Meditation

I have heard about the benefits of meditation for decades. It’s possible that I first heard about it when the Beatles went to India to expand their minds. I thought that was what acid was for. Maybe I knew about meditation earlier, but I would have probably laughed if someone suggested that I actually meditate.

 

Years later, Louise and I joined the Institute of Mind Awareness which was one of those new age organizations that promised to take you to a higher spiritual level. The catch was that they could teach you the basics, but ultimately you had to do the work and polish your own soul to a high gloss. The people were all like minded individuals that cared about the state of the world and were convinced that by improving ourselves we would improve the world. I was pretty much perfect to start with so I had less distance to travel than all of the others.

 

One of the things we learned was active meditation. All of the other New Age groups were stuck with plain old meditation where you just sat there, trying to empty your mind and in the process finding the key to a near perfect life. Active meditation taught you to consciously take yourself into a beta or delta level from which it is easier to access the universe. You would focus on the things needed to help yourself or others and in your mental workshop you would work on them. To tell the truth, it was actually pretty effective if you were able to keep focused on the internal and ignore the external. I have always had some trouble staying focused for any length of time.

Lately I have been thinking that I should start to meditate again as there are a few things about myself that could do with a little work. I may try the active meditation again, but first I’d like to give passive meditation a shot. I am older and have less going on in my life to distract me when I attempt to empty my mind. I have never been clear if when in a meditative state, should I be able to hear sounds? Should my ass hurt from being in one place for so long? What do I do about an itchy nose? Those colours that dance in front of my closed eyes can be pretty distracting.

Last night, I tried to meditate and I was pretty successful. I decided that I could rid myself of all visual stimulation if I was in a darkened room. Instead of sitting in the lotus position (impossible for me) I would lay down on my back with my arms at my side. Instead of being on the hard floor I lay down on the bed which had the added benefit of keeping me warm when I pulled the covers over me. I began to breathe deeply and regularly and before you know it I was in a deep meditative state. I stayed there for approximately eight hours and when I brought myself back to a fully conscious state I was well rested and feeling as if a new day had dawned.

 

I think I will continue to meditate every night. There are far fewer distractions.