Meditation Ideas

Oh Divine Master, Creator of us all,
Thank you for the opportunity to learn about your great work in our lives.  We are excited to learn more and experience the power of your divine spirit presence in each of our lives.  Your presence opens up unlimited possibilities of unconditional love, peace, healing and abundance.  We are open to and we are listening for your Divine Guidance.  We give thanks for your continued blessings in our lives.

Amen

We hope you will find this page useful in helping you on your path of meditation.  Below are the topics discussed:

• What is meditation?
  
• How do I meditate?
  
• What is a Mantra or Mantram ?
  
• What are the benefits of Meditation?
  

• What is meditation?
  There are different ways or styles of meditation, many of which have some practices in common. Meditation involves coming to a stillness of spirit and a stillness of body. The extraordinary thing is that, in spite of all the distractions of the modern world, this silence is perfectly possible for all of us. To attain this silence and stillness we have to devote time, energy and love. The purpose of mediation is to release or let go of our outer selves, surroundings and activities and connect with our spirit selves and the one true power in the universe. Remember in prayer and meditation, We meditate to be closer to God or the Divine not to move God to our way of thinking. Meditation is what the early Christians called pure prayer. It is a gift of such staggering proportions that we must respond to it gradually, gently. When we begin we cannot fully understand the sheer magnificence and wonder of it. Each time we return to meditate we enter into that reality a little more deeply, a little more faithfully. Because meditation leads us into the experience of love at the centre of our being, it makes us more loving people in our ordinary lives and relationships. Eknath Easwaran is a wonderful spiritual teacher. He was born into a Hindu family in south India. He was raised by his mother and grandmother, whom he calls his spiritual teacher. In later years, while meditating earnestly, he followed a successful career as a writer and teacher. He was chairman of the English department of universities in India and Berkeley CA. In Berkeley he established the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation. He wrote about and taught mediation until his death in 1999. Here is one of the particularly beautiful quotes about meditation from Eknath Easwaran. We all appear to be separate, different colors, sizes, tastes, beliefs and ideas. These apparent differences are what make up our ego our outer selves. Underneath the outer self, deep within is our infinite, ever perfect one-self or spiritual being. Many times we forget to look within at our true selves. The Lord, our spiritual being, will not allow us to forget our one-self and calls us to him. To find him, we must look deep within ourselves through the practice of meditation. When we succeed, our purpose in life will be fulfilled, and all our anger against others will melt into unfathomable love, all our fear into unshakable security. The great mystics of all religions refer to this state as union with the Lord. Gurumayi Chidvilasananda spiritual leader of the Siddah Yoga movment says this about meditation: When you meditate, the silence of the senses illumines the presence of God within. Meditation is the practice of turning our attention inward. Meditation beckons us to unravel the greatest mystery of life -- that in this human form, we are also divine. When we still the mind in meditation we are drawn, like bees to honey, to the presence of God within. Touching this truth, our restlessness ceases and we are flooded with a sense of our own perfection and divinity. People like to meditate for a number of different reasons, and they are all quite valid. First of all, I think it's the number-one best relaxer. When you begin to still the mind and become quiet in your body, you feel a sort of "giving away" of all stress. Then, as you go a little deeper in meditation, right below the surface level of the mind there is a place of great tranquility and peace and love. I find if you can touch that just for a moment, the peace and love of that state infuse your whole being. So when you come out of meditation, you re-meet the world from an optimal place. And then as you go deeper, you come to a place of great inspiration, the place from which great writers write and great thinkers think and great musicians compose music. That's all within us, that capacity. And ultimately, in the deepest level of meditation, you come to touch the divine energy that has created the whole universe. You begin to feel oneness with the great power of this universe, and there the inner mysteries, the answers to the big questions -- Who am I? What am I supposed to do here? What is a human being -- are answered.
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• How do I meditate?
  Meditation is not an exotic, difficult practice that requires chanting, navel gazing or sitting in the lotus position. In fact, if you've repeatedly said a prayer or gazed for a while at something like the ocean or a campfire ? You are well on your way to know how to meditate. Many try to meditate at the same time every day, which is a good habit. Meditation is a wonderful way to begin your day. It is also a nice practice to read spiritual literature and to repeat a mantram at bedtime as you prepare to go to sleep. It is recommended that you find a quiet place to mediate, perhaps a special place in your home that you use for your meditation retreat. You can however, meditate anytime and anywhere. The practice of mediation will help you grow in patience, security and wisdom. There are several body positions people use to mediate including sitting comfortably upright, sitting cross legged or a lotus style position, kneeling or laying down. (Be cautious when lying down, as