Philosophers' Corner - Meditation

Question: I have recently looked into different types of meditation practices like yoga, martial arts, and sitting meditation and they all seem so difficult to master. It seems like meditation is so difficult to do and you have to be in a certain frame of mind and have the time to sit and practice to understand what meditation is. Is it really as difficult to do as I think it is for someone like me who has no time? But I feel like I need to do something different to relieve work-related stress.

Meditation is often misunderstood because people misconstrue what it should be, relating the idea to a monk on a mountain, or sitting in some forest, alone, for hours. The first step towards conceptualizing what meditation is to understand the reasons why you want to meditate. Are you expecting something from it? The most challenging aspect of this process is figuring out why you should meditate instead of how you should meditate. Without understanding your expectations about meditation, you simply will not benefit from it. Everyday we go about our routine, not truly paying attention (going to class, studying for an exam, work, hanging out, watching TV, etc). Meditation is about paying attention- first to self, then expanding outward. Meditation should be done without the expectation of achieving a goal.

There is a saying, "The human body is a microcosm of the macrocosm (the universe)." Everything is connected at the underlying energy level (the sublime cosmic energy which is the pulse of existence). The yin and the yang in everything represents the duality of nature. This quality is fundamentally ingrained in our livelihoods and is expressed in many ways: up and down, cold and hot, success and failure, life and death, spiritual fulfillment and materialism (the wants created by being in this body driven by our senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound). This duality is a very prevalent aspect of our psychological experience as our material mind clashes with the spiritual mind (the mini-consciousness unaware of its connection to the universal consciousness). This "gap" offers a partial explanation as to why many people feel empty in their lives or unsatisfied even when they have everything they need materially and socially. The soul searches for meaning and understanding; through meditation, one can bridge this consciousness gap.

While meditating, there are three things you should focus on: your body, mind, and spirit. Your spirit is the energy that many call the soul, the life force, or the individual connected to the view of this physical world through his/her physical body. The idea can be compared to looking at bacteria under a microscope or looking at stars through a telescope. Organisms are made up of physical material blended with a psychological data analyzer intertwined with the spiritual realm. In other words, you exist as a fragmented being (body, mind, and spirit), experiencing life as fragmented nuances of yourself. Meditation is having a relationship with yourself. Through mediation, one can unify these self-divisions into a single consciousness facilitating great personal insight. This allows you to truly pay attention, to people, or even circumstance. This way your perspective on the situation is clear; you can partially control the outcome of the situation, compassionately manipulating it in your favor. Instead of suppressing your desires for material things, understand them. You cannot suppress the nature of your being.

Meditation is being aware of as much information as we are receiving from our five senses. It is not necessary that one interprets or acts on all that is sensed. Our subconscious is already doing this; it processes all incoming data via our sensory neurons. In this way, it senses the inter-connectedness of all things in the universe. For one to truly perceive this connection, we must unify our consciousness. Arts such as yoga or kung-fu strive to bring about this result through exercise, practice, or anything that facilitates the union of mind and body while traveling in this material world. On a related note, isn't it interesting that we only pay attention to our bodies when we are sick? After we are physically better, we continue on our routine, ignoring our bodies again, never appreciating our bodies as it gets us where we need be. Next time you sigh, whatever the reason for sighing (stressed, sad), stop and think. When we sigh, not only do we relieve stress physically as we exhale out, but our body is also reminding us that without this breath, we would not be here. We would neither have problems nor stress. Our body is reminding us to pay attention, and realize that it is the most important thing we have.

As an initial model to start meditating, you can sit in a quiet and comfortable place once a day for a minimum of 15 minutes and simply, pay attention to your thoughts. As they come, acknowledge them and let them be. Initially, you will find your mind to be a very noisy place. You will catch yourself getting drawn into your thoughts. As soon as you realize that you have drifted into one line of thought, bring yourself back to see the large view. Eventually, with daily practice, you will notice that your mind is calming down. You will feel the storm of thoughts pass and the emerging tranquility of the sea of consciousness. This sea seeps into all aspects of one's life, improving physical health, psychological contentment, and interaction with others, be it relationships or other social circumstance. This new state of being enables the individual to have spiritual material of the mind. The real material is the material of the mind. With our senses influencing and stimulating our minds with desires, we ignore the spiritual side of our duality. The calm of the mind that we seek seems elusive because we expect something to happen as a result of meditating. Thoughts like, "Is it working yet?", "Do I feel different?", "How long will I have to do this to get what I want from it?," the main challenge to calming the mind down since these types of thought are easiest to drift into. In anticipation of quick results, we stop meditating because we loose interest quickly.

Buddha said, "You cannot truly achieve enlightenment meditating in the mountains unless you can achieve it among the daily suffering of life." While traditional models of meditation involving sitting in quiet, sometimes secluded places, you can also meditate "on the go." As you endure your daily routine, focus on your breathing. Observe and take in the environment without reacting to your thoughts. Just be present; live, be, and participate. This model of meditation is slightly more advanced than the one described above and will require a conscious effort at first. Despite the fact, as this process becomes more second nature, you will notice the same positive changes highlighted earlier albeit from a slightly different perspective. The Zen Buddhists describe this concept as having "Beginner's Mind,' meaning everything you do should be done without a preconceived notion of past experience, that is being in the moment at all times. Living each moment through this framework is the direct expression of our true nature. The Buddhists further describe that for human beings, there is no other practice than this practice; there is no other way of life than this way of life. One cannot change the past nor can one completely control the future. The outcome of the future is partially a product of how well we conduct our life right up to the moment before. So in your daily existence, pay attention to your breathing; write as if you are writing for the first time with a pen and paper; feel how the paper feels in your hand; focus on your movement when walking or sitting. As Krishna said in the Bhagavad-Gita, "Act for the sake of action without expectation or fear of outcome." "In the Beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." This process teaches you how to "focus without focusing." Once you are able to conceptualize meditation in this manner, and practice regularly then no effort is required. You are always present in everything you are doing; you truly live in the moment.

There is no one right way to meditate. Lao Zhu said, "Those who speak, do not know, and those who know, do not speak. Buddha realized that he could not explain or show people what he understood. He could not get people to see things the way he saw them since even the words he would choose could not truly capture what it was. Authors and teachers can only teach you the path they have walked on up until that point. There is very little that you need to learn from other sources. You have everything you need to focus on within; you just have to practice paying attention to it. Nobody can help you understand or explore your own existence. It is a journey that each individual must take, forging his or her own unique path, actively participating in this process to grow, learn, and teach. Breathe!!!