Most of us live entirely within the world of the senses and the stream of thought. Meditation opens a door beyond both. It is, quite simply, a process of expanding awareness: moving attention from time and space towards the timeless.
Touching the deepest part of yourself
When you meditate you come into contact with the deepest part of your being. From there you know, from your own experience, what is right and what is wrong, what to do and what to leave undone. Meditation makes a person strong, steady, conscious and happy, and in time it leads towards enlightenment.
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Beyond the world of the senses
The world around us is perceived through seeing, tasting, smelling and touching. It is analysed by thought, felt through emotion, recalled by memory and anticipated through imagination. But there are other modes of perception that most people never explore.
Spiritual traditions describe subtler planes of light and knowledge beyond ordinary experience, and beyond them nirvana, perfect enlightenment, the essence of all things. Meditation is the journey of awareness from the familiar world into these deeper dimensions.
Simple and profound at once
At one level meditation is about very ordinary things: slowing down, relaxing, becoming happy and learning to smile. At another it touches what words cannot hold. It means finding the most perfect part of yourself, overcoming self-destructive tendencies, and becoming free from depression, anxiety, nervousness and fear.
Above all it is about being who you really are, something most people have little consistent awareness of.
Samadhi: the summit
The height of meditation is traditionally symbolised by the Buddha: a person who has joined (yoked) their mind to the highest light. This experience is called samadhi, complete cosmic consciousness. It is like standing on a Himalayan peak and seeing range upon range below: an experience beyond words, yet open to anyone who practises.
Why it feels hard today
Meditation is essentially easy. The mind is not naturally so restless. But modern life adds two difficulties: a crowded, noisy world, and our sensitivity to the people around us.
Many traditions teach that each person has a subtle energy field (aura) that both sends and receives impressions. We pick up the moods and thoughts of family, colleagues and even the wider community, often without noticing. A great deal of what we think and feel may not really be our own.
Coming back to your own centre
If we are always absorbing other people’s worries and wishes, we lose touch with who we are and what we truly care about. We end up wanting, fearing and doing things that have nothing to do with us.
So meditation is, in the end, a process of not doing: being still, centred and clear, and organically in touch with the universal light. In that stillness we discover parts of ourselves that are powerful, beautiful and strong.
Continue with Meditation Is Not Concentration, or try the guided Om practice.
This article draws on ideas from a talk by the American meditation teacher Frederick Lenz (Rama), which was shared on our 2012 blog Spiritual Energy and Mind Management.