What is Meditation? An Exploration of the Possible Benefits of Meditation

Can the practice of meditation really relieve stress, bring serenity, and possibly improve your health?

Scientific studies seem to indicate that it can. Meditation has often been used as an effective method of stress and pain relief. Meditation has also been shown to be effective in increasing attention span, which may be good news for people who have attention deficit disorder. The evidence is clear, although much study still needs to be done, meditation has been shown to help relieve stress, bring a sense of serenity, and may improve some health issues like attention deficit disorder.

However, while meditation promises a host of verifiable benefits, and maybe others yet undiscovered, it remains shrouded in mystery. However, as mysterious as it may seem to the beginner, over 20 million Americans are now practicing some form of meditation. Are you interested in joining this growing number of people who are practicing meditation to improve their quality of life? If so, this lens will attempt to unveil some of those mysteries for you, and offer good, balanced information which will help you unlock the secrets of mediation, and be able to take advantage of its unique benefits.

Let me begin with a disclaimer. I strongly believe that meditation can be a powerful tool for personal growth and healing for everyone who practices it. However, some meditation techniques are not appropriate for most people, and in some cases are self-hypnosis programs which, in my opinion, you want to stay as far away from as possible. Be cautious as you begin your meditation journey, and keep your meditations as simple as possible. Any meditation program that calls for long hours, complicated breathing techniques, or asks you to buy lots of materials or go on long retreats, is not necessary for beginners. However, where you go on your meditation journey is up to you. My advice at the beginning is to keep it as simple and easy to use as possible. This will ensure you get off to a good, positive start.

One last disclaimer. The mind is very powerful and you may find that once you start to spend time exploring the deep recesses of your mind, you are becoming aware of strong emotions, or issues which you had long ago repressed, or forgotten about. You may find that these issues are causing you distress. If so, you may need to seek professional help, or the help of a member of the religious clergy of your particular spiritual tradition to deal with the problem. Meditation is a tool to help guide us to good health. Sometimes it functions as a sign post to point us in the direction we need to go to get the help we need. Be aware of what you need, and do not substitute meditation for the help of qualified professionals who can further guide you towards serenity and peace of mind.

How to Begin Meditating. Is it AUM or is it OM?

At its most basic level, meditation is the practice of focusing the mind on a particular object. All meditation practices which are common today are rooted in a particular spiritual tradition, and were developed around focusing the mind on the divine, however the divine was conceived to be in that particular tradition. Most of the more advanced meditation practices of these traditions were kept secret (although they can now widely be found all over the internet). They were only available to priests, monks, nuns, and other adepts who had given up everything to learn these secret techniques and achieve enlightenment. By giving up all worldly pursuits, and submitting to the discipline of a master, guru, or church, a person showed his/her worthiness to be trusted with these secret teachings, among them specific methods of meditation and breathing which were designed to bring a person into an altered state of consciousness. Eventually, if the student faithfully practiced and followed the advice and teachings of his spiritual teacher or church, he/she could achieve a state known as divine union. This state of divine union is called many different things like satori, nirvana, or Kingdom of Heaven, however, while the names are different, the experience of divine union is always the same for those who achieve it. The practitioner who achieves divine union experiences an expanded state of consciousness where he/she feels completely submerged into another reality, one of which he/she is a part of, yet is completely beyond them as well.

It is impossible to avoid the fact that all meditation methods are rooted in a particular religious tradition. If you are an atheist, it will be difficult to find practices which do not, at some level, point to something beyond as the source of all existence. And even if you are not an atheist, you need to come to grips with this fact before beginning meditation, otherwise you will find yourself confused and frustrated. For example, some westerners can easily incorporate eastern meditation practices into their lives. However, eastern practices are centered around certain fundamental principles; like Karma and Reincarnation. Eastern meditation also demands, in some traditions, total detachment from all worldly pursuits. Westerners, (like myself, I have problems with these beliefs), may find it difficult to accept these teachings, affecting the quality of the meditation.

What do you believe? Are you a Christian who wants to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus? Or are you suspicious of organized religion, but open to the possibility of some reality that exists as the source of all life, but are unready to commit to a particular religious tradition? Be honest, because the answers you get will determine what kind of meditation practice you use, and how effective it is.

The Secret to Building a Better Life

What if I told you that you have, within you, the secret you need to have a successful, happy, and fulfilling life? That within you is unlimited power to grow, develop, and achieve your personal desires? How would this knowledge change you and the life you are currently living? What doors could this knowledge open for you? Do you think it would be life changing to know you have the power to make your dreams come true?

