Many people try to control circumstances and events, while others, feeling they have no control over their situation, live a life of resignation. Both belief systems depict life as hostile, something to be conquered or feared.
The irony is that both of these beliefs over look the power of the mind, from which the experience of life arises. The disciplined mind views life as profound, magical, with infinite potential. Meditation is a tool to develop this form of mental mastery.
The emotional aspect of the mind is more powerful than rational thought. This is evident by the difficulty to change a habit.
Many people have addictive or dysfunctional behaviors; intellectually they know their behaviors are destructive, but they continue to engage in it.
Like water that takes on the shape of the vessel, the life state of a human takes on the characteristics of the emotion experienced.
When experiencing the emotion of anger, the individual becomes anger, while the individual who experiences the emotion of peace becomes peace, in all its manifestations. In both cases, the emotion experienced determines how life is perceived and how it will be responded to.
Buddhism elucidates the role of the various life states through the principle of the ten worlds, various life states that living beings can experiences from moment to moment. The lower worlds cause the individual to be reactive to environmental factors, while the higher worlds are characterized by wisdom, compassion, and freedom.
Meditation allows the practitioner to develop a disciplined mind to navigate the transient world of fleeting thoughts and emotions.
Freed from the bonds of attachment, pure awareness illuminates the inner world with wisdom and understanding. The unconscious decisions that are made from moment to moment in daily life are brought to awareness.
There is no right or wrong way to meditate. The important thing is to be relaxed and to focus on something, like the breath. It is important not to judge what is experienced during meditation.
What ever happens experienced it, observe it, but do not become attached to it. Experiencing the internal dialogue of the ego is normal. By accepting it, rather than fighting it, the mind will gradually become more silent.
Meditation is the practice of observing the workings of the mind. Rather than being caught up in mind’s functions, the practitioner becomes detached from its workings, as though watching a movie, leading to the understanding that each person is the director of his or her life.
Author : Andrew Silver
