Meditation

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Meditation is yet another way in which people set out to rid themselves of stress and perhaps embark on a journey of self-discovery. As we have seen above, relaxation is one of the components of this, and many people who successfully establish a relaxation programme for themselves go no further, seeing relaxation as an end in itself.

Others, however, go on to master, or to try to master, the art of meditation. Although meditation is the cornerstone of many religions and cults, and in many cases corresponds to prayer, people who decide to practise meditation do not necessarily adopt the other aspects of the religion or cult.

The verb 'to meditate' can mean simply to think deeply about something, but meditation in its true meaning is more than just deep thought. Like thought, meditation is a mental discipline, but it requires even more concentration than our usual thought processes. It is a state of mind in which all thoughts are concentrated on a single point or subject. Such concentration is very difficult to achieve and takes time, patience and persistence. Our minds have a tendency to wander from subject to subject, and concentration on one point has to be worked at.

Many people give up on meditation at an early stage since they lack the patience and commitment to come anywhere near achieving the degree of concentration that is necessary to reap its benefits. People who do persist with the practice of meditation, however, often say that the benefits that meditation has brought to them have been very great indeed, one of the most important being that it has brought them inner peace and inner knowledge, which has in turn brought self-realization, central to any journey of self-discovery.

Some people say that they meditate to bring the mind into a state of calmness and concentration so that it can explore its consciousness. Others view it as a way of achieving a greater clarity of perception, or of finding a new way of perceiving the world and of relating to it. Others again feel that through it they can come into contact with their very soul or even with God. This sounds extremely interesting, but how do you set about meditating? As has already been pointed out, the physical conditions that are conducive to deep relaxation tend also to be conducive to meditation.

One of the purposes of meditation is to make space in our minds, leaving room for higher thoughts and for communication with one's inner or higher self. If the desire to know yourself has been one of the reasons why you have taken up meditation, then you can use this as the focus of your meditation, starting with a phrase such as 'Know yourself and the meaning and implications of that.

You can then move on to focus on different aspects of your being, using your memories of the different stages of your life, the different emotional states you have known, and so on. You might even consider using the phrase 'Who am I?' as a starting point for one of your meditation sessions, hoping that in the course of the meditation you will find your true self.

This kind of meditation, performed in a structured way, has been called 'self-inquiry' by Ramana Maharishi. If this form of meditation is carried out on a strictly structured question-and-answer basis it is said to be very difficult to achieve and to require several months of practise in other structured forms of meditation.

There are people who are cynical about meditation, and most of us are very ill-informed about it. It is quite common, for example, to think of people who are meditating as rather weird people who go into self-imposed hypnotic trances. People who have been successfully meditating for some time, however, often speak of the inner knowledge that meditation has brought to them, and so, clearly, someone interested in exploring the inner self should try to master the techniques of it.

What must be remembered is that meditation is a rigorous discipline of the mind, which requires practice, time and steady, regular hard work. Anyone seriously thinking of taking up meditation should be prepared for this and should be prepared for setbacks. It is not an easy path to sudden enlightenment.