Why You Should Start (Or Continue) Meditating.

Hi Friend 🙂

Today I want to talk about 'meditation,' why I believe everyone should meditate and how I feel we have been getting a little confused about the whole thing. I want to address some of the challenges and pitfalls that may come with starting a meditation practice, and hopefully empower you to make meditation a regular part of your life.

First Things First: What Is Meditation?

It has been my experience that meditation is not something that you 'do.' Meditation is a state.

Meditation, especially in the western culture is generally thought of as sitting on the floor with your legs crossed and eyes closed, while you try to 'clear your mind.'

The truth is, you may be in a state of meditation while you are in the above mentioned position, but you may just as easily not be in a state of meditation at all.

Due to the fact that meditation is a state of being - one where you are open, aware, awake, receptive to everything that serves your highest good, where you are in alignment with who you really are - you can technically be meditating while you brush your teeth, ride the bus, talk to your friends, read a book or while you write a blog post 😉 On the flip side, you are equally capable of sitting in lotus with your eyes closed for 4 hours never reaching a meditative state.

This is not a new concept, nor is it one that I have come up with. Many great meditation and yogi masters will tell you the same thing. B.K.S Iyengar says in "Light On Life" that meditation does not lower blood pressure or incur any health benefits - because in order to be in a state of meditation you must be in a state of health. This makes sense because if meditation is really just you being in alignment with who you really are, disease cannot exist while you are 'meditating.'

What we commonly think of as meditation are actually techniques that have been used to help get people into a meditative state. These techniques include mantra, chaotic breathing, kundalini practices, breathing practices and so on. The technique itself is not meditation - it is simply a tool to help transition you back into your natural state of being, which is meditation.

To sum up: Meditation is not an action, but a state where you are lined up with who you really are. Meditation practices are simply tools you can use to help usher you into a meditative state.

What About My Monkey Mind?

The second thing that I think has got us all tied up in knots about meditation is the idea that we have to some how clear our minds of all distractions to get into a state of meditation.

In a round about way, this is true. When you are in a meditative state you are not in distressed and distracted by your thoughts.

Alan Watts likens the mind to a pond - he says that the waters of a pond are by nature calm. When nothing is disturbing the peace of the pond, nothing needs to be done to make the waters rest. It is only when wind blows or fish swim or humans splash around that the waters move and the sediment of the pond floor muddies the waters.

And so it is with your mind. It is naturally calm. It is naturally in a state of peace. It is really only when you allow your outer world to influence who you think you are that your mind become unsettled. You, at your core, are peace. The feeling of dis-ease you get when you think an unpleasant thought is there to tell you that you have taken on a belief that does not truly align with who you are. It is your signal that you have created some level of vibrational discord within yourself that must be corrected.

Thus it is not so much about ignoring or pushing away any thoughts that are disturbing your peace. Those thoughts and feelings are there as signs and guideposts.

I have heard so many people tell me that they simply cannot quiet their minds, and that is why they cannot meditate.

What is really happening here, is as you remove the outer stimulation of the world by sitting quietly with your eyes closed somewhere - all the vibrational discord that exists currently within you is going to rise up to the surface because your core self wants you to look at it, process it and deal with it! The reason you feel so uncomfortable when you sit to meditate is because you are no longer being distracted from the vibrational discord that is going on within you.

These things are not preventing you from meditating so much as they are telling you that there is a root issue that is preventing you from existing in your natural state of meditation. This is why you must look at them, acknowledge them, welcome them and allow them to speak to you, rather than trying to push them away or ignore them so that you can find peace. You will return to peace once you have dealt with the vibrational discord.

To Sum Up: Your uncomfortable feelings and distracting thoughts are not to be ignored or pushed away. They are to be acknowledged and looked at so that you can be lead to the core root beliefs you have about yourself and the world that are false, that are disturbing your natural meditative state.

How Do I Get Rid Of Vibrational Discord?

This is the million dollar question, isn't it?

If you are feeling distressed, stressed, anxious, worried, angry, jealous, or any other emotion that does not feel good, know that it is just there to alert you to a deeper issue that is taking place within you. It is there to show you that there is currently some contrast going on in your life that needs addressing.

Those feelings are like symptoms of a cold. Anger, doubt, worry, fear, frustration - are all like mucus, a sore throat, headaches and body fatigue. When you have a cold, it is not the mucus or the sore throat that is the root issue, the root issue is the virus that is attacking your cells. You can take cough drops and drink tea until you are blue in the face, but you are not going to really feel better until your body eliminates the virus.

Trying to cover up, ignore, or breath through your emotional 'symptoms' is not an effective route back to your natural state of meditation. In the same chord, only addressing your emotional symptoms, rather than using them as guideposts leading you to the root issue is equally ineffective.

The second thing you must understand is that most people really only have 1 or 2 root issues that are causing all of the distressing emotions - and thus the distressing circumstances - in their lives.

You may feel like you have many different issues in your life such as: eating too much, not being able to communicate with your partner effectively, always taking on too much at work and not being able to stand up for yourself with your friends.

You may look at all of these as separate issues - not having much to do with one another - when in reality they are all physical manifestations of the negative emotions you are feeling.

These negative emotions are the 'symptoms' of one or two core beliefs you have about yourself that are out of alignment with the truth of who you are.

In order to remove vibrational discord, and the discomfort and chaos that comes with it, all you have to do is get to the root of what you believe about yourself, so that you can re-align it with your truth.

Do how do you find these roots and deal with them?

Are you ready for the answer?

Sit. Practice meditation.

I know. That sounds like it makes no sense. I basically just told you that you cannot really be in a meditative state unless you are aligned within yourself, and you cannot be aligned with yourself if you have false beliefs about yourself, but the way to discover your false beliefs is to practice meditation.

This is where the distinction between practicing meditation techniques and being in a meditative state happens.

Here is where using meditation techniques to help you tune into yourself will work their magic. If you are willing to sit with your discomfort, to really be with yourself through this process of discovery, you will inevitably discover your own inner discords, and you will be lead to release them. This process will unfold naturally.

It really does not matter what technique you choose for your practice. As long as it resonates with you, then it is good. I have personally used Kundalini exercises, yoga, pranayama, and mantra to help me.

The key is to allow yourself to feel what you are feeling, and to release all resistance to your negative emotions. If you can do that, you are on your way back to who and what you have always been.

This is the true purpose of meditation practices. To return you to your natural state of meditation. From there, you are a clear, concious creator who can live a life of purpose.

And that, is why you should meditate.