I have been meaning to take a closer look at meditation for some time and I mean for some years and at last got around doing so.
Starting my search (research) I thought to share what references I found and comments along the way of this exercise.
I used Google and entered 'Meditation' and the website what interested me was '-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation-' to give an overview.
It did make me realize that I have developed and used various meditation techniques over the years, many a one has becoming automatic.
However the delving continues – next I tried Google again but this time used the 'Scholarly papers' search engine, what a focus on health related matters, I suppose that's where the money is.
If I had to come up with with an opinion at this stage it would be that 'meditation' has taken of as a fashion, one could call it a fad and most of the mystique around it is not warranted.
In it's basic form it's dealing with yourself, understanding yourself and thinking processes. With that it's up to you what you want to do. Calm yourself down, remove anxieties, veg out (remove yourself from consciousness), alleviate pain, improve your health, the list goes on.
You can teach yourself any of the goals you want or use any of the plethora suggestions or means promoted.
If you do that be aware that as a result of the popularity of the 'meditation subject' many who are promoting a religion, a sect, a belief, a 'health' or whatever product use this as a tool.
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2 comments:
As you rightly say,Meditation,has become very much a fad of the times.The mystique and publicity surrounding the fact is also driven very much by profitability by some unscrupulous individuals.
However, there is another side to Meditation.This other side should not be misinterpreted. As we go through life and we experience life's lessons we naturally develop
and fine tune our instincts and intuition, we also through our errors learn the correct approach and method of doing things.
I feel that we should not construe this in anyway as naturally developing attributes of meditation.
I feel that meditation is in fact almost a science, and if tackled lightly then it is possible for it to even be dangerous.Why do I call it a science? Simply because it is dealing with the mind in all of it's complexities.Meditation is capable of many of the things you quote, but it must be remembered that these things are only possible when the basic groundwork and practice has been undertaken and this must be done over a lenghty period of time.
Also, as you say,it is very much about dealing with yourself and reaching a state of calmness within.However, be cautious about the thinking mind and the traps that we are able to set for ourselves.In meditation we must become aware of the mind and the games that it can play and in order to achieve this we must be able to control the mind , that is to say that we need to be able to let it do the work when there is something for it to do and similarly when there is nothing for it to do we must be able to quieten the mind into a state of calmness.The problem here can be seen in the way the mind tends to react when we simply try to sit quietly and purposely try not to think.It can't be done. If you don't believe me try it yourself,and I am sure that you will find the mind running here and there in full blown activity.
Why? Simply because that is the nature of the beast(the monkey mind).
In life we are who we are, we cannot change that. We cannot recreate ourselves into someone prettier or more handsome or even more intelligent,we are who we are.Meditation will let us realize that fact and then let us get on with living.
I do not offer this comment in any manner other than information.The statement is not directed from any religious point of view, rather it is offered as a comment purely to the way I have experienced meditation for myself over many years.
Dippy2
I suppose it all depends what one means by meditation, clearly it is differently perceived by many hence I started by quoting from WIKIPEDIA for that reason to develop a common ground.
It's not 'learning from one's mistakes or 'learning from life experiences' that's fine but another issue.
I'm not to sure about your view that meditation is a science i feel when one starts talking about feelings, psychological, religious aspects (ethereal things) and 'matters of the mind' they tend to be a long way from matters of science see this explanation:
From WIKIPEDIA
Science, in the broadest sense, refers to any system of objective knowledge. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research.
It seems you are commenting a lot on practical application of meditation and how it applies to you and how it affects you knowing yourself and the difficulties you encounter.
That's different for me and I suspect for many other people.
The key point is of course becoming aware of oneself and if reflection results in a wish to deal with an issue or develop a trait it would need lots of practice and persistence to achieve.
The little I have read about Buddhism makes it clear to me that it does not offer spiritualism, religion, a belief but firmly puts the onus back onto yourself 'understand yourself' and develop yourself and 'interact with anyone else as well as you can' (in my words)
Hennie
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