The happiest people I know all meditate! They have realized that true and constant happiness comes from within and that short-term promises of happiness outside, through consumption, drugs, sex, entertainment and success are only short-lived. What a gift to arrive at this inner point in a world where most people are guided by outer impulses rather than by their own heart truth!
Learn to meditate – What is meditation?
In my experience, meditation means bringing the mind and body to rest. This quality wants to be cultivated at the beginning of meditation practice, for which meditation exercises to focus attention are very helpful. It is a matter of conscious observation of the breath, thoughts and sensations of the body – but without being set in motion. We remain silent and observe! Everything may emerge and experiences increasingly less evaluation. Thus a space is created in us, in which more capacity for the movements and feelings of life develops, whereby an ever deeper immersion into the experience and the presence of the present moment, the NOW, happens.
Watching the breath – as an anchor of presence
In the tradition of the Cherokee Indians it is said that there is nothing in life that you can be truly certain of – everything is changing. You can only be sure of one fact as long as you live: You breathe in and you breathe out! So the breath can also be a helpful tool for meditation. Sit down and watch your breath flow all by itself. You don’t have to add or remove anything. Be aware, the breath flows all by itself! Through this perception one usually becomes calmer very quickly. Try it once, daily 5-15 minutes to feel how you are BEATMET by life.
Learn meditation – feeling as the key to mastery
I’ve been meditating for about 14 years now. In all the years of meditation I have gone through various stages of meditation. When I started with my meditation exercises and decided to really learn meditation, I had ended up in a life crisis. In the beginning meditation helped me to arrive stronger and calmer, but also to support my flight tendency from life and the demands and efforts of everyday life by beaming away into my illusory world. Through meditation and the meditation exercise I came more and more clearly to an addition of the present feeling of what is just there. I learned to take the emerging feelings, thoughts and body sensations without letting them take over me too much. So the meditation practice went up to that state where I can stay in a meditative state, far away from my thoughts, for almost the whole day. Because no matter how far and where we beam ourselves away through meditation, the feelings wait in the body until we come back to just be felt. This is my tip to you: Start feeling NOW and if the word feeling is too abstract for you, try to consciously and more consciously perceive what life in you sets in motion. Every movement of joy, lust, sadness, loneliness, fear, insecurity – the totality of life! Without avoiding it.
Learn meditation – the end of the search
Many people seek, often also those who are on the spiritual path. But what exactly are they looking for? In the direct experience of spiritual awakening – enlightenment – it is realized that you have always and at all times sought YOU and YOU experience. The ubiquitous NOW, with all the emotions, the ups and downs, the totality of life itself! There is nothing more or less than this moment. No one has more than this moment. So your happiness sometimes depends on how consciously you can perceive and enjoy this moment. Meditation and presence creating meditation exercises can connect you more and more exactly with this experience.
Learn meditation – Different ways of meditation – explained by a ticking clock
As different as the people are, are also the meditation exercises and the ways to meditate and meditate and learn meditation. There is a nice example of a ticking clock that vividly explains some basic types of meditation and the various meditation exercises. I would like to briefly explain this here.
- The Zen Master: He can immerse himself so deeply in meditation that he no longer perceives the ticking of the clock through his physical senses. Even in the subconscious no more stimuli are taken up. The measurements of his brain waves with EEG during meditation indicate that no stimuli are perceived by the senses – no rash!
- The Buddhist monk: He has the ability, through deep immersion in meditation, to shift the attention of the senses so strongly inwards that the ticking of the clock on the outside no longer disturbs him. Nevertheless, the stimuli are perceived at a subtle, subconscious level and the EEG measurements indicate a rash of these stimuli caused by the ticking of the clock. However, these are not real-time, but slowed down because the yogi’s sense of time has changed both internally and externally.
- The Tantra-Yogi: He gives himself to the moment and to life, with all that belongs to it. He meditates in the presence of the moment and perceives the ticking of the clock, every single rash, without being disturbed in his inner center and calmness. The recording of his brain waves also shows in real time how each tick follows a tick. He is completely present, meditating and aware of himself as a living soul in the body and in the world with all its stimuli.
The third way is that which I have learned in the experience and on my journey of meditating, perceived as most precious to me. So over the years it has become my goal to let the movements of life, with all that life contains, flow freely in me with the increasing meditation exercises and to try to give myself to them. Which doesn’t mean it’s always easy – learning meditation is a way of practice. But I feel with every moment how it fills me to be present with everything that comes up. Thus much of avoidance strategy and escape has found peace and tranquility in me. For what can throw you out of your midst if you have created more and more space in your consciousness and body for the multi-layered emotions of life?
That’s the way I can offer you and the way I live for!
Take a look at the video here to get a little introduction to a meditation technique for beginners.
To learn meditation, meditation come to my regular meditation evenings, healing rituals and workshops to experience the LIVE written here in the living moment!