"MEDITATION INTRODUCTION"

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This book is finally going to find life. It has been rolling around in my mind, and in my subconscious since I first learned to meditate. This may sound strange, but for those of you who have had trouble learning how to meditate, and have been told by all those who can' how easy it truly is, you will understand. I know what you are going through. It took me two years to learn to meditate to the point where I was comfortable with the fact that I was doing it right' and had achieved what others kept telling me was possible.

First let me start by telling you that meditation is a very personal experience. The first thing I needed to do was forget what everyone was telling me and lose all expectations. Things are rarely the way they are described and feelings really cannot be described, since they are different for each person. For instance, I can tell you what it feels like to feel total peace. However, what total peace means for me may not be at all what total peace means for you. Each person must relate to experiences in their own unique way. There are as many ways to relate as there are people doing the relating.

What this book is going to attempt to do is present a method to you in a way that will enable you to find the most efficient way to achieve meditation for you. Read these methods and then adapt them to what works for you. Maybe they will give you an idea for a variation on a theme so that you can find what works best for you. When you work an exercise and it is not working for you, move on. Give it a fair shot and practice it for awhile, because this will teach the mind discipline and concentration and will help with whatever method you finally settle on.

The expectations are your own and should be met by you, but make them realistic. Think of the first day on a job and how totally lost a person feels. This is a common feeling and there are many times that I can remember wanting to quit a job during the first couple of weeks, because it seemed like I would never catch on instead remain totally lost forever. However, by sticking with it and taking it one step at a time it wasn't long before the job felt not only comfortable, but that I was able to incorporate my own style of efficiency into doing it better. Think of meditation this way. There is no right or wrong way. Whatever way works for you, do it.

Let's start by discussing what meditation is. It is a clearing of the conscious mind so that messages from the subconscious mind can come through. Our minds are like computers. We are constantly taking in information from the five senses and filing them for later access. The mind gets used to operating at split level efficiency and as such when you stop feeding it information, it starts going into its' archives to pull out old information that can be disseminated and thought about.

We are all different, but alike. At night when we go to bed most of us start processing all that has happened during the day. We think of the things we should have said or should have done and replay the scenes over and over again in our heads. Sometimes it is things that bother us and we are trying to find a solution, but most often it is things we have said or done that we are not happy with and wish we had done differently. For me I like to write letters in my head before I ever put them down on paper to get an idea of what I want to say, making sure I don't leave anything out. I could go on and on. There are grocery lists, things we don't want to forget, activities that are coming up, mental notes that need to be made and added to. I think you are getting the idea by now.

Each of us goes through this processing, and it is usually done at night before we go to sleep, because that is the time when our minds are the most quiet and are not being fed from the five senses. This is also the time most people pick to meditate. This is fine, because whenever you sit down and try to clear your mind the process of disseminating information is going to take place. It is perfectly natural, as it is what you have the mind in the habit of doing. The thing to remember is that meditation is also a perfectly natural function of the mind. What makes it natural is merely the act of doing it, over and over. Like anything else practice is involved. I like to use the correlation of driving a car. When you first got behind the wheel of a car you did not start the engine and automatically drive away. Thought had to go into the gears, peddles, lights, blinkers, and the ability to watch everything in front, behind, to the side of you and guess what the other drivers were going to do, all at the same time. However, with practice the abilities came. The more practice the faster the ability and the more confident the driver.

Meditation works much the same way. You are going to get out of it what you put into it. Excuses or reasons' not to meditate do nothing but slow down the process. If you have time to watch television you have time to meditate. If you have time to read your mail you have time to meditate. If you have time to go to the bathroom and read the newspaper you have time to meditate. If you choose not to practice and work at it, then you hurt no one but yourself. However, do not fool yourself by all of your reasons'/excuses; anyone can meditate if they put enough effort into it.

This is not to say that for some it is not easier than for others, because it is. Some people are already preconditioned to meditation and for them it comes easy. Do not worry about how others do it, however, only concentrate on how you can do it.

Before I give you the exercises I am going to give you a few tips.

First; do not allow yourself to question whether you are doing it right'. There is no right or wrong. Whatever works for you is what is right' for you.

Second; Do not concentrate on the results of others. Meditation is different for each person and the degree of meditation is up to the individual. There are some people who do a light meditation just to relax. These people don't care about the answers to the universe and don't want to know what their purpose for being on this planet is. What they do want is to relieve stress in their lives and they have found that meditation is a quick and efficient way to do this. In fact, many doctors now are recommending meditation rather than pushing tranquillizers. Many big businesses actually offer meditation to their employees because it increases productivity and makes for a more positive environment, resulting in less illness.

Third; Do not set your expectations high and then become frustrated when you do not meet those expectations immediately. This defeats the purpose and causes frustration, which in turn makes meditation virtually impossible. Set a goal, with the understanding that you reach it when you reach it. Set little goals in-between. Realistic goals that you know you can meet. Such as; spending at least five minutes practicing meditation twice a day. Once you have accomplished this for a period of time increase the time limit. You will know when you have achieved your final goal, as the time limit will be removed and you will be meditating for as long as you feel you need to without worrying about the time element.

Four; Do not compare yourself with others. There is absolutely no comparison, as we are all unique individuals with different goals and different purposes. Each person reaches their own goal on an individual basis. No one can get where you need to go for you, as it is a personal journey. Others can give you suggestions or guide you, but the journey is ultimately your own. Where anyone else is has no bearing on your life. It neither diminishes your own goals, nor does it uplift them.

Five; Do not give yourself a time frame. In other words don't decide that you are going to practice for a week, then if nothing happens you give up. Everyone learns at a different pace. Just as in school you did not learn the same as everyone else, there was always someone in the class smarter and someone in the class slower than you. This is like school, only it is spiritual class rather than physical. Don't expect to learn on the spiritual the same as you learn on the physical and mental planes. This is totally different so approach it with no expectations, other than anticipation of anything and take what comes, enjoying each phase. This is something you will be doing for the rest of your life, just as it was when you learned the alphabet and had a whole new world of the written word opened to you. This is even a larger and more important undertaking, so don't put limits on yourself. The only limits we have are those that are self-imposed.

Six; Depending on how you approach this it can either be enjoyable or hard work. Remember that teacher you had that made learning fun. We all learned from that teacher without even realizing we were learning. You can make meditation the same for you, if you approach it with the right attitude. This is a new adventure. Each experience you have will be unique and different from anything that you have ever experienced before. Do not dread meditation, but look forward to it. This is something that you are doing for you, and nobody else. This is a gift you are giving to yourself, so take the time to enjoy it. Relaxing puts you halfway there, and we can all relax if we truly want to.

Seven; This is the important one. When you have achieved meditation, especially when you have gotten to what I call the Mezzanine (looking at different levels as floors in a department store) you will be tempted to stay and not move on. This has held many people back, because it is the floor of total peace. Remember you can always go back and visit, but to learn important lessons and find your purpose you must go on.

Finally; this is a special and unique experience for YOU. Sharing is fine, but pushing it on others is not. Each person must come to this on their own, when the time is right for them. We all tend to get overenthusiastic when we are learning something that feels so good and is so valuable, that we want to immediately have everyone around us share in it. People will see the difference in your life and when they ask you about it you can tell them. However, trying to push what is good for you onto others does not endear you to them, but rather pushes them away. Find someone who is already meditating, they will appear when you need them, and discuss it with them.

With all this aside we are ready to get into the exercises in this book. As I said; follow each one as written and then adapt it to your own personal needs. There is no right or wrong way, only the way that works for you....