BEGINNING YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY. Part 2 of 5

Throughout this blog series, you will discover opportunities to experiment with many of these approaches, as well as the extensive direction in the practice of one, in particular, mindfulness, which begins with your breath and then extends your meditation to every moment of your life.

What do you see when you reach the pinnacle of the meditation mountain? Suppose you believe the accounts of the meditators and mystics who have climbed the mountain before you. In that case, you may be sure that the summit contains the wellspring of all love, knowledge, pleasure, and joy. Some refer to it as spirit or soul, real nature or true self, fundamental truth, or source of existence (or just being itself). Others call it God, the Divine, the Holy Mystery, or simply the One. It has about as many names as there are people who have experienced it. And other spiritual traditions see it as so sacred and powerful that they are hesitant to call it. When it comes to the summit experience, seasoned meditators utilise terms like enlightenment (from ignorance), waking (from a dream), liberation (from bondage), freedom (from restriction), and unity (with God or being).

An old proverb compares all these words and names to fingers pointing to the moon. If you focus too much on the finger, you might miss the beautiful moon, which is why you're using the finger in the first place. Finally, you must go to the moon — or, in this instance, the top — for yourself. Of course, you may be uninterested in high moods and experiences such as enlightenment or unity. Perhaps you visited this blog because you wish to reduce stress, improve your recovery, or deal with your emotions. Forget about the Holy Mystery; a bit more clarity and peace of mind would be okay with you! The fact is that no matter how far up the mountain you wish to travel, you'll always take the same road. The core steps stay the same, but you can select your destination. The following are some of the most popular rest stops and capes on the way to the summit:

·         Increased attention and concentration

·         Reduced anxiety, stress, and tension

·         More clarity of thought and less emotional stress

·         Reduce your blood pressure and cholesterol.

·         Assistance in overcoming addictions and other self-defeating habits

·         Increased creativity and performance at work and play

·         Improved self-awareness and acceptance

·         More happiness, love, and spontaneity

·         Increased closeness with friends and family

·         Increased happiness, satisfaction, and subjective well-being

·         A more profound feeling of meaning and purpose

·         Observations of a spiritual dimension of existence.

As you can see, these rest stops are prominent destinations in their own right, and they are all well worth visiting. After you've lowered your stress, improved your health, and experienced higher general well-being, you might be willing to stop halfway up the mountain. Alternatively, you may be encouraged to strive for the greater heights described by the great meditators.

The flavour of fresh mountain water to expand on the mountain metaphor, envision a spring at the peak that gushes forth pure water of being and never runs dry. (Depending on your orientation, you may want to name it  grace water, spirit water, or unconditional love water.) Those who reach the peak can dive into the pool that surrounds the spring and immerse themselves in the water. Some even merge with the sea and become one with being itself. (Don't be concerned. If you don't want to join, you won't!) But you don't have to get to the summit to taste pure existence. Water cascades down the mountain in streams and creeks, nourishing the farmland and cities below. In other words, you can taste being everywhere since being is the substance that keeps life running on all levels. However, you may not know what being tastes like until you begin meditating.

Although many ordinary people now meditate, the practice was not always so accessible. For decades, monks, nuns, mystics, and travelling ascetics kept it hidden, utilising it to attain higher levels of awareness and eventually reach the summit of their respective paths. Highly motivated laypeople with spare time could always pick up a few techniques. However, rigorous meditation practice remained a sacred pursuit limited to an elite few willing to renounce the world and devote their lives to it. What a difference a generation makes! Meditation has become mainstream, with its practical benefits lauded in every medium, both actual and virtual, since Beat Zen in the 1950s and the influx of Indian yogis and swamis in the 1960s. Meditation has been extensively researched in psychology laboratories, measured with fMRI machines, and reduced to formulas such as the Relaxation Response. Nonetheless, it has never lost touch with its spiritual roots. Indeed, meditation works so well because it links you with a spiritual dimension, which I call simply being.

Meditation brings you closer to the source of the water and teaches you how to discern its flavour. (People use different phrases to describe the taste of the water depending on their personality and where they are on the mountain, such as serenity, peace, well-being, wholeness, clarity, and compassion.) It makes no difference where you're going or stopping along the road; you still get to dip your hands in the water of being and taste it yourself. Then you'll be able to discover the flavour of being everywhere you go!

There is no place like home - and you've already made it! I've built the metaphor of the mountain throughout this blog. Still, I'm going to tear it down with a single sweep of my hand. Yes, the journey of meditation, like climbing a mountain, demands consistent work and application. However, this metaphor conceals some significant paradoxes:

Come back tomorrow for part 3.

Be well.

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