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| Gentle Waves and A Gentle Breeze |
In meditation, we quiet our bodies and minds to focus our attention inward, away from the chaotic world around us. Edgar Cayce began recommending meditation in the late 1920s and 1930s. He wrote:
"and in the meditation, don't meditate upon, but listen to the voice within. For prayer is supplication for direction, for understanding. Meditation is listening to the Divine within." (Cayce Reading 1861-19)
His succinct statement is one of the most simple and useful I have found on what meditation is and how to do it. Gently relaxing the body and listening intently for a voice within is the easiest form of meditation I have discovered. I don't count my breaths or direct my attention to any other part of my body, only within, waiting for a message. Imagine you are listening intently to what a good friend is saying to you in conversation. If you are truly focused, there is little room in your mind for other dialog. When I find that my thoughts are straying, I gently pull my mind back into the intense listening mode again.
Of course, the answers to questions about how, when, where, and why we meditate are very individual. What works for me may not work at all for you or anyone else.
The Eastern World has been practicing meditation for thousands of years. Here in the West, it did not gain any acceptance until the 1960s and 1970s with the rise of the New Age Movement. It was actually introduced at that time by spiritual leaders who arrived here from Asia, importing meditation with them.
It is a practice that must be "built" beginning with regular (daily preferably) short sessions of 10-20 minutes increasing the time as proficiency and comfort increase. Most masters recommend a specific place, a regular time, and a position that works best for you as important in establishing the habit. In our hectic lives, however, the only 10 minutes we may have is in the car waiting for the kids to finish some school activity! We have to work with what we have and "create time" each day.
The difficulty of "creating time" on a consistent basis is the primary reason why many "would be meditators" become discouraged and discontinue their efforts in spite of the fact that scientific studies clearly show the benefits for physical and mental health are significant with daily meditation.
- Meditation helps lower blood pressure naturally.
- Meditation helps manage life stress, increases energy, and strengthens the immune system. The body under stress secretes high levels of adrenaline and cortisol which are damaging to many body organs and cause chronic fatigue.
- Several studies have shown a significant reduction in heart disease by as much as 50% in meditators. Lowering blood pressure and stress reduction certainly contribute to that effect.
- Studies of the brain show that people who meditate have an increased overall cognitive intelligence.
- Benefits to mental health include improvements in self-awareness, reflection, self-esteem, and peacefulness.
- Spiritual teachers believe that the greatest benefit of all is perhaps increased spiritual awareness, mindfulness, and conscious living.
Keeping it simple is important until you have established the practice as a habit in your life. It is very easy "to fall off the wagon" as I have many times. People give up because they want and expect big results quickly and lack patience. When they don't feel successful with one method, they quickly switch to a different one, eventually quitting when nothing seems to work. It is most important to be patient with yourself, realistic in your expectations, and to keep on trying.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of meditation courses, CDs, DVDs, methods, books, and tools are available from many sources, some of which are very expensive. But if time is your primary problem, you won't have time to use those fancy tools either!
My suggestion is that you first try something simple and build a "meditation habit". Then if you want to expand your knowledge and improve your technique, trying some additional tools will not be a waste of time and money.
I have included a few links below on general information and simple methods. Never give up as the saying goes.
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