Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Why Meditate?

So meditate? What's the point after all?

First, meditation is a direct path to your undying Self. Your God-self. What keeps you from direct realization of Self is the ego which falsely identifies as Self. It's your monkey mind with all of it's attachments and aversions tearing you away from the very freedom you already are.

Think of your mind as a turbulent pond. Your thoughts, the wind, whipping the pond into a frenzy of waves. Meditation is like calming that wind and settling that pond. Eventually the pond becomes crystal clear and you can see what's underneath.

Meditation is fantastic for that body you're using to explore the world you created. A myriad of studies have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals touting the health-benefits of meditation. Lowering cholesterol and blood-pressure, lowering the stress hormones like cortisol, lowering stress. When you stop allowing your mind to beat yourself up - the body follows.

Meditation should be fun, and never a chore. And it's also counterproductive to look at it as an escape. You do not need to spend 7 hours a day in formal sitting meditation to reach enlightenment - you're already there.

Don't know how to meditate? Here is a simple, yet profoundly powerful method that you can use for just 3-10 minutes a day.