Meditation by any other name...
Meditation is not what you think, but it can provide what you are looking for.
Sleep provides deep rest, peace and an opportunity to completely let go. Meditation provides deep rest, peace and an opportunity to completely let go, while we are awake.
Our consciousness is amiable and sensitive to transformation based on where we place our attention and how we react based on previous learnings, experiences, and habits.
This morning my 2002 Toyota land-cruiser was broadcasting some exquisite music from its 20+ year old inbuilt high fidelity speakers, when I remembered something. The music was coming from my iPhone playlist that I had curated and put together because I really like music and this is what I have been doing since mixed tapes were the thing.
A cable connects the phone to a device that fits into the cigarette lighter socket (recall it’s a 2002 model) that then acts as a transmitter and broadcasts at an FM radio frequency that I can choose. The inbuilt dated but high performing radio then simply picks up the FM signal after a bit of tuning with the buttons on the radio. Crisp, clear voice and instruments burst forth providing harmonies that sooth an old ear.
So what I remembered was that a few weeks ago the sound quality dramatically deteriorated and I was left thinking for days that my phone was on the way out. The song was recognisable but mostly distorted or coming through in the most unenjoyable busts. Oh, I thought, did someone accidentally adjust the tuning dial on the radio. It’s actual a button that can be pressed to adjust the reception frequency up or down by 0.01 increments. I hit it once. Music to my ears flowed forth.
What I realised this morning was that this is a good analogy of what the practice of mediation is like. Meditation is tuning into what is already there. An essence within us, broadcasting 24/7 a soft and inviting presence that gradually brings forth ebullient feelings and calm as we surrender. As simple as tuning in and letting go.
Rather than define what Meditation is, we will go on a narrative journey that will touch upon meditation’s possibilities, ease of integration into daily life and power to transform our consciousness. What is spoken about here reflects both my own 40+ years of daily practice and experience, historical and current understandings from literature and off course words & understandings over the years from my teacher.
Meditation is a practice that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and experience levels. The benefits of meditation can be felt immediately, regardless of your previous experience.
Our consciousness is where we live, every waking moment, every day, our whole life. It embodies everything we perceive, think about, remember, and feel. It is also where erupting emotions and pain make themselves known to us. Our consciousness is amiable and sensitive to transformation based on where we place our attention and how we react based on previous learnings, experiences, and habits.
Our consciousness requires some daily cleansing, not to dissimilar to the house, tent, car, or ground space we live and sleep in, and that requires some effort and maintenance to keep clean, tidy, habitable, and beautiful.
Indeed, meditation cleanses our waking state of the daily accumulated dross of uninvited thoughts, worries and indeed, the pressure we feel of the world’s many and constantly changing agendas.
The impetus we feel to explore meditation can be driven by the desire to get away from the discomfort of emptiness, boredom, disillusionment or simply intuiting that there must be more.
Some of us conclude that we want to make some effort but have no idea where to direct our precious attention and savour irreplaceable moments. We strive to become a better person and invite ebullient feelings we have heard that are potentially available to us.
Then there are those of us who aren’t looking for anything else. A friend asks us to attend or listen to a talk and we comply only to hear things said that awaken an innate thirst, a deeper knowing that feels so real and close to us.
And so, the journey begins. At first, we struggle with techniques, know-how and grapple with expectations of the experience we want from meditation. We read books, hear from different teachers, our friends, podcasts and attend master classes.
Either we stumble upon an experience that is so mind blowing, expansive and unknown that we back off, in part, because no adequate guidance exists to assist us. Or simply that the unrelenting obligation of our chosen duties and responsibilities keeps us away and busy. Sometimes the force of distraction upon our attention only increases when we try to meditate.
To enable the potential of meditation to become real and palpable immediately, first requires listening. Simply listening to the essence of what is available to us when we go within, when we meditate, as articulated by one who knows through experience and mastery, will immerse, and infuse us with the inklings of a fulfilling experience that meditation brings forth.
Listening itself unlocks a unique sweetness that had always been there and waited patiently within us until whisperings imbued with clarity and kindness became audible.
It then becomes clearly apparent that transformative and fulfilling meditation involves directing attention within. Away from the domain of thoughts that are on one hand necessary for survival yet are not the only substance of who we are. Meditation doesn’t stop thinking, it takes us to the domain of feeling, where thoughts are not necessary.  We slowly, very slowly, start to comprehend that the sublime experience gained from directing attention within, has no need for thoughts.
Eventually we gather enough momentum to consistently experience what already exists within us. This changes dramatically our constant need and clinging to the temporary and ever-changing things the world continuously presents to us. We stand more on our own two feet and resilience grows.
The practice of meditation takes us within, yet it doesn’t remove or withdraw us from our chosen life around us. On the contrary, following meditation we often feel the volume turned up of the colours and feelings, tranquillity, joys, and passions that flow through us throughout the day.
We also develop a natural and deep resilience when things don’t go our way. We are connected to our own source of rejuvenation, transformation, and fulfilment. Our priorities slowly change as we realise the temporary nature of things, including our own short, sweet life.