Chapter 6

by EdySutio

Elements Required For Meditation To Happen

So, you want to meditate.  Now that you have a bit of background on meditation you think you can sit down and completely get into it, right?  It’s not quite that easy.  Nevertheless, the process can be broken down to allow anyone to fully learn it.

To perform meditation, there are several key elements that must be taken into consideration prior to getting started.  If and when you accomplish these tasks, you’ll be in a better place to actually meditate to the highest possible level of consciousness.

There are four big things to consider.  First, you need to have the right attitude.  For that, you need what is called a passive attitude.  This attitude allows for the right experience because it takes away some of the lesser and often negative aspects that you may have towards meditation.

Attitude isn’t everything, though.  The next element that you need is the right location.  The best location for meditation is one that is quiet and relaxing to you.  Whatever it takes to get into the right setting, make it happen.

Next, you need the right physical posture.  Your body must be in the right stage so that you are both comfortable and relaxed to the level that meditation requires.  When you enter this stage, meditation is easier to accomplish.

Finally, you need something to meditate on.  As we’ve already discussed, there is importance in what this is as it should be something that is relaxing and something that allows you to remain still and quiet while meditating with that element.

Now, we’ll go into detail about each of these aspects.  Each is a very important part to the meditation process.

Location

First, we need to help you to find the right location to meditate.  As you can probably imagine, you need a location that is quiet and calm.  If you wish to experience meditation, being in the correct surroundings will make all of the difference to you.

The best locations for you to select are those that will allow not only your mind to relax but also your body’s muscles.  This is generally done in a sitting or a lying position, so make sure that the location you choose offers that.

The location should be one that does not offer many distractions.  This is crucial to the ability to filter these things out of your mind.  Those that are just starting to learn meditation need the least distractions possible.  Once you hone your skills, though, you’ll be able to meditate is more busy locations including in public locations where you can’t control the distraction and noise levels.  First, though, look for quiet!

The Right Position

Just like the right location, being in the right position for meditation is crucial.  Actually, what we are looking for here is the right posture for your body that provides for the best abilities to meditate.

The posture in which your body is in is very much a role player in the type of experience that you have.  This is believed in many forms of alternative medicine and wellness.  In Yoga, there are a number of postures performed to get the desired results. 

If you are practicing Kum Ney, which is a type of Islamic prayer, there are postures beneficial here.  In Buddhist religious ceremonies, the posture of the body is very critical to the experience that the individual has in the prayer that they lead.

One of the most important elements in maintaining your posture is to keep your spine straight.  Although there is no proof medically speaking, it is believed that when the spine is correctly aligned, in a straight line, which it helps to benefit the state of mind that you are in.

If you have a problem with your spine and this is not comfortable for you, do not insist on it.  Most individuals will experience some discomfort during their first few experiences with this type of straightening of the back.  For most, this will go away after you get used to it.  If it is pain, though, don’t force yourself to do this.

You may be tempted to meditate in a lying down position.  Although this position does work, it often causes individuals that are new to meditation to fall asleep.  Therefore, unless you know that you can refrain from sleeping; try to use the sitting up position.

Semi Poised

The semi poised posture is another choice.  In a semi poised posture, you are not sitting straight up and you are not lying down flat.  You are reclining to a point.  This is often done by those that can’t sit well straight up.  It can be done on your sofa for additional comfort.  Make sure that your head is supported in this position. You should not put yourself in a position that allows you to fall asleep, though.

Poised Posture

The most common and the most beneficial type of posture is that of poised.  The poised posture is one in which the back and spine is upright and straight, but is not rigidly so.  The reasoning behind this benefit is actually important to understand. 

When you are in the poised posture, your body is alert.  Your state of mind is that of being aware and poised, ready for attention.  By keeping your back straight, you are keeping your mind alert.

Lotus Posture

Another option is that of the lotus posture.  This is actually the most common and well liked posture in the Eastern forms of meditation.  In this position, you will sit with your legs crossed and the back and spine in a vertical line.  Your legs are crossed with the feet placed on the thighs.

The problem with the lotus posture is that it can be somewhat painful for those that aren’t flexible.  It can be something learned and even mastered after a few tries.

There are other postures that can be used as well.  If you would like to learn a posture that allows you to sit in a specific position, look towards your meditation guide to help you to find one that works for you.

Passiveness In Your Attitude

The next key ingredient in meditation is your attitude.  Often, the attitude that is most commonly required and talked about is that of poised awareness.  Your attitude is probably the most important element in this entire process.  It is called poised awareness because that’s just what you are.  You are relaxed but alert in such a way that is the perfect balance between the two.

