The Real Meaning of Meditation

Today, some people use the word meditate to refer to thinking something through carefully, others to refer to sitting in silence. The word is used very commonly and loosely. However, meditation (dhyana) is not any of these.


Turning inward

Meditation is a technique for resting the mind. In meditation, you are fully awake and alert, but you don’t focus on the external. In our education, we are taught how to behave in the outer world, but we are rarely taught how to turn inward. We don’t really know ourselves, so there’s this constant feeling of discomfort, disappointment, sadness, or frustration. When we learn to look inwards, we give ourselves a chance to attain the highest of all joys that can ever be experienced by a human being.


Cultivating stillness

First, you learn how to relax in your meditative posture. Meditation is the art and science of letting go, and this letting go begins with the body. Once the body is free of tension, it progresses to thoughts. You bring your full attention to one object, let it be your breath. Experience it in an open and accepting way. Do not judge or attempt to control it. Hundreds of thoughts may come before you and each thought will call forth some further response. Instead of immediately reacting to all of them, simply become aware of them. Meditation teaches you to attend to what is taking place within without reacting, and this makes all the difference. It’s not the thoughts themselves that disturb you, but your reaction to them.


Paying attention

Meditation brings you freedom from the mind and all the confusion. By no means it doesn’t aim to detach you from the world. It aims to establish your solid foundation of inner peace. Usually, you react to life experiences in the same way that you react to your thoughts. Your mood depends on what comes before you, so your life is like a roller coaster ride. You react before you have fully experienced what you are reacting to. You immediately interpret what you see or hear according to your expectation, fears, prejudices, or resistances. If you apply the principle of meditation to experiences that come before you, you can fully attend to what is taking place. In this way meditation is very therapeutic. It not only leads to inner balance and stability, it also exposes your inner complexes, your immaturities, your unproductive reflexes and habits. You can give them your full attention.


Signs of progress

Meditation practice takes commitment. Have patience. If you sow a seed today, you don’t reap the fruit tomorrow, but eventually you will. Some of the most important benefits of meditation come gradually over time and are not dramatic or easily observed. At first you may see progress in terms of physical relaxation and emotional calmness. Persist in your practice. Then you are free to experience the joy of being fully present, here and now.

Inspired by: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/the-real-meaning-of-meditation

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