Attaining Bliss By way of Meditation

Generally there is only one way  to achieve happiness.That way is to merely be happy.You probably are thinking at this time exactly “how do I get to be happy.” “Things just do not operate like that, it doesn’t take into consideration the times in which I am miserable simply because of difficulties or problems that come up in my daily life, not to mention the disasters.”

At this point I have to stop and do some meditation.  You will discover that meditation can be done via numerous different approaches, and you must simply find the particular one which works most beneficially for your own purposes.

Staying happy significantly more than you normally do is an extremely challenging task to accomplish – and I don’t mean the mere act of doing it.

However, I say that with meditation you can do it.The path that you selected that has led to your present circumstances was not a couple of days or months in the creating, but a long and strenuous path that has spanned numerous years.

In reality it’s probably taken you decades to grow to be the way you are right now.Takng the time to meditate and think about who you are,and exactly if what you have in your life is truly what you want,

In the event that you happen to be totally fulfilled with the way your life is moving, congratulations – do a lot more of what you’ve already been performing and you will get much more of what you already have within your life.

But if who you might be, what you would like, what you have, and your current circumstances tend to be less compared to what you want or perhaps are so different from exactly what you would like,you have to begin meditating about some fundamental changes you will need to create.

Inability to make those changes will mean you continuing to look for the things you truly would like within your life as the years pass by.

Simply because some of this which you are reading will appear impossible, ridiculous,or perhaps even unreasonable. And it may initially upset you,causing you to make fun of what you might be reading and maybe even trigger you to reject what you might have read.

I suggest to you that before you reject exactly how meditation can help you in your daily life, ask yourself whether or not you need it to be true – then for your benefit please give yourself the chance to discover it to be worthwhile.

In this day and time with all the things we have to deal with in our lives, it can be really hard to stay on a positive level and be happy all the time, However, by simply taking a couple of minutes a day just meditating can help you to keep things in perspective.  The alternative of becoming more  miserable as you consider your circumstances, when you could discover the way of meditation to find contentment is too horrific.

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Watching Your Emotions during Meditation

It is quite common to experience strong emotions during meditation. If you are by nature an emotional person this may not be a problem for you because you are used to experiencing high levels of feeling, but if you are a cool, unemotional type who is used to keeping their feelings in check, coming face-to-face with your emotions may be a shock. Be prepared for this eventuality.

Rather than being caught up and pushed around by our emotions so that they overwhelm or govern us, through meditation we can learn to observe our emotions and then to understand their nature and to discover why they are occurring. In these ways, we can learn to manage our lives more calmly and rationally, not by turning our feelings on and off at will, but by becoming more aware of them and understanding how best to encounter them and respond to them.

Fighting to suppress our emotions or to gain control over them is usually futile. The struggle can often be stressful and tiring and it is rarely of any psychological benefit.

Our emotions help us to form relationships and in meditation we are learning to develop a relationship with our inner selves. When you experience strong emotions in meditation, monitor how they affect you and whether the feelings are negative or positive. Become an observer of your emotions, not only in meditation but also in your daily life. Try to detect patterns in the way you react to situations, and find out what the triggers are.

If you have a well of strong, overwhelming emotion inside you that you want to release, try to let it out gradually and express it in a constructive way, writing about or even drawing a representation of the feeling can be therapeutic and will help you to understand it better. You need to be able to step back from your emotions. If you discover that you are being taken over by them, you should stop and try to let them lie down.

A good way to deal immediately with powerful emotions, such as rage or burning desire, is to close your eyes and imagine that you are being soothed by a gentle shower of cooling rain. In doing so, you may feel your inner turmoil gradually being washed away.

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Walking Meditation

Practised regularly the following exercise (based on Kinhin, a Zen meditation technique) will increase your awareness of the relationship between your mind and body. Practise it for as long as you feel comfortable.

1) Find a peaceful space, preferably outdoors. Choose a place where you can walk freely for a few minutes without having to negotiate your way round too many obstacles and without being disturbed by other people.

2) Walk steadily at a slow and deliberate pace. Focus on each part of your body in turn, beginning at your feet and working upward, and note how each part feels. Observe how you can control the way in which each part of your body contributes to the process of walking.

3) Let this experience be a calming one, allow your thoughts to come and go as you focus on the act of walking. Ensure that you are fully aware of how it feels to be “in” your body. When you feel ready, return your awareness to the outside world to end the meditation.

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This exercise will help you to still your mind by monitoring your thoughts as they come and go during meditation. 

1) Sit in your meditation position. Relax, breathe naturally and easily, and focus your attention on your thoughts, don’t stop or censor your thoughts, allow them to flow freely in and out of your consciousness. Imagine that your thoughts are ripples on a pond. Be patient and you should eventually feel enveloped in stillness.

2) When you feel calm, centre your mind on the word “peace”. Let this word be the essence of your meditation. Meditate on this word. Let it fill your mind and body, and allow it to resonate through you.