When you enter this type of awareness, you notice what is happening around you but you are not focusing on it.  You are casually aware of these things and yet you are detached from them. 

When new thoughts enter your mind, you must let them just pass through, knowing that they have come but not caring much about them.  As you gaze at your meditation object, you’ll want to allow your mind the ability to notice what is happening around you.

But, when your mind wanders away and you begin to add additional thoughts onto that original one, developing an interest in them, come back to that meditation object and readdress your methods of entering into meditation.

When you learn to keep your mind focused and relaxed, you can realize that your mind has gone off into another direction and bring it back to where we want it to be for meditation.

When you enter poised awareness, you will at first need to fight to stay there.  Yet, over time, you’ll find yourself being able to stay in focus throughout your meditation experience.  You don’t have to fight it as much.

A passive attitude is one in which your mind can notice that there are other thoughts passing through, but that stays relaxed and doesn’t focus on those thoughts.  When you can do this, you’ll be able to notice but not react to those distractions that come your way, therefore allowing your body and mind to enter into meditation easier.

Your Meditation Object

There is one more piece of the puzzle to enter into meditation through practicing yourself.  You need to have a meditation object to use to help direct and focus your attention on.

The object that you use is generally called a mantra, which is actually a specific word or even a syllable. 

Sometimes, like in Buddhism meditation, you’ll focus on your breathing movements as your object for meditation.  If you do decide to use breathing as your method for entering into meditation, then do so correctly.  You need to make your meditation method use the rise and fall of your abdomen rather than the presence of inhaling air. 

In addition, make sure to use breathing that comes you’re your diaphragm rather than from your stomach.  Proper posture will help this as will practicing how to use it.  Once you get into a meditation state, you’ll find that the rhythm of your breathing in the movement of your body will help to promote deep relaxation.

Either of these, mantra or breathing, can be used as your meditation object so long as they provide for relaxation.

You can also use various other elements in the room you are in.  If you choose to do this, make sure that the element you select is something that provides for relaxation.  Some individuals like to close their eyes in order to relax and then to induce meditation.  This is up to you and your preferences for meditation.

Should you go with a mantra for your method of inducing meditation, do so with careful thought.  Although some meditation therapists will tell you that a specific selection of sounds should be used for your mantra as determined by your nervous system, there isn’t a lot of noticeable benefit from this.  You can use any word that is neutral and that allows you to stay focused.  It should not be something that easily brings another thought to your mind.

It doesn’t have to be a word either.  It can be a nonsensical sound or a grouping of sounds.

Remember that your mind needs to enter into a phase in which no thoughts or very few thoughts and no thoughts of meaning are passing through it.  When this happens, the deepest level of thought and consciousness are found and only then can it happen.

 by EdySutio

Put It Together

Once you have learned each of these four very important elements to the meditation process, you can begin to develop a pattern for yourself. 
Most of the time, it does take some practice and just trying out different methods to actually find the process that works the best for you.  The goal is to remember what you are after.  You want a state of mind that is clear from other thoughts and you want to put yourself both your mind and your body in a relaxed state.

For you, this may be different from what it is for others that meditate.  We recommend starting with those methods described here and practicing with them until you have achieved them.  Later, if you find that something works better for you, such as with your posture or your meditation object, you can then change it to match the benefits that you’ve found.

Most commonly, though, meditation involves a trial and error. Don’t assume that just one try of a mantra will work.  If you don’t fully learn how to do something, this too can lead to the wrong experience.  For example, if you don’t breathe correctly, you can’t know that breathing doesn’t work for you.  Next, we’ll try to meditate.

Chapter 5

by EdySutio

Are You Ready To Meditate Yet?

Now that you understand a bit behind the reasoning behind meditation, you can clearly see what the benefits are.  Now, you are ready to learn how to meditate.  Over the next chapters, we’ll talk about many of the different techniques that are crucial to meditation. 

Some techniques you can learn through this ebook, others, though, you’ll need a trained and experienced instructor to help you to learn how.  We suggest starting with some of the simpler forms like those listed here and then working your way into more complex ones.  You’ll find that this allows you to be more successful with the difficult meditation exercises as well.

A Word Of Warning

As you begin meditation, you should realize that the process can bring up feelings, thoughts and even traumatic events that happened in your past.  If you have repressed memories or otherwise are psychologically affected by meditation, don’t give up on it.  You should work with a skilled instructor though to work through these problems so that meditation can be successful for you.