you can tend to go to sleep) I like a sitting postion either crossed legged or with my feet on the floor. I've found that keeping my spine straight helps me stay focused and keeps me in a state of awakeness. When sitting imagine yourself supported by a string hanging from the ceiling and connected to the top of your head. Breathing is an important part of mediation. In God's word Breath is an interpretation for Spirit. Breathe slowly and deeply through you nose so that the air completely fills your lungs ? expanding your abdomen and chest cavity. Then exhale slowly through your nose or mouth, contracting your abdominal muscles at the end of the exhalation to expel the air from your lungs. In your chosen meditation posture, with your eyes gently closed, inhale and exhale through the nose slowly, smoothly and deeply. As you breathe in, imagine you are breathing in the spirit of God. When you exhale, you are releasing all negative thoughts and emotions not associated with the Divine spirit. Allow your body to be still. Mentally travel through your body leading yourself through a brief relaxation exercise, feel each major muscle group become soft and relaxed as you move progressively down the body from the crown of the head to your toes. Again there are different ways to meditate. Some people prefer complete silence while others like to listen to soft meditative music in the background. You may choose to recite and repeat a spiritual verse or mantra or listen to guided meditations ( see Meditation CDs ) and allow yourself to be enfolded in the music and spirit inspired verse.
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• What is a Mantra or Mantram ?
  A mantram or mantra, as it is often called is a powerful spiritual formula, which, when repeated silently in the mind, has the capacity to transform consciousness. There is nothing magical about this; it is simply a matter of Practice. The mantra is a short, powerful spiritual formula for the highest power we can conceive of whether we call it GOD, the ultimate reality, or the Self within. Whatever name we use, with the mantra we are calling up what is best and deepest in ourselves. The mantra has appeared in every major spiritual tradition, West and East, because it fills a deep universal need of the human heart. Select a mantra that appeals to you. Every religious tradition has a mantra often more than one. You don?t have to subscribe to religion to benefit from the mantra you simply have to be willing to use your mantra. For Christian the name of Jesus itself is a powerful mantra. "Ma-ra-na-tha." (Say it as four equally-stressed syllables). It is an Aramaic word (which is the language that Jesus spoke) and it means "Come, Lord." It is found in the Scriptures and is one of the earliest prayers in the Christian tradition. Catholics sometimes use Hail Mary or Ave Maria. Muslims use the name of Allah or Alluahu akbar. Probably the oldest Buddhist mantra is Om mani padme hum. Among the many choices of Hinduism is Rama Rama, which was Mahatma Gandhi's Mantram. Om namah Shivaya is another Hindu mantra especially popular in South India. My personal favorite is - There is only God? The mantram is most effective when repeated silently in the mind. You don't have to chant it aloud and it doesn't require any fixed times or place or special equipment like drums and chimes. Repeat your mantram silently whenever you get a chance: while walking, while waiting, while doing chores or when you are falling asleep. You will find that this is not mindless repetition; the mantra will help to keep you relaxed and alert during the day and when you can fall asleep with it it will go on working throughout the night. Whenever your are angry or afraid, nervous or worried or resentful, repeat your mantra until peace prevails. The mantra works to steady the mind and all emotions running against you which the mantra can harness and put to work for you. As a matter of fact I was using my mantra before the beginning of this service to calm my nerves.
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• What are the benefits of Meditation?
  Let's talk about some of the health benefits of meditation. These days plumbers are sitting cross-legged and chanting Om. Ask around and you'll find firefighters, mothers, mechanics and nurses are turning to the ancient practice to address the stress and strains of a hectic life. The number of people who practice transcendental meditation, which is one of several techniques is estimated to be 1.5 million in this country including 6000 physicians. In fact the National Institute of Health has given an $8 million grant to the College of Vedic Medicine to study natural healing modalities including meditation. Americans are embracing meditation for reasons that go far beyond stress relief. We are using it to manage heart disease, relieve migraine headaches and chronic pain, even for cancer treatment. Meditation first attracted scientific attention in the US in the late 60's and early 70's when Harvard Medical School cardiologist Herbert Benson began training Heart patients in the technique. As their blood pressure and stress plummeted, the doctor became so impressed he chronicled his findings in a book The Relaxation Response. Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Bernie Siegel have also been big advocates of the power of meditation as it relates to healing. In my own experience in 1996, I was faced with a brain tumor the size of a golf ball. I believe mediation not only helped me deal with the stress, it led me to the right doctors. The tumor was found to be non-cancerous and after a 10 hour surgery, I was out of the hospital in 4 days. I urge you all to try to make a daily habit of meditation and using your mantras. It is a true God connection. Like any habit it's not always easy to begin on a regular basis but once you start, you'll miss the days you don?t meditate.
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