I will now answer the question of what to do, essentially "how", to start meditating. You may have been hoping for some ancient chant, a zen-like monologue that will cleanse your spirit and highlight your soul, unfortunately for us all there is no such magic.
The way I meditate is simple. It can be summed up in one word...remember. I simply sit down and I begin to remember what God has done in my life.
Raj told me the easiest way to start meditating was to sit down and remember the most powerful moment in your spiritual life. He suggested that you start by remembering as many details as you can; where you were, who you were with, how you were sitting, what you were doing, what were you praying, the events that led up to that moment. After remembering the details, begin to remember the feeling, the emotion: Were you happy, were you sad, were you at rock bottom, did God comfort you?
Stay in that moment as long as you possibly can. Trying to remember the details helps you focus your mind, and once you are focused start to reflect on the glory of God at that moment. Do your best to stay focused. Cut out as much of the physical world as possible, so it can truly be just you and God. If your mind starts to wander, try to move onto another significant moment. If you can't quickly transition to another memory, then try to reflect on God. Always speak to Him and expect Him to speak back. Go into this with an open mind, and expect Him to meet you there. Focus on His presence. Try to feel His comforting hand. You might even transition into praising the Lord, and go with that.
When you're mind starts to wander too much, when you loose concentration, when you are thinking more about how hungry you are or how much your butt hurts...then its over. There's no point in forcing it. If you force it you'll just be bored, and you'll develop a distaste for meditation. You may only be able to meditate for 5 minutes. I usually only meditate for about 10. That's why we have to practice. Remember our talk yesterday? Just go with the flow, and give it another shot tomorrow.
That's it. No more excuses not to try right.
Last Disclaimer: I wanted to add, again, that I am a complete meditation noob. All of the things I shared here are based on my experiences since a few weeks back, and based on my short Indian friend. I just wanted to share with you because it has touched me. I just feel that it is relevant because I'm learning these techniques from a different culture, and I'm learning that it really works. Raj made the comment that Hindu gurus have been teaching these techniques to people for thousands of years, so there must be some Truth behind them. After trying for myself, I believe he is right.
Although there is some danger involved. The Bible says quite frankly that we should be mindful at all times. What that is saying to me is that we should not train ourselves to be "empty-minded". Thanks to Joey for pointing this out to me :) In other cultures, the purpose of meditation is often to clear your mind, to be at peace, to be in a tranquil state. As Christians, the purpose of meditation should never be to reach the state of an empty mind. I feel strongly that meditation is just a platform to reach God on a deeper level. Of course we should pray all of the time, but I felt I needed a way to have focused concentration and communion with Him. And I think I've found some great ways of doing that through meditation.
The big point here...is that we need to PRAY. Seriously PRAY. How often do we PRAY? Get it...
Well that's it. All that I know about meditation. If I reach any new levels of spiritual enlightenment I'll let you know :) I'm really hoping to have an experience like Ace Ventura where I reach a plane of floating on clouds and the Dali Lama is there to help me sort out my problems :P
Peace and Grace, Zane
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