Meditation

Introduction

In the New Webster’s Dictionary (2002), meditation is described as the “act of meditating; serious contemplation” and “to dwell on anything in thought.” This definition is limited and does not begin to describe the practice that we will study in this course. You could say that this definition describes meditation in a purely mental sense. This is a portion of meditation, but not the whole. So what is meditation? How is it practiced? Why should we meditate?

In How To Meditate (1974), by Lawrence Le Shan, the author describes a conversation had at a conference attended by a group of scientists who practice meditation on a daily basis. They were discussing different approaches to meditation, when the author brought up the question of why they meditated. Various members of the group posed several different answers but nothing really rang true, until one of the men in the group said, “It’s like coming home.” After a moment of silence, they all began to nod their heads, and agreed that this was the most true answer they could think of.

Meditation is the vehicle we can use to go "home," to visit the place where we originated, before the illusion of separation solidified in our consciousness. Does this mean we are escaping from our present reality? What are the benefits of reawakening to this central field of consciousness?

In her book Meditation, author Wendy Momen recounts a story which takes place in 1913 at the Friend’s Meeting House at St. Martins Lane, London. Abdu’l-Baha, the son of the founder of The Baha’i faith, is speaking of meditation and how it can benefit individuals and society. He recalls in the following quote:

“A society formed in Persia about 1000 years ago…who gathered together for silent communion with the almighty. By meditating, and turning their faces to the Source Of Light… all the divine problems were solved. When faced with a decision to be made… [the group] would come together in silence and, freeing their minds from everything else, they would sit and reflect. Before long the answers to the problem would be revealed to them. Many abstruse divine questions were solved by this illumination, including such age-old mysteries as the reality of the spirit of man and life after death as well as the scientific questions of the day and even the essential nature of divinity. Called The Followers Of The Inner Light, these people attained to a superlative degree of power and were entirely freed from blind dogmas and imitations.”

So what did this group find, in this process of coming together in meditation? How was it that in silence these people found answers to the deepest questions of their hearts?

In A Master Guide To Meditation And Spiritual Growth, (1999), author Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, says:

“There are no secrets or mysteries about spiritual growth. It is the natural process of soul¾or Self-illumination―when conditions are suitable for it to occur. At our core, behind the finest layers of thoughts and emotions, we are forever established in God. Before the beginning of time we existed as individualized units of pure consciousness, reflections of thoughts. When the universe no longer prevails, we will continue to abide in God.”

Davis goes on to say, “If we are not yet conscious of our essential, spiritual condition and our relationship with the Infinite, our need is to learn how to be awake.”

So, if at our center, we can find God, our Higher Self, the One Mind, Great Spirit, Eternal Consciousness, or whatever name for Divinity we choose, what is the path inward? How do we find the trailhead that leads to our own Realization of Divine Self? How is it that we “wake up?”

There are many different paths we can travel to bring ourselves into the realization of “home,” and awaken our consciousness to its true nature. Taking a look at the history of meditation, we can see how people have always attempted this journey.