[jasciu]

Hi All,

Good start of a discussion on meditation. But the points are missing the mark some (not alot but some).

The reason we meditate is not to relax, solve insomina, or even lower blood pressure, even those are certainly some by byproducts. Its a life practice, like many things we do that connects us to source within us that is more real than the thoughts, beliefs, preconditioned responses, and emotions that govern our lives.

By life practice, I mean an ongoing inquiry into how to be completely engaged and intimate with the wild force that runs through everything, and is running through us, if we would just pause long enough to notice. There is no real life in the past, as there is no real future. These are just mind approximations that are mostly inaccurate.

A life practice, then, is anything that we do over an extended period of time that consistently and reliably deepens the connection to our experience and expression of aliveness NOW. While meditation offers a vast repertoire of formal practices and situations that accommodate the different predilections of individuals, almost any activity can be used as a life practice if it reconnects us with the source of our aliveness in this moment.

Becoming physically fit, or a master in a sport has a particularly rigorous set of conditions that requires the individual to see the world and themselves as they really are - mental or physical; brave or timid; careful or reckless; competitive or cooperative; dishonest or honest, vain or humble; pessimistic or optimistic; distrustful or trusting, judgmental or tolerant. The circumstances that we find ourselves - assessing our progress, surrendering to the program, accepting our bodies as they are - not what we imagine them to be - connects to the wider universe as it is. Through meditation we can begin to see that everything is impermenant, transitory even our current state of body.

You could say that the greater purpose of formal practice, a physical fitness program or otherwise is to apply this acute attentiveness of the external and our internal environment to determine how well they contribute to the harmony of ourselves, others and the practice. Finding this uniting awareness filtering through the rest of our relationships, our work, and our play is the ultimate goal.

Through such a practice, we come to know that the most reliable and consistent thing about us is the silent substratum or witness within ourselves that observes all these passing and changing phenomena, including our foibles. This training ground for the rest of life, helps us to become resilient, tolerant, and accepting of the inevitable, perplexing, and often agonizing losses of that comes with being alive.

It's essential to remain diciplined in the practice as much as possible, to set a regular schedule based on your existing life conditions, and to come to an understanding that this is an activity that is an implicit part of our being. Detached awareness of our performance, not identifying with our insecurities, celebrating success in ourselves and others makes us realize that there is really is no need to be defensive or judgemental abouy ourselves or others to be successful. Meditation is hard at first, because like any work-out, the brain is not accustomed to not having an object of thought, or emotion running its incessant tape. Everyone experiences the difficulty at first. You will get better. Just witness the thoughts, perhaps label them (past thought, future thought) and return the focusing on the breath. The point is NOT to calm the waters, the point is STAY in the boat. Just as your body responds to physical conditioning, your brain will respond to this mental conditioning. Eventually, your response to all sorts of stressors and even your perception of reality and time will change. You will become much more effective in everything you do.

Incomplete participation only divides our attention and detracts from the complete engagement and flow that is central to all of life. Sometimes, the need for spiritual development requires radical re-prioritization, at least for an extended period, to experience the lessons the practice can provide. If your family needs you to find a job, then your family's needs becomes more central to your practice. It's important the we give ourselves the permission to re-prioritize, because our time on this planet is short and we have much to learn as the world provides the lessons.

You know you have learned the lessons when you can drop the practice in good conscience and still be happy and totally engaged with whatever you are doing.