Meditation may not be for you if you are a person that is paranoid, have problems with delusions or are facing high levels of anxiety to the point of not being able to function properly.  These individuals often find that meditation can be helpful, but only when under guidance from their doctors.  Those that have psychotic episodes of any sort should work with their meditation specialist first and foremost before starting their own meditation

Those that are interested in meditation but are worried about what could happen during meditation should insure that they have a skilled meditation specialist to help them through the first few episodes.

A Bit Of Background

Meditation is an art form that has come down from all types of cultures and from ancient civilizations.  Yet, each form comes from its own place, making it a bit unique from others. 

One thing that you will notice about meditation is its ability to change with the culture and therefore you’ll find various names for some of the techniques and styles that you find.  In addition, you will find countless religious or mystical applications to meditation as well.  As you move through meditation, realize that each aspect is different in where it is from and how it is used, yet all strive to offer the same end result to you.

For example, in ancient Christian training of the spirit, meditation is the process of thinking with a good amount of concentration on a topic.  Yet, in Eastern meditation, meditation doesn’t have any such meaning.  Instead, you are doing the opposite of thinking about a topic.

The goal of meditation in this form is to become detached; to pull away from your thoughts and then allow the silence to open up to you.  When this happens, your mind becomes quite.  In Eastern meditation arts, this is called the relaxation response that your body presents.  Yet, in Christian mystical practices, it is called contemplation, which we have already touched on.

Activities For Meditation

As we work through meditation, it is important to find something to use as your focus or your tool to enter into a meditation experience.  There are many different tools that you can use.  The best things to do are those that allow you to relax, stay still and to have some passive amount of attention paid to the object.

Here are some examples:

·        Relaxing comfortably on the couch listening to soft music.  Lying down is generally more beneficial than sitting up because it allows all of your muscles to relax.

·        Prayer, probably the oldest and most profoundly used tool in meditation is still one of the best tools to use to meditate with. Prayer allows you to focus and helps you to concentrate.  You are quiet and still, generally.  It is the most commonly used meditation stance.

·        A fire can be a wonderful meditation tool as well.  Sitting quietly by the fire, gauzing into it is alluring and often times allow a person to completely become memorized.  For meditation purposes, a fireside meditation can be the perfect location, assuming you are safe of course.

·        Focusing your attention on any single object can be beneficial as well.  Often times, this can be on anything that’s in the room where it’s quiet and open enough to relax.  You can do this with anything in the room, a person, a scene or even just the atmosphere of the room. 

In meditation, the goal is to find something to meditate on that allows you to focus, quietly and still, on it.  Anything that provides this can work for you.

Get Yourself Ready

Now that you have a basic idea of what goes into meditation, you can provide yourself with the necessary tools to get started.  We will get into that a bit more in just a minute.  Yet, before you do this, ask yourself a couple of questions.

·        Are you able to fully experience meditation because you are open to the potential benefits it can provide to you?

·        Are you able to have someone to watch over you during your first sessions, or perhaps work with you through them, in order to insure that you do not have any type of problem during one? 

·        Do you have a partner that may like to learn to meditate with you?  This can allow you to better experience the process.

Now, you are ready to dive into meditation.  First, ready your mind for the benefits that it can offer you.  Skeptics needs to stay behind, now.

Chapter 4

What Happens During Meditation?

by EdySutio

Modern medicine does not say that meditation works.  You won’t find a doctor that will prescribe meditation as the sole means of healing your illness in traditional medicine, anyway.  Yet, meditation is something that doctor’s do tell you about in other ways.

For example, how many times has your doctor told you that stress was a problem in your health issue?  Or, perhaps he told you of the need to relax more so that you can overcome your headaches, your pain, or your tension?  In your doctor’s words, he is encouraging you to clear your mind of the things you worry about and concentrate instead on relaxing.  That is what meditation can do for you.

Yet, the mechanics behind how meditation works is something completely different.  Not many actually realize how meditation works or why it matters that they know why it works.  You’ll learn both elements here.

In studies that have been done, there is evidence that meditation can produce a reaction in the body.  It has been shown to provide a healthy state of relaxation.  Physically, your body reacts in several ways.

1.   Your breathing becomes regulated, smoother and deeper.

2.   Your heart rate decreases which means your heart is beating slower.

3.   It can help to decrease the amount of the stress hormone, called plasma cortisol that is produced by your body.

4.   It can decrease your pulse rate.

5.   It can increase a brain wave stimulation that causes you to relax.  This is called your EEG or electroencephalograph alpha which is directly associated with the body’s ability to relax

6.   Probably the most astonishing physical experience to the body is the decrease in your metabolic rate, or the rate at which your body takes fuel and burns it for energy.  This rate seemed to have dropped by some 20 percent in those that had otherwise normal metabolic rates. 

