WHY MEDITATE?
We are born with a physical body as well as an energy called the LIFE FORCE. Without the latter, a new born baby will not be able to let out its first cry. As parents we remember waiting to hear that cry as our babies came into this world. If it did not happen, there was enormous grief as that baby was not going to have a life. This life energy within us is often referred to as CHI or PRANA.
In Eastern Medicine's way of thinking, anything that happens to the physical and mental bodies first transpire in the energy sheaths and centers that form the anatomy of our ‘spiritual body’. Therefore when we use lifestyle tools, we not only need to include those tools that help our bodies and mind but also that which allows us to experience the spiritual side of ourselves.
This image is adapted from the AMERICAN COLLEGE OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE and shows the 6 pillars of the most commonly deployed areas for optimizing our lifestyle. Meditation comes under stress management but it is MORE than simply managing stress.
Lifestyle and Functional Medicine physicians often use the icons above to help teach us how to bring balance to our body-mind. For example, getting optimal sleep can help energy, memory and focus; getting adequate movement and building muscle helps with our metabolism, energy and also slows aging; getting optimal nutrition is vital to feed every aspect of our physical and mental health; avoiding harmful toxins such as smoking, drugs etc can prevent internal damage,managing stress can prevent all forms of body imbalances and bring peace and happiness and so on.
Similarly the only “exercise” that can help us realize the true nature of our spirit and thereby expand our consciousness is MEDITATION and therefore I propose that this be added as its own icon in the Lifestyle tenets as shown in the diagram below to include all 3 facets of our being- Body, Mind and Spirit.
Since it is well understood that we are Body, Mind and Spirit ( life force or energy), I have added Meditation as the 7th pillar to help the spiritual side of ourselves. This not only relieves stress but also allows us to realize our true potential. It enables us to expand our consciousness from awareness of us in isolation to being aware of the entirety of creation as a larger and expanded consciousness to which we belong.
What does it mean to have life? This is best understood in terms of an unfolding of experiences. As we go through the stages of life, we are given some choices and the choices we make lead to an unfolding of our present experience. I believe that we have these experiences to allow us to grow to our fullest potential. So, it is correct to say that Life is a series of connected experiences that unfold in real time. Similarly, the life energy within us called Spirit or Soul or simply our CENTER, also can also have an unfolding of experiences. The problem is that we are never silent enough to witness this unfolding. This comes about when we meditate. During meditation we expand our consciousness in stages. Merriam Webster defines Consciousness as: “the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself”.
Ancient traditions view consciousness not only as individualized awareness but as the very essence of everything in existence, which includes us. In other words, we have within us the seed of the original existence that has gathered moss or impressions from several lifetimes.
So in meditation, when we expand our consciousness, we begin to experience the world in a different way. We can learn to shed the ‘moss’ that shrouds our true existence. Our expanding consciousness also affects the choices that we make daily that then unfolds our life experiences in an evolved way.
My patients will often say to me that they cannot meditate and sit still nor can they focus for long periods of time. My answer to them is that this is the very reason that they need to learn to meditate and that perhaps their concept of meditation as a focused activity needs re-evaluation.
What is Meditation?
You probably are aware that there are many types of meditative practices- chanting a mantra, devotional singing, forms of hatha or vinyasa yoga as a meditative practice, sound meditation, breathing meditation etc. This is not what I am talking about. Raja Yoga, or the king of all meditation, to which heartfulness meditation belongs, is the development of awareness of our Self by sitting comfortably and being still. That is not to say that we cannot adjust our position and that we will never have thoughts. In fact, the opposite is true. It is not possible to stop thoughts or it can drive us to insanity. Instead, we observe the thought processes of our mind as an observer.
In meditation we await what will unfold just as in our daily life, our experiences unfold as the day goes on.
Herein lies the enigma of meditation. Most people will say that they cannot concentrate or focus. As I said before, meditation is NOT about focus nor concentration. Instead it is a relaxed awareness of our bodily and mental processes and over time, when practiced diligently, can lead us deep into ourselves as if we are downloading from the universe information that we need to evolve ourselves. It is a waiting game and one of patience without any expectation of experiences such as “a good meditation” or a “bad meditation” or vision quests. We quietly observe and have faith that taking this time with purposeful intent to become our Authentic Self will transpire in Self Realization- a term that is akin to expanding our consciousness into the larger whole of consciousness, into the very essence of our existence as part of the universal whole.
But I am already religious!
It does not matter that you belong to any religious sect. This is NOT about religion but your growth and awareness of your true self as being part of the ONE MIND of creation itself. Your faith in Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Buddha, Mahavira, Krishna e.t.c. only help you undestand that they too deployed the same tactic of meditation to understand themselves and then taught it to everybody in the community who wanted to listen. However, listening alone is not enough, Realization is an EXPERIENTIAL PROCESS that one must undertake on their own and this is what our religious teachers have taught us. It helps to have a guide and a method, but other than that, it is your devotion to know yourself as part of the whole that you are unfolding in meditation. This is not a finite process but one of continual unfolding to newer experiences and not getting stuck in the peace and beauty of your current experience.
How do we know that our meditation is helping us make progress towards self realization?
By keeping a diary and observing your reactions, communications, ability to not be triggered by events and people, by developing acceptance of anything that can happen to us and looking upon it as a blessing that will help unfold a new life experience.
A disclaimer
I myself practice a form of meditation called Heartfulness and have since 2003.There are other organizations and practices that may call to you such as kriya yoga, art of living, Mindfulness etc. In the end, how you take the journey is less important than the goal to be met, that is to live to the fullest of our potential by being our authentic selves.
Heartfulness is a heart centered meditation that one can learn anywhere in the world. We are represented in 160 different countries where people come from diverse religious and ethnic sects. There are several apps that you can use if you cannot attend in person meditation sessions. It is free for all and only requires your willingness to add this to your lifestyle. Please look up Heartfulness.org or Heartfulness.us for more information for centers around you or groups with whom you can practice in person or online.
Wishing for all of us to be our Authentic Selves, what we ought to be as opposed to what we are today albeit evolving to who we should become.
