Introduction to Meditation

8 second version

Meditation comes in different flavors, depending on where it comes from. There are different reasons why people meditate, like improving mental and physical health, but also being closer to the Divine.
Meditation involves focusing the mind on something so much that the inner voice shuts up for a bit.

What meditation is

All meditation practices agree that there is a benefit to quieting the inner voice, even if they disagree on how best to go about it.

Modern mindfulness

The most modern supporters of meditation have found that meditation affects the physical mind and body. They have performed scientific studies that show that a regular meditation practice can lead to:

improved memory,
improved health,
improved stress-levels,
improved problem-solving & creativity,
improved mood,
improved health, and
alleviation of chronic pain or depression

Modern “mindfulness” is inspired heavily by the eastern tradition of meditation, with anything mystical or non-scientific sounding removed. This included practices such as:

Single-point awareness
- Box-breathing is a good example of this one. The goal is to place all of ones focus on a single thing-usually an object or ones breathing. This is strongly influenced by the tradition of meditation that originated in the far East.
Mindfulness
- Mindfulness is a less focused version of single-point awareness. Rather than narrow the focus to a single things/sound/movement, the focus is narrowed to a single moment–right now. The goal is to experience this very second with no judgement, no thoughts, no reaction. It’s an experience to have, not something to do.

The Eastern Tradition

The meditation tradition passed down in the East has a goal to make people sensitive enough to perceive/interact with the Divine. Because of that, the practices of the East tend to focus on increasing sensitivity. The eastern tradition was passed down in regious groups, like in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism, and often involves strict dietary requirements meant to weaken the body so that the “wall of flesh” is easier to break through.

In the East, all meditation comes back to single-point awareness. It’s about quieting the inner mind and being an observer to what’s happening around you, both physically and spiritually. This can look like:

Following the breath (like box breathing),
Chanting prayers,
Focusing on a single point or spot (like on a wall, for example)

The Western Tradition

The tradition passed down in the West also has the goal of helping people to experience the Divine. However, where the Eastern tradition is meant to create sensitive people, the tradition of the West is meant to strengthen people. It uses visualization to strengthen the imagination and memory. The goal is to strengthen the mind/soul so that it can overcome the physical limitations. There aren’t typically dietary requirements.

In the West, meditation is about visualization. It’s about experiencing things internally. This can look like:

Chanting prayers
Focusing on images or places in the imagination

My Tradition

The tradition I follow was actually started by a Christian mystic and two Sufi masters back in the 60s who combined practices from the East, the Middle East and the West. So, there’s a bit of everything in there. We mostly use visualization, but we don’t just try to see something, but to hear and feel it as well. This can look like:

Focusing on images, a place or an experience,
Paying attention not just to how something looks, but how it sounds and feels,
Following the breath (more purposeful than box breathing)

How to meditate

I’m not an expert in all forms of meditation, so this is just how it works in the tradition I follow.

The method we use to start every meditation, and is really all a person needs to get started, is called Centering.

The goal of Centering is to center yourself mentally and emotionally. Even if I’m doing other kinds of meditation, I always start with Centering.

The first time you do it, it’s helpful to have someone more experienced to guide you through it and to reassure you that you aren’t making a mistake, and that what you’re experiencing is fine. Usually people get stuck trying to understand the “meaning” of what they’re seeing and experiencing, when there isn’t particularly a meaning unless you decide there is. It’s mostly just your subconscious throwing stuff into your fore-brain now that you’ve quieted down a bit. Sometimes people don’t really experience anything at all the first several times they try, and that’s fine too.

My teacher describes the process like this:

Centering

Place your right hand over your heart.
Relax! Feel your heart beat.
Take several full deep breaths, letting the breath become deep and natural.
Listen to your heart beat.
In the security of your own heart beat release outer thoughts.
Focus your mind’s eye on the bottom of your right hand.
Follow the bottom of your right hand till it reaches the midline of your chest.
As you take a breath and exhale, let your mind’s eye spiral on third of the way into your body.
Take another breath and as you exhale spiral another third of the way into your body.
Take a third breath and relax into your center, neither in the body or out of it.
What do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear?
Just describe what you experience! There is no right or wrong. You may feel balanced or centered or energized. You may see darkness, specks of light and color or pictures. You may hear a sound like bells, a generator, thunder or a whistle.

Once someone has done that, there’s also a beginning exercise we teach to help someone work on developing the ability to visualize and focus:

7 Color Exercise

Center—using the exercise above.
Then see a nice white cloud in front of you.
Then it shifts to red. See and feel the red, breathe it in.
Then see it change through the rest of the colors. Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo (the dark blue just as the sun sets, with stars mixed into it), Violet.
Be able to see all seven colors—it takes many tries for most people though some colors come right away.