The Final Frontier….

I’m sometimes surprised by people’s reactions to meditation, particularly when they give up after a few attempts because they fail to achieve instant results. I know. We shouldn’t be surprised. We live in a world where we can push a button to order a product and our immediate wishes are granted. We are not prepared to wait for anything. But if the allure of enlightenment and the bliss of illumination provided you with the motivation to begin meditating, it’s helpful to remember that the benefits are only revealed with daily practice and a lifetime of dedication. Despite the ads on social media promising instant enlightenment, there are no shortcuts to the process of mastering the mind and exploring the deeper levels of consciousness. And it isn’t a race.

When I began my first meditation practice, my teachers encouraged me to concentrate simply on my breathing. There was no goal and no expectation. Just slow, gentle, rhythmic breathing. Despite the frenzied activity of my over-active mind, after a while my thoughts became calmer. I lost track of time. This is an entirely natural response to the practice of deeper, slower breathing. We turn down our anxiety and encourage a state of inner peace where we can experience a profound sense of wellbeing. There’s nothing mystical about this experience. It’s a normal, physiological response to the change in our breathing patterns. Since we have no expectations and are free from the mind’s constant desire to distract us with its chaotic rush of mental and emotional energy, our perception shifts. Outside of a fixed agenda, we are free to experience whatever arises from this deeper state of calm. The key is to adopt the practice as a daily habit, a powerful technique that supports our health and wellbeing.

My teachers reminded me that the mind will resist this process. It will attempt to impose control by flooding our consciousness with as many images and feelings as possible. This is where most people quit and decide - prematurely - that meditation is not for them. But all that’s required is to keep breathing and relax, allowing the stream of consciousness to rush wherever it chooses, cultivating an effortless sense of detachment from the tumultuous cascade of imagery that the mind projects to capture our attention. Yes, it takes time so daily practice is the key. But the benefits provide a fabulous treasure-trove of gifts that enhance our health, our wellbeing, our understanding and even our sense of personal identity. The ancients taught that the progress we make during this life-long practice transcend the limits of time and space and accompany us through all our future incarnations, bringing us ever closer to complete realisation and the ultimate state of consciousness in which enlightenment reveals our true and enduring nature.

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