What is Meditation?
Meditation is a method by which you can get to know yourself – your thoughts, sensations, feelings, behaviour patterns and attitudes – better than you ever thought possible. Some Buddhist teachers describe meditation as a process of making friends with yourself. Instead of turning our attention outwards to other people or other events, we turn our gaze backwards inwards.
We know that our minds are constantly influenced – by our childhood experiences, by our environment, by the direct and subliminal messages of the media, and so on. All these forms of programming shape the mind in one way or another and exert a long-term influence on our actions, thoughts and speech.
Through meditation it is possible to overcome the effects of negative programming. Instead of destructive habits such as fear, frustration and stress, through meditation we can experience positive states of mind such as trust, loving compassion, wisdom, contentment and ‘flow’.
Buddhist masters like to remind us that one’s mind can be either one’s worst enemy or one’s best friend. When it is driven by negative thinking, it becomes the worst enemy. However, when we are able to “decelerate” our mind through meditation, to get our constantly circling thoughts quiet, to let go of our worries and fears and focus only on pure being, then our mind becomes our best friend.
Then the time will come when we will be able to deal calmly and confidently with even seemingly difficult situations.
Would you like to learn to meditate? Coaching for body, mind and soul and/or meditation and awareness seminar