“When you’re with stillness, you merge with everything around you. You can’t pin-point where it’s coming from. From inside? From outside? Where? It just is.” – Sri Swami Sai Premananda

Awakening The Mind: Meditation 101

In today’s fast paced modern world, it seems that many have come to find that the one thing that stands between their happiness is not materialistic wants, but their own mind.

We live each day with thousands of things demanding our mind’s precious attention. We think incessantly about a million things that many of us become slaves to our minds. In fact, we think so much that as soon as we have time to be still we don’t even know how to enjoy being quiet.

The only way you will ever experience peace of mind is by learning to drop the analytical thinking mind. Meditation is a way to help you on the journey of achieving mental clarity and peace. It’s time for you to awaken your mind to its potential.

Through meditation, you will discover and catch glimpses of a state of consciousness that is truly aware and alert. Meditation will be your tool for deep introspection of your inner being and will prove to be very valuable in your day-to-day life.

It will help you develop an intimate relationship with your true self. As you develop your inner being you will become valuable to those around you, because you will be more in touch with who you really are. An intimate intuitive knowing beyond any mental conception you have of yourself.

You can only truly help others when you have become the master of your mind, free of false illusions. Many people feel that just because they have the urge to help that they are able to help. Unless you really know what your true identity is, which is not your ego, you will only be trying to offer help from something that is an illusion.

The beauty of proper meditation is that it helps you create immense distance in your inner space. It gives you perspective and your level of consciousness changes. It helps you create distance between your thoughts and the witness who watches your thoughts. The problem for most is that they remain too close to their thoughts, being close means being identified. This is why psychoanalysis never actually solves the causes of your problems, it may help you function more efficiently in society, but you remain on the same level. Your problem is in your thinking, and you try to solve it with thinking, but you still remain within the field of thought. Meditation gives you vertical growth, it gives you a bird’s eye perspective to see your problems, an awareness to freely observe your conditioning. You become an impartial observer, being impartial you will see the causes, and you gain understanding. There is no need to solve the problem, you just need more understanding. It simply exists because you lack sufficient understanding, not enough awareness.

That’s why we are always able to give someone else great advice, we are far from the problem, we are impartial, and we have the clarity to see. The person with the problem is too close to it, too identified, he will say, “easy for you to say, this isn’t your problem”. Meditation helps you create the distance for you to “see” clearly.

Many say that it would be nice to have peace of mind, to learn to be calm no matter what goes on around them. But as long as you make those things objects of your desire, you have already identified yourself as lacking them, thus keeping your “self” from experiencing peace.

When people begin to attempt meditating they say that is difficult and boring. When you learn to watch what’s going on inside you, if those thoughts of boredom come up, just watch them. Explore why you are telling yourself this is boring, pay attention to your feelings, where is it coming from? There is a huge growing experience hidden, you just need to explore it. “There are strange moments in life when the mind rests without any kind of worries. When our mind is quiet, when our mind is in silence, then the new arrives.”- Samael Aun Weor

Meditation is the act of allowing the thoughts in your mind to cease. When you drop your mind you will experience oneness with the universe. You will realize that everything really is intimately interconnected and multi-dimensional.

The only thing that keeps you thinking you are separate is your body and mind. When you are asleep and disconnect your mind from your body your consciousness is one with the universal consciousness. Meditation is your key in transcending the confines of your body and mind to consciously experience a higher state of universal awareness.

Through a daily discipline of meditation, you will become more mindful and calm. Calmness is the ideal state in which you should receive and take part in your life’s experiences. Someone who is calm has the mental clarity to handle any situation that life throws at him. Even-mindedness should be your goal, learning to maintain a clear-headed mind state helps you with enjoying and dealing with a fast-paced lifestyle.

The more that you focus your attention within, you will begin to feel a new power and new peace rise up within you. Meditation is the ability to stay actively calm. Meditation does not even have to be what many associate meditation with, which is to get into a lotus position and start chanting a mantra.

Any activity that you enjoy can be meditation; you just need to learn to be watchful of whatever you are doing. Learning to be fully present in any activity is meditation. Jogging through the forest and being observant of everything going on inside you without judgment is meditation. It is however important to incorporate a daily routine of meditation and do it earnestly and consistently if you are to reap the rewarding effects.

Awakening Your Mind Daily

1. Pick a nice comfortable place to meditate..

2. Find a comfortable position to sit. Sitting on a chair or on the floor does not really matter as long as it is comfortable for you.

3. Cross your legs, and clasp your hands together. (This helps make your own energy circuit and gives stability)

4. Close your eyes, then stop inner and outer chatter.

5. Relax; begin thinking that your whole body is becoming extremely relaxed.

6. Eyes should be closed. With your eyes closed focus your gaze and attention as if you are looking through a point between your eyebrows. Try not to cross or strain your eyes; the upward gaze should come naturally when you are relaxed and calmly concentrated. What is important to keep in mind is to be able to fix your whole attention at the point between the eyebrows.

7. You will notice that your mind is full of many thoughts. Your mind will then begin to ask questions to those thoughts and try and come up with answers whether they are known or unknown.

8. You will need to transcend your mind and thoughts in order to meditate. Your mind and thoughts are what separate you from your higher self, you can also think of your higher self as your subconscious/unconscious mind, don’t worry about the labels.

9. You transcend your mind by simply observing your breath. Don’t inhale/exhale consciously just observe your natural breathing. Don’t go behind your thoughts; if you catch yourself drifting just always come back to your breathing. Slowly the amount of thoughts reduces and your breathing becomes thinner and shorter.

If you are able to keep all your focus on your breath, you will get to the point of no thought and no breath. This state of no thought is your connection to your divine being and energy body. Continue to concentrate between the eyebrows until you begin to achieve peacefulness. The more you meditate the more benefits and energy that you will receive. Your own self-awareness and consciousness will also expand.

10. You will feel a very pleasurable feeling meditating. If you feel any discomfort in your body these can be possible areas of disease or illness. If you meditate every day you can possibly heal your body naturally.

11. Now that you are in a state of no thought and total relaxation. Begin to think only about your intention. Your intent can be the feeling of love, creativity, a problem you may have, or any object that becomes your sole focus. Remember whatever you think now is in a state that will be impregnated directly into your subconscious.

Example: Whenever I don’t have any ideas of what I should write about, I initially think of just a headline, topic, or problem and then meditate on it. After about 30 minutes I am able to get on my computer, and the words just flow out of me.

I really hope you enjoyed this introduction on the topic of meditation; I really encourage you to take the time to incorporate it into your daily life. Identify what are your essential needs and quit being possessed by your possessions. Remember that happiness lies in giving yourself time to deeply ponder, something that our modern society is in dire need of.

For additional insights into meditation and solutions to some common problems check out this post here:

• Problems With My Meditation Practice

If you enjoyed this post please help me out by passing it along to your friends and ‘like’ our Facebook Page. Also, if you have any of your own insights please share them in the comments section.