UPDATED: Thoughts on...

Meditation. Is it some new age solution to stress? Some far out mystical method of prayer? Perhaps it's a cult ritual? Do I have to dress up in a robe and chant... what does it really mean?

Often when I research a topic, I gloss over several sources to find it's inner meaning. It's underlying principles in order to achieve a level of holistic comprehension. This comprehension I seek allows me to make an informed decision about what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and what value, if any there in the process. I do this because I want to find my own way... I don't want to go to Joe blows school of meditation, then preach how good Joe Blow is and how everyone and their brother should sign up or they're missing out. No. I don't like that... simply because it's close minded and limited. I prefer to think in terms of the unlimited, the obtainable, the reachable by all. The lowest common denominator, the core, the root, the basics. I want to understand the foundations and principles surrounding what I'm researching, so I can discover what interests me, and what will work. If I spend all my time at Joe blows school, then I won't even know what I'm missing.

I don't turn down ideas, I don't shut off my mind when I hear about other perspectives, and I try to accept all ideas and relate them to my already proven and understood concepts within my own belief system. I take these new ideas and find their roots, their principles and attempt to link them back to my own understanding of what is. We all do this to some degree, but I make it a conscious process, and thus advance much quicker because of it.

So... on the topic of meditation... what is it really? Well in my opinion and from my own experience, it is a way to quiet the mind, subduing the ego, and allowing a different aspect of self to take over and provide insight. Sounds difficult? Not really. How long does it take? Short answer is... as long as you want.

Rules of engagement:

1) Keeping your eyes open: I typically keep my eyes open, but sometimes I'll close them if I'm meditating for longer periods of time. Keeping your eyes open tends to ward off sleep... which is a by product of the deep relaxation that comes from meditation.

2) Consciously relax every muscle in your body, by thinking of each one, starting from your toes. Then by relaxing each muscle group as you work your way up the body, including the muscles in your face, you're preparing your body one of the meditation methods mentioned below.

3) Breath deeply. Take a deep breath in and count to 7 in your mind, filling up your belly first, then your lungs and expanding your chest. Hold that breath for another 7 seconds. Then release that breath slowly, and in a controlled manor for the next 7 seconds. This prepares the mind and oxygenates the blood, allowing a state of euphoria to emerge. This is a meditation in and of itself. Now try to stand up really straight, as if a rope is connected to your spine, and comes out the top of your head. Imagine someone is holding you so erect, that you're like a puppet. Notice that it's much easier to stand this way, as opposed to using a variety of stabilizer muscles to hold together your bad posture. Notice how your body gently rests on the cushions between your bones, and how standing really takes no effort at all when you do it properly. Now in addition, try to take in the environment all around you with your eyes. Use your peripheral vision, and try to focus on the outer most reaches of your sight, on both the left and right side of your view. Really focus on extending your perception with your peripheral vision, not focusing on anything in particular that would be directly in front of you. By doing this, you are effectively meditating, as well as connecting with the master within, the natural part of who you are. From this place of power, and authenticity, your next action will be serene, peaceful, and meaningful, regardless of what your next action or thought happens to be.

The Methodology:

1) Stare method: I can stare and fixate my eyes on anything, especially while they are open, as if I'm looking right through it. As I do this, I breath, and suddenly my awareness spreads throughout my body. I'm now noticing my clothing, or the pressure on my legs when I sit, or a subtle itch... what have you. Pay these things no attention, and just stare. For as long as you can handle it... I typically stare for 10 - 60 seconds at a time. This is like giving your brain a mini break. Don't worry if your ego (or your inner voice) pops in with a question or a thought... just acknowledge that you're thought came, and let it pass... do this for 60 seconds, or whenever your brain needs a rest. This is the easiest form of meditation, and the one I use most frequently. Very helpful in meetings, and actually allows you to tap into a deeper level of insight.

2) Visualization method: Similar to day dreaming, where the only difference is your intention here is to create a scene from memory with focused concentration, as opposed to the random memory retrieval processes of mind. Let's try it. Imagine a time in your life where you were extremely happy. A childhood Christmas, the moment you fell in love for the first time. Now recall the textures around you, recall the smells, the tastes, the sounds of that place. Relive that moment, own that moment, and see it like as clearly as a movie in your minds eye. Select any moment you wish, and play that movie back if you like, watching the scene over and over again. Or changing it in some way shape or form, molding it with your imagination. If you can create random scenery, and enrich them with as much detail as you would with one of your precious moments of memory, then you have mastered visualization. Making the concept of day dreaming a moot point.

3) The GAP method: Say this with your minds voice. I AM. Now elongate the time between you say the word I... and the word AM. Example. I AM. Now again, elongate the time between the words... I AM. Try to work your way up to 3 - 5 seconds between the word... I... and AM. Do this now. This time spent in the "void" or the "GAP" between thoughts is meditation. The longer you stay there, the more you're meditating... and the longer you stay there the more you're body will become in tune with it, and you'll reap all of the benefits of meditation.

4) 3D MAGIC EYE: One of my favourite and inconspicuous, yet intriguing methods of mediation. 3D Magic eye pictures have computer generated random dot stereography embedded within the image. This causes one to view a 3D picture when viewing the image, while using a converged method of vision, inversely you can also view the image by diverging your eyes, thus making the 3D object seem like it's inside out. This is not only a form of visual exercise, which aids vision, and strengthens sight, it is also proven (through EEG scans, or brain wave scans), that the brain goes into a meditative state while viewing 3D magic art. This is the same state that pro athletes, or Zen Archers are in when they're reaching peak performance levels, otherwise known as being in "the zone", or being in the now (fully). So whatever form of meditation you use, you are effectively "zoning out." http://www.magiceye.com/ or try http://www.vision3d.com/ for more info.

What ARE the benefits... why do we even bother with it?

1) If you subscribe to metaphysical theory. It is in this void of thought, in this realm of peace, in this GAP within you that you will tap into all of the esoteric aspects, or quantum aspects of human processing. It is there that you will receive flashes of insight, messages from beyond, or whatever you desire. This is also a place to create, and to simply be.

2) Neurologically, the brain vibrates at certain frequencies depending on your state of awareness. An example would be the frequency vibrating when you're sleeping, or when you're awake (Details of this are in my book.). When you're within the Delta state of awareness, or deep sleep, that is when you're body's autonomic system starts up and rebuilds muscles, performs diagnostics, and replenishes itself. Going into a meditative state, forces your brain into a different state of awareness and consciousness, thus engaging the subconscious and it's autonomic response mechanisms.

3) Relaxation. As stated above, the relaxation aspect of mind will reduce the chemical imbalances of stress, which reduces aging, sickness, and strengthens your immune system.

4) Expands your awareness/consciousness. Meditation is a key approach to expanding your awareness and consciousness. It is within the "void" or the "GAP" that you will perceive deeper states of reality, and will thus reap the benefits of that understanding.

5) Much much more. Meditation is the experiential side of spirituality. Meditation provides you with an experience of "God", or the universe, or the Collective Consciousness, or whatever your would like to call that aspect of reality which is eternal, loving, and forever changing... in other words... life. It allows you to expand your awareness, and understand the beauty in the silence. It allows you to get in touch with that part of yourself that knows the way, and can guide you through the more difficult times in your life. It can help you observe yourself more fully, your thought patterns, your cravings, your desires, and allows you to form a perspective regarding your perspective on life. Understand that you are your own best friend, your own best guru, master, hero, savior, teacher, and source of truth. Armed with that understanding, meditation will allow you to fine tune your connection, and tap into the unlimited energy of life which resides within you, especially through specific visualization exercises.