Now notice I did not say, you have the secret within you to an easy life. Life is about working and earning what you receive, and there is no short cut around this hard fact. Of course, I know you know this, because if you are reading this article, then you are one of the many people out there who work extremely hard, both at your full-time job and at home, yet you feel that your life is far from a dream come true. Some of you may feel like you are literally a paycheck away from total disaster. Perhaps you are a single mom trying to survive on a meager income, never seeming to be able to get ahead. You wish you could spend more time with your kids, you dream of giving them the kind of life they and you deserve, but you only manage to fall further and further behind. Maybe you are a middle-aged man who has been working the same job for years. You assumed you would have your job until retirement as long as you "played the game" however now the rules of the game have changed (funny how "they" get to change the rules whenever they want, without your consent. Does that seem fair?), and your company is contemplating layoffs. Or maybe you just wonder why life seems to have lost all of its joy? Oh yes, you know well that life is not easy, but I'm here to tell you it does not have to be as hard as it is. In fact, if you know how to tap into the power and potential inside yourself, you will transform negative thoughts into positive action, and begin to build a life which is headed in much more meaningful directions.

Ultimately, the purpose of life is to live, and live in abundance. There is no greater truth than this. We have been taught a lie, and that lie is that life is a fight over scarce resources, a war in which every person looks out only for themselves, and competes with others and the very universe itself, for scarce and dwindling resources. However, by simply reflecting on nature, we see that this is not the truth. Our earth provides more than enough abundance for all its creatures to live, to reproduce, and to enjoy their lives at whatever evolutionary level each creature happens to be at. Nature, for all its complexity, tends towards balance and harmony. It is only human beings who live lives of scarcity, extreme competition, and imbalance, seemingly against the laws of nature. The tragedy of this is that it is self-imposed, it does not have to be this way. However, to change this state of affairs for ourselves, it means we have to change our way of thinking. It means we have to change our minds, and this is not easy. After all, who has the time to really spend on changing ourselves? After a hard days work, most people collapse, with barely enough strength to carry themselves to bed at night. It seems too hard. But it is really simpler than we imagine.

A wise man once said a journey of a thousand steps begins with the first one. All problems become easier to solve if they can be broken down into small steps. So here is step one, perhaps the hardest of all the steps, but if mastered it will send you along your journey with a full head of steam, ready to unlock the powers that lie hidden and dormant within you:

Believe that God, the universe, whatever you choose to call the universal structure of our existence, loves you as its child and wants you to be happy, successful, fulfilled, and living in an abundance of good. You must believe, essentially, that life is good in all its manifestations, and is structured only to give you good things and these in abundance.

Notice I did not say you had to believe in any particular God or religion, although if you are religious this can make the first step a bit easier for most. But you do not need to be religious to take this first step. You simply must take it. What have you got to lose? If it works (and it surely will if taken faithfully and with conviction) then you have begun to build a better life for yourself. If it doesn't, then you lose nothing other than a few minutes of your day. Either way, I am certain you will not be disappointed.

Of course, this is only step one. The next steps involve practicing the art of awakening and experiencing all the good that life has for us. Taking these next steps involves researching and finding teachers, books, and programs that can help you unlock the secret potential lying hidden within you. This is where you begin the work of building your life, brick by brick.

Truth

The Hollywood awards season has begun, illustrating once again that many people still believe that wealth, fame, and power are the only true measures of a successful life. Many people rarely stop to consider whether this belief is true, because this generation is rarely exposed to the truth. Advertising, television shows, movies, and other forms of media, fill us with a mountain of propaganda designed to enchant us with their vision of what they consider real, and what their definition of true success is. Their vision becomes for us a dream, one that haunts our minds and hearts, and soon becomes a way of life. This way of life, however, can cause harm. Many reality TV shows illustrate this fact, especially shows like Jersey Shore, which celebrate ignorance, conflict, sexual promiscuity, and alcoholic excess, all in the name of wealth, fame, and power. This type of behavior is what passes for truth today. Is it any wonder there is so much despair, suffering, and violence? Is it any wonder that people today are lost, like sheep without a shepherd?

