The Journey of Meditation

This refers to the spiritual layer of the pyramid.

The concept of meditation seems to have become lost in the commercial machine. It has become popular. When this happens, the concept can lose its essence and diversify into a myriad of slightly different and new ideas that are easier to sell.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, as any type of meditation can have a positive effect on our health, especially our mental health.  However relevant and beneficial this might be, it doesn’t truly capture the full potential of meditation.

Meditation is a journey with a beginning and an end. Through this journey we slowly become more aware of the mind stream, and then we begin to realise how our mind stream is affecting and creating our personality. Once we recognise this, we become more aware of our thinking patterns, and how they may be contributing to our future experiences. Coming to see this, is the first step towards shaping our personalities in a more positive way.

So, the real goal of meditation is to become aware that our personality is a shifting, moving process. In a way it is a type of illusion. When we realise this, through meditation, we gain the ability to quieten our mind stream and discover a dimension of experience just behind the mind. Forever peaceful, it is our own consciousness, our own Awareness, our true nature, our real Self.

So, instead of being constantly lost in the uncontrolled mind, we become rooted instead in our own peaceful Awareness. It then becomes possible to live in this inner peace, without being at the mercy of the external circumstances of our lives. This state of being is Self Realisation, the realisation of our true Self. Not some lofty mystical state that only a few can achieve, but a natural, psychological process, which is possible to activate through The Journey of Meditation.

Imagine a society where everyone has become aware of this concept. This is where real peace lies, dormant in the inner experience of every person, just waiting to be found.

So, how do we live every day in this natural state of inner peace?

We start at the beginning of the journey.

SUBJECT AND OBJECT

At AYA we feel that grasping the simple, yet unusual, concept of Subject and Object is an essential start to the Journey of Meditation. When we meditate, we create a split between the Subject and the Object.

The Subject is You.

The Object is whatever you are focusing on in your meditation. This could be music or a sound, a mantra (repeated phrase or word), a visualisation, an inner-body sensation, for example your beating heart, or just the thoughts that are drifting in and out of your mind.

The perceptions in our minds are all fed into what we call our ‘Awareness Field’, and all Objects of meditation are displayed within this field.

The end goal of meditation is to become aware of the Subject (you). So, what is ‘You’?

‘You’ is pure Consciousness, pure Awareness, your true Self.

At the start of the meditation journey, it can be difficult to notice the consciousness which lies just behind the mind. However just hold onto the concept of Subject and Object, throughout the journey of meditation. This will make it much easier to eventually break out of the prison of the mind and find freedom and everlasting peace.

TRAINING YOUR FOCUS OF AWARENESS.

There are many different forms of meditation available however, whichever one we are drawn to, the process is the same. The focus of Awareness in the mind must be trained, just like a muscle, and just like a muscle, the more we use it the stronger it grows.

The aim is to keep our focus of Awareness on the Object for as long as possible. To start with, it is normal to lose our Awareness, for our minds to wander off. The very moment we become Aware that we are lost in the mind stream, then we have regained our Awareness. When this happens, we should gently bring our focus back to the Object and continue.

Like everything the more practice and effort that is put in, the easier it becomes.

Meditation can be performed in the traditional way by sitting quietly. However we can also meditate with our eyes open, when we are walking, running, watching television, in fact it can be practised at all moments of the day, when engaged in any task. This is called Task Orientated meditation or TOM for short.

INNER PEACE

The inner peace of our own Awareness is the goal of the Journey of Meditation. The goal is achieved by progressing to the most advanced form of meditation which is Objectless meditation. Once this has been reached, the final stage of the journey can begin, and all other forms of meditation can be left behind. We are now able to ‘rest in our own Awareness’. We are Aware of our own consciousness and an Object is no longer needed in meditation. The longer we spend in Objectless Meditation, the quicker we come to realise our own consciousness is very peaceful, in fact it IS peace.

Over time we notice our personalities have also become more peaceful, more compassionate, tolerant, accepting, forgiving, and loving. We become able to stop giving attention to the repeating negative thoughts in our mind. They no longer grow, in fact they shrink, they fall away, and eventually disappear.

Anyone can awaken to their true nature and feel their inner peace. This happens temporarily at first and then grows and grows. Eventually, it is possible to change our inner state of being permanently and this gives us freedom and everlasting peace.

Our society is in need of a revolution, a silent revolution, that has to start with every one of us taking responsibility for our own self-healing journey. This Silent ‘inner peace’ Revolution will change our world.