My relationship with meditation has been an on-again off-again sort of thing. I began meditating long before I truly understood what I was doing.
From a young age, I was able to calm myself to the point that my entire being was focused inside. My breathing slowed and my inner self floated in an empty space. Time passed beyond me. I reached a trance or meditative state fairly easily.
As I aged, it became harder to empty my mind. I stopped practicing, busy with teenage things and friends.
In High School, after a dramatic experience that gave me the bedrock of my faith, I began reading more books on Wicca, Paganism, Earth religions, Druids, and many others. I began to quest for information. A variety of subjects caught my eye. Crystals (uses), Candles (making and using for Wiccan rituals), Meditation, Tarot, Lucid Dreaming, Out-of-Body experiences, Pendulum, palmistry, dream interpretation. Of the many subjects I read about, I was most focused on meditation and dream interpretation, tarot cards and Pendulum, Lucid Dreaming.
Focusing on meditation, I began deliberately trying to reach a meditative trance. Though difficult at first, I gradually was able to reliably reach trance state. At that point, I began broadening my horizons. First, I began changing where and when I meditated, practicing reaching that state with noises and movements making it more difficult.
This last year, I purchased a book called “8 Minute Meditation: Quiet Your Mind. Change Your Life.” by Victor Davich. It details a number of different methods for meditation. I began using the different methods, slowly working on the ability to let distractions and intrusions fade away – float across the emptiness.
At this point in my life, I am able to drop into a meditative state within a few minutes, although there are times when distraction still overwhelms me.
Looking back at this post, I have gotten off topic. I am going to write more about meditation. I want to examine my goals – why I focus so much on my meditation. I also want to examine the different methods and recommendations from different authors – and compare them with the real life.
So, my goals for meditation.
1. Health benefits: I meditate when I am badly stressed, which helps calm and release the physical effects of the stress. Although many healthful benefits have been suggested, I have seen little proof of those. My own empirical tests lead me to believe that the health benefits of meditation include stress relief, pain relief, and a greater understanding of your body’s natural state (which helps you determine if something in out of whack). My goal is to gain a greater understanding of the health benefits of meditation.
2. Mental Benefits: Clarity of thought, Greater understanding of myself and my abilities. My goal is to find peace and understanding in myself.
I will be posting more on Meditation, techniques and benefits. If you guys like this topic, let me know – I will try to make it a once-a-month series.
Next week, I will begin discussing Dreaming – both precognitive and lucid.
