The Role of Meditation

Meditation is not something you ‘do’ it is a state of being. Ultimately it could be described as samadi, when you are with yourself, as much as when you are with your thoughts as when you are in silence.

Being present in this single moment is meditation.

Being fully occupied in what ever you are doing is meditation. 

Being fully present in your body is meditation.

Meditation is the state of being with yourself, with your breath.

Meditation is not emptying your mind of all thoughts simply to escape them as if they are something to be feared It is a technique to help develop Samadhanam, one- pointedness the ability to maintain discipline and concentration of the mind.  Meditation is a tool to use on the pathway to understanding the true nature of your thoughts for your thoughts will always be there, we need them.

If you are always fearful of your thoughts, not recognising that the thoughts in themselves are innocent, that it is your false attachment to them that creates your fear and angst, trying to block them will only give them more energy. Remember the more you think about it the bigger it becomes, you amplify the negativity and unrest, the mind becomes even more cluttered. Instead let your meditation be the study, the observation of ones self.

Detach from the thinker and become the observer. You can apply meditation to everything you do in life. It is the act of being present. In stilling the flurry of thoughts and coming back to your natural place of existence, silence.

Hanging out the washing can be a meditation, the touch of the clothes in your hands, the feel of the action of hanging them on the line, the sky, the lawn, whatever is around you, be present, become the seer, the feeler, the hearer. Painting a bedroom wall can be a meditation. Making dinner can be a meditation.

When you bring your presence to this moment you experience the miracle of being present. When we bring presence to our being absolutely everything in our life can be a meditation. And being present brings us to that state of being where we feel at peace, calm, joyous, serene, beautiful. Where we become conscious of the miracle of this life.

At the beginning of every yoga class I include this invocation:

Breathing in my body opens expansive and light

Breathing out I draw inwards, releasing letting go

Dwelling in this present moment

I know this is the only moment.

In this single moment you are with your self, in this single moment there is no fear, or anxiety, no chaos and no problems. You open your mind to a higher level of consciousness, this is the reality of your being.

The state of your mind in unconsciousness is falsified, its total existence is coloured with stories and creations, mostly destructive or negative in their nature. You cannot find your self with a mind that is corrupted. Silencing your mind allows you to rise above the existing false limitations of the mind.

Namaste