3) After 2 or 3 minutes, release the word so that only the essence of peace (the physical sense of its presence) remains within you.

4) At the end of your meditation, notice how relaxed you feel, try to hold on to this feeling. Breathe a little more deeply for a minute and then open your eyes.

There is one thing that, when cultivated and regularly practised, leads to deep spiritual intention, to peace, to mindfulness and clear comprehension, to vision and knowledge, to a happy life here and now, and to the culmination of wisdom and awakening. And what is that one thing? It is mindfulness centred on the body. This meditation will help you achieve that.

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This exercise will help you to deal with overwhelming or negative emotions that may arise at any time, but especially during meditation.

1) Close your eyes and breathe deeply for a few minutes. When you feel calm, imagine that you are holding a large stone, rock or crystal in your hand. This is your “worry stone”. What is its texture and colour?

2) Now bring to mind the negative emotion that you wish to control or dispel. Imagine that you channel this emotion along your arm, down through your hand and fingers, and into the stone, which is able to absorb it.

3) Visualize the stone absorbing all the thoughts that trigger a negative emotional response in you. Allow the stone to soak up these thoughts until you sense that they are dying down and ceasing to trouble you.

4) When the thoughts (and your emotions) have receded, imagine that you wash the stone to cleanse it, in doing so you wash away all your negative emotional energy. Continue to breathe easily during the rest of your meditation.

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Thinking involves making associations, letting our thoughts and imagination expand and develop freely and naturally. In meditation, not only do we have to use our imagination and our ability to think, but we also need to be able to monitor the various thoughts and feelings that arise spontaneously in us.

Try detaching yourself and observing the thoughts, images and ideas that flow in and out of you. In your meditation you can imagine they are clouds drifting across the sky.

As you watch these thoughts, let them pass through your mind without engaging with them. Do not influence or judge them. Simply be aware of them as your meditation progresses.

Notice the calming effect as you enjoy these quiet moments of observation and reflection. What better way could there be to spend a few minutes than in meditation, in the observation of your thoughts in a spirit of positive acceptance?

Sometimes during meditation you may find yourself distracted. If this is the case, go with the distraction for a moment or two then gently discipline yourself to return to the focus of your attention.

The key for your meditation is to be passive, aware, non-judgmental and patient. If you feel disappointed with the result of a meditation, then you are being judgmental. Expect nothing. Assume nothing. Open yourself up to all possibilities.

Consider what thoughts and feelings preoccupy you during the day. Try to identify them and write them down. Do you expend a great deal of energy worrying about what will happen in the future or what has happened in the past? Are you often preoccupied with trying to control events or situations over which you have no control? Perhaps you often experience negative feelings (such as anger, hate, regret, fear, sadness) or negative thoughts, such as “nobody cares what happens to me” or “no one pays any attention to what I do”? Maybe your thoughts are daydreams and you find yourself wishing you were somewhere else, or in a different occupation?

Become an observer of your thoughts and learn to identify your thought patterns, gradually introduce this routine not just into your meditation sessions, but into all areas of your daily life.

Using our imagination in meditation enables us to focus clearly and to delve more deeply into our innermost thoughts and feelings. Meditate on a sound or an image and observe closely the effect that it has on you.

All of us have the ability to conjure up and hold images in our mind’s eye, but if you find it difficult, perhaps your imagination is out of practice. Persevere, and you will find that making mental images becomes easier with time.

Allow images in your mind to grow and change, and to take on a life of their own. Think of this as your unconscious painting a magnificent masterpiece for you every day. When you work with your imagination during meditation, you are building a bridge to your unconsciousness. Crossing the bridge will bring you to a greater realization of your full creative potential. Use your meditation to assist in this realization.

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Western culture tends to place great value on individual wealth and the outward signs of “success” without recognizing the value of a rich inner, spiritual life. It has created a frenzied, goal-driven environment in which it is increasingly difficult to find the opportunity to focus on individual thoughts, feelings and actions or to contemplate our relationship with the world around us.

Eastern traditional meditation offers a radical alternative to the materialism of the modern age and has much to teach us about the nature of “being”. When subtly adapted to suit our modern lives, Eastern meditation philosophy can help us to rediscover the spiritual values sadly lacking in our modern Western lifestyles.

The full awareness of our movements and sensations, our actions, emotions and thoughts is referred to in Zen Buddhism as “mindfulness” meditation. It is the process of placing the mind firmly in the present and keeping it totally absorbed in the task that is being performed.

Meditation, in which the mind becomes fully alert, is itself a mindful activity. As adults, one of the skills we tend to lose is that of giving our experiences our full attention. As we walk along, wrapped up in our thoughts, our senses seem often to be only half awake to our surroundings, to the sights, sounds and smells that bombard us from all directions.

