a mucisian exercising his music.
Daily Meditation must be entered into without a miss.
What do we meditate about? Actually one can meditate on anything.
But if we wish to have some beneficial results, then we first learn to concetrate and be the masters of our mind.
For the first week we can start either by following the way we breath or by watching a candle.
It is not easy at first.
The mind is unruly.
One needs patience and determination.
Do not get upset when some thoughts or noises distract you.
Insist patiently and direct your mind lovingly back to the initial object of concetration.
After the first week you will find that it becomes easier and easier all the time to keep your concetration for longer periods.
Next, concetrate on a higher idea, such as love, feeling your heart full of it, expanding and sending it towards every direction.
It helps if you think of someone you love dearly.
Feel that love inside you and outside as if you are in the big loving arms of a superior Power.
Allow yourself to improvise around this great idea/feeling and know in your heart that you are loved and that you reciprocate that love.
Should you insist on this daily practice you will quite soon, i.
e.
about two months later, acquire many benefits, particularly if you continue.
You will see your stress diminish considerably and your efficiency either in studies if you are a student, or in business increasing abt 25 per cent or more.
You will definitely be better equipped to deal with any insomnia, an ailment of our times.
You will also be able to deal better with everyday events, many times ugly or painful and your reaction to them will be less angry or bitter and despair will not conquer you, as your demenour will remain calm.
You will be able to face life generally in a more detached and collected way.
Generally your health will definitely improve.
Eventually you may even use this method to get rid of habits such as smoking or drinking.
The more you go on practising you will realise that you are reaching higher levels of consciousness, that you become aware of truths you could not see before, and your friends will soon acknowledge that you have become a better individual.
Can anybody meditate? Is there any danger? If a person is a reasonably balanced individual and by that I mean that he does not qualify to be called a psychopath and is not suffering from severe depression, the proposed time for concetration and meditation is definitely not harmful.
There are many books on meditation and many teachers one can get advise from, but since meditating is a natural state for a man to be in, I am quite sure anyone can try.
What the modern man does not know is that meditating is a perfectly natural, normal and necessary for his well-being state, just like sleep, dreaming or waking up.
Actually we all meditate although we do not do so either consciously or intentionally, in those instances when we need to solve problems, or take decisions or in many other instances such as when losing ourselves in melodies or in a wonderful sunset, or when admiring a scenery etc.
The only difference with the Eastern man is that he is entering into meditation intentionally, consciously and on a regular basis.
The next question will then be why? Why do we meditate? Actually for one thousand reasons.
The Eastern man enters into meditation in order to achieve spiritual advancement and enlightment, to reach the higher levels of consciousness and experience absolute unity with all there is, that enables someone to become a better man.
Can the same apply to us, Westerners, with quite a different mentality and way of living, who are used to face the world with an outward look and not an inward one? An Eastern man does not have to put up the stress and competition so predominant in the Western man's life and meditation comes easier for him.
Can we meditate in the same way and for the same purpose? I doubt it! At least definitely not for the majority of us.
What can we then do in order to get the benefits that meditation affords to people and adjust it to our way of life? First of all we do not have to sit cross-legged.
Eastern men sit this way because this is the way they sit anyway.
That is how they sit to eat or have conversation and the rest.
We can simply sit back comfortably in a chair, as we usually do, with our back straight and relax.
Do we need to spend hours and hours meditating? Not if we do not feel like it, or if we have not enough time, which is usually the case for the busy Westerner.
We may sit in meditation only twenty minutes a day.
The important thing is to do so everyday.
It is easy to understand why.
If someone exercises his body he is doing so every day.
This is what an athlete does or a mucisian exercising his music.
Daily Meditation must be entered into without a miss.
What do we meditate about? Actually one can meditate on anything.
But if we wish to have some beneficial results, then we first learn to concetrate and be the masters of our mind.
For the first week we can start either by following the way we breath or by watching a candle.
It is not easy at first.
The mind is unruly.
One needs patience and determination.
Do not get upset when some thoughts or noises distract you.
Insist patiently and direct your mind lovingly back to the initial object of concetration.
After the first week you will find that it becomes easier and easier all the time to keep your concetration for longer periods.
Next, concetrate on a higher idea, such as love, feeling your heart full of it, expanding and sending it towards every direction.
It helps if you think of someone you love dearly.
Feel that love inside you and outside as if you are in the big loving arms of a superior Power.
Allow yourself to improvise around this great idea/feeling and know in your heart that you are loved and that you reciprocate that love.
Should you insist on this daily practice you will quite soon, i.
e.
about two months later, acquire many benefits, particularly if you continue.
You will see your stress diminish considerably and your efficiency either in studies if you are a student, or in business increasing abt 25 per cent or more.
You will definitely be better equipped to deal with any insomnia, an ailment of our times.
You will also be able to deal better with everyday events, many times ugly or painful and your reaction to them will be less angry or bitter and despair will not conquer you, as your demenour will remain calm.
You will be able to face life generally in a more detached and collected way.
Generally your health will definitely improve.
Eventually you may even use this method to get rid of habits such as smoking or drinking.
The more you go on practising you will realise that you are reaching higher levels of consciousness, that you become aware of truths you could not see before, and your friends will soon acknowledge that you have become a better individual.
Can anybody meditate? Is there any danger? If a person is a reasonably balanced individual and by that I mean that he does not qualify to be called a psychopath and is not suffering from severe depression, the proposed time for concetration and meditation is definitely not harmful.
There are many books on meditation and many teachers one can get advise from, but since meditating is a natural state for a man to be in, I am quite sure anyone can try.
Source...