MEDITATION DE-MYSTIFIED

I’ve had a few requests to say something about meditation. Here’s an attempt to produce something that’s useful to the more cynical Western mind, without the deep and unfathomable jargon that often surrounds the subject.

When my Guru (yes I had a Guru!) was asked:
“How does one meditate?”
He used to reply,
“When you sit down to meditate, whatever you do, don’t think of a monkey.”

So you sit down to meditate and what’s the first thing you think about? You’ve got it; A MONKEY. The point he was making is that it doesn’t matter what your mind happens to be thinking of. Meditation is not about controlling your mind, it’s about observing what it gets up to.

If you think about what happens when you’re dreaming, there’s a part of you constructing the dream, and another part that is experiencing, watching (witnessing?) the experience. This is what in Eastern understanding is known as ‘The Witness’ or ‘Witness Consciousness’. The very act of observing your inner goings on, in an objective way, makes you aware of this part of your being.

Meditation is a practice (and that’s a very good word for it) of observing the inner universe. As Westerners, we tend to be very good at observing the Universe out there. And why not? The external universe is amazing, fascinating and full of wonders. If you think about what your own mind can conjour up, both in external observation, (which has to be handled internally to make any sense), and in internal stuff, like the immense possibilities of dreams, the ‘Inner Universe’ is just as enormously gob-smackingly huge as the Outer one.

‘Meditation' is about watching and observing the inner Universe. A universe every bit as worthy of study and exploration as the external one.

So what’s the trick? Eastern philosophies mention and use things called ‘Mantras’ as a means of getting into ‘observation mode’. Unfortunately many of us Westerners find repetition of word-based mantras very difficult and often it actually distracts the attention away from simply ‘watching' all the goings on.

There is one ‘Mantra'. (and I’m not sure calling it a ‘Mantra' truly helps), that does not require repetition of words. It merely requires an act of observation. This meditation tool is known as So’Ham or Ham’Sa. Which of those you choose depends solely on where you happen to begin.

There is one sound that is always with you as long as you are alive. That sound is the sound of your own breathing. No breathing- no living. A non-breathing person, is generally referred to as ‘dead’. So as long as you aren’t, in fact, dead, your breath keeps on chugging in and chugging out. Most of the time we are completely oblivious to our breathing, except when we’ve been exercising very hard or when we are in very very quiet places. Even so, it’s always there, going in, going out. At any time, we can listen to it, if we’re so inclined.

Try shutting your eyes and listening to the natural sound of your breath. Don’t work at ‘breathing’ just listen to the sound as your breathing proceeds on its automatic course.

As the air comes in it makes a kind of ‘Humming' sound. As it goes out, the sound is more of a ‘sigh’ or a ‘Sahhh’. Don’t take my word for this. Close your eyes, listen to the sound and you’ll hear it for your self. This is ‘Ham’Sa”. If you start listening on the out-breath, it becomes ‘Sah’Hamm’. Hence the two names for the same thing.

This tool for getting into observation mode is very easy, always with you, wherever you are and whatever you happen to be doing. All that is required is to listen. Listening is a very concentrated form of observation. This ‘Maha Mantra’ as the Siddhas of the East call it, is the simplest and most ‘portable' method of meditation. I won’t go into the wonders that will be revealed as your inner journey of exploration goes forth, not here at least.

All I can say is try it. Practice it. (Practice in any new skill is always helpful.). It’s value will be blindingly obvious. After a while, your breathing may start doing weird things. Don't try to control that - observe, watch, experience. This is no harder than watching TV.

By the way, watch out for little Blue Lights!