We also tend to forget the ways our breath and our body feel to us, and we may not even be fully aware of our thoughts or our emotions. To be wholly engaged in every aspect of our physical, mental and emotional existence is to be mindful.

The concept of mindfulness meditation takes on an even greater relevance when we learn, perhaps contrary to the traditional approach to meditation, not to vanquish the contents of our minds, but to observe them, to shine the light of awareness on them and illuminate their significance.

A major stumbling block for many people who try to follow the teachings of traditional meditation is that they find it impossible top empty their minds. But to empty the mind is to deny its reality, only when we encounter it fully and take heed of its contents, can we begin to experience the richness of life to the full. Mindfulness meditation, therefore, does not ask for you to empty your mind but to experience every single thought and to be “mindful”.

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Far from being isolated, disparate entities, our minds and bodies work together in a relationship of mutual dependency, each drawing support from the other. Only when both are fully nourished can we live balanced and harmonious lives. Meditation can help us to achieve this balance.

The way we think and feel about ourselves has a direct influence on our bodies, and vice versa: a healthy body will help to create a healthy mind. For example, when athletes reach peak physical fitness, their performance can be further enhanced if the right mental conditions are present to enable them to do so.

From a less positive perspective, if you believe in your mind that you are unable to achieve something, then this can have a strong negative influence on your physical ability to do so. Such negative self-images can prevent us from attaining our true potential in life.

Learning to recognize this binding relationship between mind and body can help to change the quality of our lives. Through a process of inner exploration and interpretation, meditation can help you to understand the interconnectedness of the mind and body, and your unconscious thoughts and motivations.

The images that come to us in meditation are like dreams: they are born out of the unconscious and correspond with unconscious energies. They can be understood in the same way as dream images, they have symbolic significance and should not be taken literally.

In meditation, unlike dreams, you can delve into and explore these images, letting them change and grow in your mind’s eye. Meditation then becomes a creative process in which you allow the symbols that arise from your unconscious into your conscious mind to evolve and reveal their true meaning.

During meditation everything becomes imbued with significance: “coincidences” seem to have purpose and to have occurred for particular personal reasons. For example, “chance” meetings may be more intimately connected with your unconscious than you had previously thought possible. So, in your meditation practice, take careful note not only of what happens inside yourself, but also of what happens to you.

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To be healthy human beings and to function at the peak of our potential, we need to achieve a balance of mind and body.

If we serve our outer needs without allowing ourselves time for the person within, and especially if we ignore the inner voice that tells us to slow down or take a break, then at some point our health will begin to suffer. At the very least, our ability to withstand stress or pressure will be weakened.

Meditation is an effective way to ensure that we are not neglecting an important aspect of our well-being, the state of our mind, and its optimum relation with our body.

To achieve this goal, there is no need to spend hours in strict contemplation. A few minutes of meditation each day can be enough. Gradually, we will begin to understand the mind, body relationship and in the process discover a new dimension in our lives.

By learning to practise meditation we can even, in due course, tap into a source of healing and rejuvenation deep within ourselves. It is not the amount of time we spend in meditation that counts, but the development of our understanding during that time.

We will be learning about some of the traditions of meditation, as well as what meditation is and how it is helpful to us; the basic techniques such as correct breathing and posture that will enable us to set off confidently on our meditation journey.

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The mind constantly plays tricks on us and has many strategies for distracting our attention, setting us on the wrong path, deceiving us and leading us astray especially when we try to practise meditation. This trickster may appear in the form of negative thoughts that try to prevent us from achieving a goal, the harder we try to succeed, the more obstructive our thoughts might become.

Take note of the tactics your mind adopts to pull you away from your chosen path of meditation. Your mind may intervene during meditation to tell you that you are wasting your time or that the practice is not working, it could do anything to divert you from your mental goal.

Obstructive thoughts stem from the unconscious mind, that part of ourselves which determines much of what motivates us: our desires, impulses and instincts.

If we fail to engage with our unconscious, then we are ignoring a fundamental part of our inner most being. The unconscious contains both negative and positive aspects: but while these remain unconscious, they can be neither encouraged nor discouraged.

The conscious mind is like a light, which can be shone into the unconscious to reveal the mind’s hidden contents. Meditation teaches us how gradually to become better acquainted with the mechanisms of our unconscious mind and how to make our unconscious thoughts conscious, for our own eventual benefit. It is through this marriage of opposites, a communion of the conscious and unconscious minds, that we are able to enhance our self-knowledge and self-awareness.

One of the first things to take into account when encountering your mind is that the people are all different. Although we all have similar needs (such as the need for food, warmth and shelter) and experience similar emotions (for example, love, hate, fear and desire) our individual histories and psychological make-up diverge and widely and define our characters in different ways.

In meditation, this means that what may be effective for one person may not work for another. Bear this in mind when choosing and practising your meditation exercises, experiment to find out what works best for you and what you feel most comfortable with.

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