Why Meditate?

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Meditation is an ancient practice with a wide array of applications ranging from physical to transcendental. Even in today's digital world, many industry leaders are openly attributing their success in part to a daily mindfulness and meditation practice. 

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When I speak of meditation, I am referring to the practice of deeply arriving into the Infinitely Present Moment through silence, awareness and breath.

 

Meditation is a space of deep relaxation: a coming home to the

silent spaciousness at the foundation of our being; an internal journey

to the ever-present sense of "home" within each of us. 

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As humans, we are constantly directing our attention outwards. And understandably so, since this is where we engage the three dimensional reality of Creation. But sometimes in doing so, we become painfully disconnected from the silent spaciousness that exists within us. We are composed of both the physical and the subtle, and to ignore one is to limit our capacity to fully experience either. 

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Our minds are often so painfully rowdy and untrained that initial attempts at silent internalization can be thwarted by a cacophony of chaos.

 

The Tibetans say that the nature of the human mind is like a drunk monkey that has been stung by a scorpion: an erratic, super-charged force that evades most attempts at control.

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And yet obviously the mind is not our enemy: it serves an incredibly valuable function in our survival and our capacity to effectively utilize our creative power. But, as any sage will tell you, it makes a wonderful servant and a lousy master. 

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The chaos of the mind is exaggerated when the nervous system spends an unhealthy amount of time in its Sympathetic ("fight, flight or freeze ") mode, and not enough time receiving the balancing effects of its counterpart, the Parasympathetic ("rest & digest ") mode. Unhealed trauma, intense psychic sensitivity, and even just existing in our hyper-stimulated modern Western society can all keep the nervous system in a stressed and imbalanced state. Prolonged experiences of stress and anxiety both feed and arise from the over-stimulation of the Sympathetic nervous system. 

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This is where the practice of meditation comes in. Through various techniques of focus, we learn to train the mind and reclaim our rightful place as its master. And through deep, measured breathing, we engage the Parasympathetic nervous system, allowing its regenerative power to relax and restore our taxed nervous system. We are creating space for the body's natural healing mechanism to function.

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Many people are intimidated by the idea of meditation. "Wait-- me?! Sit quietly? You don't understand how my mind works. It won't shut up!" While meditation can be challenging at first, with even 5 minutes a day of committed, consistent, and proper practice, you will be surprised at how quickly it becomes something incredibly enjoyable, like a subtle internal massage. We become able to not only calm the mind, but also alter our relationship to it (and to life) from one of reactive combatant to empowered observer. And from this space, it becomes easier and more natural to live life from a state of intentional engagement instead of knee-jerk reactivity. 

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