The Bible teaches as a man thinks in his mind, so he is. What a person believes is true determines what type of person they will become, and what sort of life they will have. What our generation accepts as truth is not simply an intellectual idea, it becomes a way of life. Unfortunately, this way of life is ultimately destructive for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is fundamentally unattainable for the vast majority of people. Why? Because it is based on an illusion, it is a Hollywood and Media creation, with very little basis in fact. Without overstating it, many in our society are coming to the conclusion that this may be true, that the packaged truth of Hollywood and the media is designed to keep us trapped in an illusion. They look for a scapegoat: is it the Illuminati, the Church, the Government, Minorities, Illegal Immigrants, Islamic Terrorism? Maybe its all of them together, who knows? Sometimes, like in the tragic Arizona shooting, certain people become so cut off from reality, that they refuse to consider reasonable arguments, and accept even more extreme forms of untruth. One evil spirit leaves and 7 worse spirits come back and take their place. And as Our Lord said so well, the state of the person is worse than it was before.

However, there is another mountain of truth, a city which sits on a hill and shines its light on the wilderness of untruth. If we have ears to hear, and eyes to see, we will resonate with it and when we do we will, for the first time, truly live. We will, for all intents and purposes, be born again.

In order to hear this truth, you do not have to join a church, or confess your sins in front of a stadium full of people. You do, however, need to repent(which means "change your mind", not confess your dirty laundry), and believe that God loves you and wants you to be happy, successful, and live a life of complete wholeness and abundance with him in this life, and the life to come. You need to believe that the power that the multitudes seek is not out there in the world, but is instead inside each one of us, waiting to be unleashed. This power is called many things, however for Christians this power is the Power of the Spirit, the Christ, the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. This is the truth that resides inside each of us, waiting to be activated and released. The world sees you as simple, unimportant, and anonymous but you are not that in the eyes of God. In Gods eyes, you are a potential Son or Daughter, an heir to the Kingdom and Glory of the Creator of the Universe. You are special because of who you are, not because of what you do or what you have. When you accept this truth, and act on it, the heavens are torn open, and the Spirit of Truth alights upon you like a dove. All other unclean spirits and useless lies are swept away as you begin living a life of power, overcoming, joy, love, and peace. It is at this point that anything becomes possible, because you have been reborn as a child of God.

Jesus of Nazareth taught that if one does not love truth more than everything else in their life then they were not fit to call themselves his disciples. The Psalmist tells us that some trust in chariots and horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God, which is another way of saying we trust in his truth. Truth is the Word made Flesh, the Christ, the One Who Came Down from Heaven. The multitudes in the wilderness of this generation are given food to eat which brings death, affliction, and suffering but those who truly overcome eat the bread of the Christ, which is truth, the true Manna which came down form heaven. This truth opens the door for true success, overcoming, abundance, and peace. It gives life, and overcomes death.

We have been lied to. We are being lied to. However, the truth lies within. Seek it and you will find it and your life will never be the same

The Passion of Jared Lee Loughner

In the wake of the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, which resulted in the murder of six innocent people, among them a nine year old girl, Americans across the country are rightfully mourning this horrible event, and are attempting to understand what exactly happened.

** (As a side note, President Obama offered a wonderful tribute to the victims and the survivors, once again calling all Americans to a larger vision, one that seeks to raise the overall level of public discourse. I believe it was his finest moment , and you can see it here: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/01/12/us/1248069557385/obama-calls-for-civility-in-politics.html)**

The corporate media, eager to seize the story and sell it for advertising dollars, has offered its stock answer when things like this happen, which is that the violence was a single act of a “crazed shooter” a young man named Jared Lee Loughner. This is standard operating procedure for the media which seeks to simplify all stories for general consumption, making the story easier to sell. And while there is truth to the fact that Loughner was a deeply troubled young man, and likely did commit the murder on his own, much to the media’s chagrin, a sub-story has begun to emerge which seems to indicate that Loughner may have been influenced by powerful political and media movements and personalities. This revelation came shortly after the shootings from an unlikely source, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. Below is an excerpt of some of Dupnik’s statements:

"The kind of rhetoric that flows from people like Rush Limbaugh, in my judgment he is irresponsible, uses partial information, sometimes wrong information," Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said today. "[Limbaugh] attacks people, angers them against government, angers them against elected officials and that kind of behavior in my opinion is not without consequences."
"The vitriol affects the [unstable] personality that we are talking about," he said. "You can say, 'Oh no, it doesn't,' but my opinion is that it does."
**(source: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/arizona-sheriff-blasts-rush-limbaugh-spewing-irresponsible-vitriol/story?id=12583285)**

It is clear what Dupnik is saying: certain members of the media are responsible for inciting a disturbed young man to commit a horrible crime. And by extension, of course, he is accusing those who support them politically, and benefit directly from their shows, for creating an atmosphere of anger towards the government which, in Dupnik’s own words, “has consequences.” The media began noticing that more and more people were resonating with Dupnik’s comments. They then began to further question whether organizations like the Tea Party movement, led by folks like Sarah Palin, were not also somehow responsible for the violence because of the rhetoric and tactics used by many of these groups during the mid-term elections. For example, Network and Cable news showed a picture from Palin’s website, which at the time directed supporters to key midterm elections areas by covering their location on a map of the United States using an icon shaped like a rifle scope sight. Unfortunately, Gabrielle Giffords district was one of the areas in one of these rifle sights. Of course, no one is accusing Palin of advocating direct violence against Giffords or anyone else, however they are questioning her use of symbols.

