Meditation: Origin, Explanation & Exercise
If there ever was a topic where there is significant confusion this is the topic of Meditation. To add to the confusion, many people claim to be experts without personal experience or formal teaching — even respected publications oftentimes misguide public opinion on what it really is. For example, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English: Meditation means “focus(ing) one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation.”
What I am going to try to do with this post to is to demystify Meditation, talking about its origin, its definition, how you do it and how do you measure success in meditating.
So what is meditation and where did it come from?
Meditation was first mentioned in very ancient scriptures in what is today India, the earliest mentions date back from 1500BCE. The original term was named dhyána. If you want to do a bit of your own research you can find the origin of the term and the concept in this wikipedia page. This page can also lead you to the main page for meditation on wikipedia. It is there that you can witness for yourself the incredible richness of interpretation of this simple technique.
So what is meditation?
One of the best definitions I have encountered of meditation is that it is “linear intuition”; in other words, that it is a technique which allows you to gain access to your intuition at will.
What everyone does agree is that meditating is a personal experience and the only way to understand the process of meditating is to experience it for yourself.
In the DeRose Amsterdam we teach the technique for meditation in our regular classes. While this technique is simple, we must train it to become good, therefore we run additional half hour long sessions in which we train variations of this technique.
So how do you meditate?
The easiest way to get started meditating is to focus on either a symbol or a sound. In order to execute the technique the practitioner will first concentrate on a symbol or a sound for a few moments allowing this exercise of meditating to take its effect.
So let us try to experience this technique with a very short exercise.First we need to be in a position which allows for comfort and which will help you to concentrate. So sit up on your chair or sofa, or better sit down on the floor with your legs crossed. For the remainder of this exercise try to inhale and exhale slowly and deeply using your nostrils exclusively.
Meditation lotus as an object for training the technique of meditation
Observe this image for a few moments and then close your eyes. The imprint of the image should stay in your eyes allowing you to observe the image even with your eyes closed.
For the next two minutes simply focus on this image, without judgment and without analysis. observe this image almost as if you were a two year old who is seeing it for the first time and contemplates this image.
There!
Was it easy? Hard? Did your mind wander and wonder? Did you think of the bills you have to pay, of the temperature of the air or any other mundane thing? That was your mind trying to distract you. Don’t worry, stay disciplined and try again tomorrow. Training is the key. If you want to learn more about this or you want to talk about your experience just send us your comment on the box below and we can connect.