Yet, not just physical changes happen during meditation.  In addition, your body enters into a state of profound rest, rest that goes beyond that of any other stage of consciousness you could be in.

During this time, your mind and your brain are extremely alert and in tune.  This has been shown through medical experiments as well.  Patients were told to meditate while their brain’s activity was monitored.

During these tests, there were indications that your brain was in a state called “restful alertness” where it was completely and extremely alert but calm and focused. 

It has also been shown in the way that your body reacts to various stimuli.  For example, most individuals experience stimulations that allow them to be faster in movements.  They may be more creative as well.  Some are able to comprehend at a higher level after they’ve meditated as well.

As mentioned, the body’s metabolic rate also drops, which means that you don’t eat nearly as much as you should.  Patients that have been monitored during one specific technique of meditation known as Transcendental meditation, called TM for short, had metabolic rates that dropped below that of those that were in a deep sleep pattern.

Your heart rate will drop by several beats each minute as well as your breathing reduces by an average of two breaths for each minute. 

Another result of Transcendental meditation was the effect that it seemed to have on patients and their blood pressure rates.  In those that had normal levels of blood pressure considered healthy, nothing changed and those numbers remained in low numbers.  But, those that started with higher, above average and healthy blood pressure numbers saw a fall in their blood pressure rates.  It fell to a considerably lower level in these patients.

Another area that was tested during this type of meditation is that of the body’s relaxation of its muscles.  This can be hard to measure but during some tests, doctors will administer a very low level of electrical current and monitor the reaction that your body’s muscles have to it.

Individuals that have a fall in their skin’s resistance are known to be people that suffer from tension and anxiety or have high levels of stress.  If you had a rise in your resistance, on the other hand, that means that your muscles are very relaxed. 

Once tested, it was easy to tell how the effects of meditation are.  Those that meditated then had this electrical test down were found to have significantly more relaxed muscles than those that did not.

The Physical Reaction

As you can see, there is a real physical and mental change in the body when you are or have been meditating.  But, doctors want to learn more and often people ask, why meditating has this effect on the body and mind.  For that, let’s explain a bit more.

One of the marked improvements during meditation happens to the individual’s nervous system.  Instead of what normally happens, a different branch of this system takes charge, which it normally does not.  This branch, called the parasympathetic branch, is prone to help relax and calm you and your body.

Another example of what happens to the body is that of the amount of lactate in your blood before and after meditation.  Lactate is a naturally produced substance that is necessary in the body.  It is produced by your metabolism and is done so in the muscles surrounding your skeleton.

When you meditate, this lactate level drops significantly; which therefore causes your metabolic rate to significantly drop, as we mentioned.  In fact, the amount of lactate in your body decreases by some four times the rate that it would if you were lying on your back and had not meditated.

In addition to this, the amount of lactate produced in your body fits the fact that your blood will flow faster and more effectively throughout your body during and after meditation.  Because your blood is flowing faster (in some areas by up to 30 percent!) that means that oxygen is getting to your muscles faster.

When your muscles have an increased amount of oxygen, which they need, they don’t produce nearly the amount of lactate that they would otherwise.  Therefore, meditation helps to increase your blood flow and decrease your metabolic rate.

Are You Sleeping?

Many of the things that happen to your body while you are meditating are actually quite like what happens to the body when you are sleeping.  Your breathing and heart rate drop.  Your body and mind enter a very restful, deep relaxation and enter a very restful, deep relaxation.

But, are you sleeping when you meditate, then?

The question that many face is how your body can be both so relaxed and yet so alert.  You see, when you meditate, your body is extremely alert, not nearly sleeping.

When you are meditating, your body enters a type of rest that is similar to that of deep sleep and/or a hypnotic state.  That’s due to the fact that your body responds to the meditation in all of the ways that we’ve listed which causes the relaxed state to happen.

Behind everything is your ability to tell your mind and your body to relax.  When you enter meditation in a complete manner and these things happen, you’ve learned to access your body’s relaxation response, something that allows you to then control when and how well you can relax.

In addition to this, many doctors and researchers believe that those that meditate also are able to allow their own body to make the right decisions about healing.

There are many theories on how meditation happens and what the real physical and mental change that happens in your body when you meditate is.  What’s important for you to realize, then, is that a physical as well as a mental change happens in your body.  That change is one of serenity and enlightenment, two things that each person should strive to achieve for their ultimate state of mind.