So what is meditation?  Well let’s first start with what meditation is not, and perhaps we can arrive at some conclusions about what it is.  Firstly, meditation isn’t just another “tool” one uses in order to relax their bodies and minds temporarily.  There is a misconception about meditation, in that it is just about relaxation.  On the other extreme, meditation for some may across as something extreme and a form of escape from the world.  People often fear the very idea of meditation because it scares them, and they believe that if they meditate, that they will become unattached from reality.  Again this is very far from the actual truth about the reality of meditation.

So then if many people have differing views about what meditation “is”, but since those notions don’t accurately reflect the truth about it, then let’s look at what meditation is, and what the objective of practicing meditation actually is.  To answer the first statement about meditation, that it’s a form of relaxation is partially true.  When you meditate, you are relaxing your body by remaining still, and eventually still the mind by lower your brain waves, from beta to alpha and deeper.  However, when your body is still, and your mind becomes stiller from your normal waking beta state of consciousness, naturally you will start to drift into dream state (theta).  But meditation isn’t about drifting off.  It’s actually about being very alert, and conscious even while your body and mind becomes more relaxed.  It’s about being relaxed, but also paying attention and observing what’s actually going on with your thoughts, without any judgement.  So the practice of meditation is actually about staying awake, not falling asleep.  And in meditation, you are actually MORE alert and conscious, then even when you are “awake” in your normal beta waking state of consciousness!

And to answer the second question, of whether or not you are more detached from your world is also false, but you are actually more engaged with the reality of what is going on.  Normally we operate in the world completely unconscious of what is going on with our thoughts and emotions, so we’re in fact more detached from reality when we don’t meditate since we aren’t actively engaging with that part of ourselves.  And often what happens when we do that is we become slaves to our impulses, and act based on our deep habits, which usually lead to negative consequences in the world.

So if meditation isn’t just about relaxation, yet staying awake, alert and conscious, then what is the point of meditation?  What can one achieve for having meditated in the first place?  Well meditation is actually a metaphor for freedom.  So when one meditate that are taking a position or stance in relation to life.  When you meditate you are making a very strong statement, and that statement is one of freedom and to know your true Self.  However, the degree to which one finds freedom in meditation depends on how clear and focused their intention is in the first place.  See, a lot of people sit down in meditation with the intention of doing it, getting over with it, and going about their day.  So they’ll meditate for a few minutes, maybe 10 or even 30 minutes, but then they are done.  They don’t have a clear intention of why they are meditating in the first place, except that it will somehow help them in the “future” towards some goal.  But that’s also not what meditation is about either.  Meditation is not about the future, but about the present, this very moment.  If one seeks freedom, then they won’t find it in the future no matter how long, and how much they meditate, simply because there is no such thing as the future.  Only the NOW exists.  And freedom can ONLY be found in the now, so that’s why it’s important that when one meditates, that they have the intention of being free NOW, not later!  Again, meditation is a metaphor for freedom and enlightenment, not just something one does to reach another goal.

True meditation may also be used by some to assist them in other areas of their lives such as sports, business, and even relationships, but that type of thinking itself is limited, because meditation can be so much more than that if you intend it to be that way.  See, when you meditate with the intention to be free in this very moment, then everything changes, because you are no longer living for the future, but for the now moment.  And by living for the now moment, you are actually living, which means you are no longer bound by the past OR the future.  You are simply living as it is, fully free and non-attached, yet complete conscious, and engaged.  How powerful is that!

So meditation is a very important practice when looked at in this context.   Sure meditation also has many benefits for mental, emotional and physical health, but if that’s all that one uses meditation for, then they are missing out quite a bit about the power of meditation.  Meditation can lead one to true and lasting freedom, transformation, and joy and a connection with their Source.