Here is a link to a copy of the image:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x137918

Palin, for her part, is now accusing people like Dupnik, and others in the media, of “blood libel.” It is interesting that Palin would use this racist charge, which was directed by Anti-Semites at European Jews for the ridiculous crime of being a “Christ Killer.” However, we all know that Ms. Palin is not always on top of what she says, so an analysis of her words can wait for another post.

Here is Palin's official response:

http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/pages/rrnews.html?feed=393046&article=8045494

I leave it for you to decide whether Dupnik is being fair in his criticism, and whether the media is guilty of blood libel against Palin and the Tea Party movement. What is clear, however, is that Jared Lee Loughner, if he is indeed guilty of the crime of which he is accused, was more than just a lone crazed nut. While not a member of the Tea Party Movement, it is evident by his online activity that he was sympathetic to many of the ideas espoused by the Tea Party and others who hold similar political views.

The following link explains what is known about Loughner, his beliefs, and online activity:

http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/pages/rrnews.html?feed=393046&article=8026668

What can we learn from this horrible event? That America is a deeply divided country, and those divisions are used and exploited by those who seek to gain power, money, and influence. However, ideas are powerful, and always lead to action. Jared Lee Loughner, and the innocent victims he killed or wounded, are calling us all to examine our ideas because they will determine what kind of a country our children will inherit. Will it be a country unified and strong, or one divided and violent? This tragedy presents an opportunity, if we can learn from it.

Letter to Sam Harris

I recently purchased the atheist Sam Harris’ audio book: Letter to a Christian Nation, and I am glad I did. Let me first say that I am enjoying listening to Mr. Harris’ arguments which are interesting, mostly compelling, and in some cases bitingly true. Mr. Harris’ arguments concerning the violence, and misogyny of the Bible, and the non-uniqueness of its moral teaching are excellent. His comparison of the compassion of Jesus and Jainism is also interesting, and I wish he took this topic further . I am about half way through, and I can say it was well worth the 12 dollars I spent from the I tunes gift card I received for Christmas.

What the book lacks, and to be fair Mr. Harris may have left some things out because of the format of the book, is a quite a lot. If Mr. Harris is summarizing the very best of what atheism has to offer as arguments against religion, then I am afraid atheism will not last as a viable philosophy for very much longer.

To begin, I would like to point out where Mr. Harris’ arguments are strong. He points out that the Bible says quite clearly, and in the manner of direct divine commands from Yahweh himself, that we should stone adulterers, homosexuals, idolaters, etc. Harris rightly points out that the Old Testament supports and endorses the practice of slavery, and the practice of selling one’s daughters into slavery. And lest you think that this only appears in the Old Testament, he points out that Jesus stated, in Matthew’s Gospel, that every letter of the ancient Mosiac Law is endorsed and fulfilled in him. Harris also shows how St. Paul in no way opposed the practice of slavery, but in fact encouraged Christian slaves to remain faithful t their masters. This seems to show that Jesus, and the early church, supported the violent, oppressive, and misogynistic tendencies of the Old Testament. And in his strongest argument, he points out that Christians are rightly atheistic when it comes to acceptance of the bizarre doctrines of Islam. How can we be so sure our bizarre doctrines are the Word of God? He then makes what I think is his strongest argument, that compassion, love, and non-violence are often more honestly expressed in other religions, specifically Jainism. After all, he explains, Martin Luther King learned non-violence from Gandhi, a Hindu, not Christ.

Harris also makes great arguments showing how Christianity has, throughout the ages, used literal interpretation of the Bible to justify all sorts of cruelty and oppression, and is doing the same thing today. He then calls out Christian Liberals and Progressives, and asks them whether their insistence on the loving aspects of Christianity are just the opposite practice of those who use the more violent aspects to justify their interpretation. Harris contends that the Christian Bible is full of both, and you cannot “cherry pick.” The Bible, according to Harris, stands or falls on everything it contains. Either it is the Word of God, or not. Either Jesus is the Son of God, or he is not. Either he is right, or they are. There can be no compromise.

And this is where his argument falls apart, because by presenting the issue in this manner, he sets himself up for failure. Most atheists argue from the following position, which is a position of strength: “it is the religious person who must prove to me, reasonably and rationally, that their religion and their god are real.” However, Harris has now put atheism to the same test. And from what I can see, according to Harris’ best arguments, it does not stand the test of reason or rationality.

To start, Harris asserts that the pursuit of happiness, and compassion towards one’s fellow man characterized by the alleviation of suffering, is an innate human instinct that would exist whether religion taught it or not. He makes a passing comment about chimpanzee social behavior to attempt to prove his point. I imagine he would admit that this is not his strongest argument, after all there is a huge difference between chimpanzee and human social behavior in terms of complexity, and I am certain he knows this. However, his argument is clear: human decency and morality is not divine, it is innate, a product or evolution, and as a result we do not need a god or gods to tell us what we already know. If anything, these gods get in the way and replace real human decency with barbarity in the name of faith, religion, church, and god.

Fair enough. However here is the problem with his line of reasoning. Remember, we cannot cherry pick, according to Harris. If humans are simply evolved primates, according to reason, the desire to kill, to destroy rivals, to forcefully procreate with a weaker female, to exert influence and power directly and by force, and for males to dominate their territory are as innate and instinctual as the pursuit of happiness, compassion, the alleviation of suffering, etc. If we are the product of purely natural forces, and Harris contends as self-evident that there is more evidence for this truth than divine creation, then there can be no value judgments here. There is no good and bad, only taste and personal opinion. Evolution created us this way, and we can in no way judge one set of behaviors as better or worse. All of these traits make up the human person, just as they make up the chimpanzee. Like Harris’ criticism of Liberal Christians, we must take what we call the good of primate and human behavior with what we call the bad. In fact, they are both the same, they are simply evolutionary traits which influence behavior. Humans are simply smarter and more complex chimps, who behave as they behave. Good and bad have nothing to do with it, what they reflect is personal taste.

Harris makes another passing comment about how primate and human evolutionary social behavior has managed to balance or suppress our darker traits, and encourage compassion, alleviation of suffering, etc. He in no way tries to prove this statement, he simply asserts it as self-evident. What Harris fails to address is what evolutionary benefit is there for compassionate, decent behavior to the exclusion of dominant, aggressive, violent behavior? From an evolutionary standpoint, if a new species wishes to survive, and to pass on its genes successfully to the next generation, then it must be aggressive, violent, territorial, exclusive, intolerant of rivals, etc. In fact, assuming Judeo-Christianity is as violent, exclusive, and oppressive as he claims, isn’t this exactly what we would expect to see from evolved, highly intelligent primates? This aggressive behavior would ensure social cohesion, that the new ideas would be passed on to the next generation, and would give the group the ability to dominate their environment. What is ironic is that Harris, in expressing moral outrage and in pointing out the hypocrisy of organized Judaism and Christianity, is exposing that the religion of the Bible appears to have been created by atheists. Harris, by taking a moral position regarding human behavior, is more in line with those liberal religious believers who claim that religion as we know it has been corrupted in order to dominate and exploit. Ironic.

The fact is, if the behaviors that Harris likes are actually good, and the other behaviors, while instinctual, should be controlled because they are bad, then we are in the realm of something beyond the natural. Harris claims there is very little evidence for the divine in creation, however he fails to see what is right in front of his nose. If humans can judge between behaviors, and call some of them good and some of them bad, then they must be using a universal standard as a source, something beyond themselves which enlightens the mind, otherwise we re simply fooling ourselves. Because if atheism is true, then there is no good or bad, and it should be equally acceptable for me to use good and bad behavior to achieve happiness, and pass on my traits to the next generation successfully. If I wish to be an honest atheist, I must admit that societal conventions of human compassion and kindness are recipes for the demise and failure of the further survival of the human species, specifically my race,culture,religion, and country. It is unreasonable to expect me to love my neighbor if it gets in the way of passing on my genes to the next generation. And this goes for countries and philosophies, and religions. In order to succeed and survive, all rival ideas and gods must be dealt with and crushed. That is the truth of evolution.

If I insist on calling some things good and bad, I am admitting that there exists a universal knowledge, sourced outside of myself which I can access. Harris has managed to prove that there is more to existence than what can be observed in natural phenomenon. He has managed to prove the existence of something beyond human nature, an idea of good and bad behavior. In attempting to prove Christianity false he has proven Atheism false.