What is Meditation?

Visualize a person sitting in a cross legged position with their eyes closed, are they meditating? No matter what is going on in the internal landscape of that individual’s mind, the position is clue that they are meditating, right?! The answer is not so easy. In Western culture, we use meditation synonymously with terms like “mindfulness practices” and therefore, at least colloquially, any technique focused on directing the mind becomes “meditation” - even if it is just the act of sitting. Yet, this is not true in a traditional sense. Meditation is much more specific.

Meditation, or its cultural equivalent, is used across many religions and wisdom traditions as diverse as yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, psychology and Stoicism among others. Each tradition has its own term as well as a series of techniques and practices to hone the mind in preparation for meditation. But despite the cultural, language and moralistic differences of these traditions, the idea of meditation is surprisingly similar. All these traditions recognize the challenges a busy mind plays on one’s quality of life, and seek to quiet the flow of thoughts through practices honing one’s focus, self-awareness, and concentration leading to meditation.

These traditions have widely influenced each other over the millennia, and as such the kernel of what meditation is is strikingly similar to all. To oversimplify it, a person has hundreds of thoughts flowing through their mind at any one time that lead to distraction, cultivates desires, and leads to suffering. As the individual practices along their chosen path, they learn several techniques that build mental awareness, knowledge of their mental patterns, the ability to focus or concentrate, self-awareness and the ability to observe their experience, discipline to live more intentionally, control over the breath, senses, and emotions, endurance to sit, endurance to sustain focus, etc. As one’s practice deepens over time, the individual eventually becomes able to sit completely absorbed in a single dedicated thought. This absorption in a single thought is defined as meditation.

"As one’s practice deepens over time, the individual eventually becomes able to sit completely absorbed in a single dedicated thought. This absorption in a single thought is defined as meditation."

In other words, the practice of meditation is traditionally an advanced stage on the path toward enlightenment after the individual has honed all the above skills. For example, the yoga tradition has 8 limbs that outline the path to self-realization: the yamas, niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. All of these limbs offer some form of training for the practitioner, honing of the mind and study of the self on the path to achieving self-realization. At least four include practices that look like meditation, but only the seventh limb - dhyana - translates to meditation. This limb of the yoga tradition, defines meditation as sustaining complete absorption on a single thought, or complete control over one’s mind. In yoga, meditation is often considered fleeting, difficult if not impossible until you have honed the previous 6 limbs.

Let’s go a bit deeper into this definition. First, complete absorption here references full attention towards the thought at the expense of all other thoughts, sensations, and stimuli. There is no room for distraction. Second, a single thought references a solitary thing, not deconstructing the layers of meaning, nor fragments of a thing, but rather the essence encapsulated by the whole. In this way, to truly meditate on a single thought, a practitioner may have to study the many layers and aspects of a thing to fully comprehend and know it intrinsically in order to sustain its fullness in their mind. And lastly, we can sustain the state of meditation for an extended period of time. But length of time here is also hard to understand for those who are not experienced practitioners as time is an illusion - fluid. In essence, if one has complete control over the mind and not in meditation, it is an intentional choice not to be. Thus, one who can meditate, could conceivably meditate forever.

"Meditation is a state of being, not a practice."

Meditation is truly a state of being more than a practice. And as such, the "practice" of meditation is a misnomer. One who meditates is not distracted by lower level thoughts, but rather is perfectly content meditating on the single thought. Rather they ARE meditation. It is perhaps clearer to say that the practitioner transcends or evolves into meditation. Thus, if one truly meditates, time does not matter. it can be for a single second where they embrace the fullness of unity, or perhaps a lunar cycle under a bodhi tree.

Until the capacity to evolve in this way is achieved, the practitioner slowly builds the capacity to sit with trained focus on a single thought like a long-distance runner building their endurance. Thus, the practice of meditation, or mindfulness practice, supports the individual to work through the various aspects of their body, mind, and intellect to culminate in a seated practice that supports the transformation to enlightenment.

Being Not Doing

All of the various techniques leading up to that state are critical techniques on the path that must be practiced and honed prior to achieving the state of meditation. All of these prior techniques are really about fixing the mind in a direction whereas meditation is a state of being. A key component to help us understand this difference is that in meditation one isn’t trying to do something, they just are. In all previous techniques applied, there is an intention that must be held in addition to the practice one is applying (the practitioner holds a minimum of at least two thoughts - the intention, and the focused thought, thereby not meditating). Thus, we practice techniques that help us build self-awareness and breakdown conditioning and habits. These techniques all fall under mindfulness techniques, and support us with the same benefits mentioned above. So although we may be doing practices, and not being meditation, they are still very important, valuable, and transformative.

"When practicing, the individual holds at least two thoughts - their intention, and the focused thought, thereby not meditating."

Meditation is about connection

One of the pitfalls of practicing mindful techniques without being dedicated to a specific lineage is that it can be easy to become confused or fall into harmful practices. For example, the definition of meditation is to be absorbed in a single thought - but what if the thought is bad or harmful? What is preventing someone to enhance their own ego, or narcissistic tendencies? It is very easy to practice what you think leads to enlightenment only to realize that the practice has enhanced negative tendencies. We all can point to experiences with a spiritually righteous individual that led us to question the spiritual path.

But a mindful practice embedded in wisdom traditions has a specified goal and a specified moral structure to guide the practitioner and to avoid the pitfalls of spiritual righteousness, spiritual bypassing, and other challenges that arise. Having a teacher and a community become essential on the path to help identify these common pitfalls, become aware when they occur, and learn from others the common human foibles when they occur. And thus, although meditation is a singularly isolated practice, it is honed in community, supports and builds relationships. Further, the essence of the thought meditated on, also is one that supports connection. When reflecting on some of the common things used to practice toward meditation - Om, breath, gratitude, peace - are all universal, and bridges across beings. Thus, meditation is intended as a practice of merging with that which connects all beings, rather than that which separates beings. If our practice leads to separation, what is the purpose? We should practice so that all our effort supports connection.

Preparation for Meditation

The 8 Limbs of Yoga lay out a foundational practice the individual takes to prepare both the body and the mind to sit in meditation. But, regardless of whether or not one is a yogi, it is good to consider what it takes to meditate. There are three very common challenges the practitioner should build habits and awareness around to be able to meditate. First, because one has to sit still for an extended period of time, it is good to regularly practice various exercises such as yoga asana, to strengthen and open key areas of the body to support a seated practice. Whether you meditate seated on a chair, in a cross legged position, walking in nature, or lying on the earth, the practitioner needs to sustain that position for an extended period of time, and will need to build the capacity for their body to hold the position. The practitioner can cultivate strength, flexibility and endurance.

Second, the mind is very busy and flits from one thought to the next like a bee to pollen. Exerting the body physically or through some intentional breathwork can help alleviate agitations of both the body and the mind, leaving the practitioner less likely to be distracted or waylaid by thoughts. Both exercise and breathwork have ample research supporting their practice to regulate the nervous system, reduce the potency of emotions, and support a more equanimous state of mind while practicing.

Lastly, a seated practice can easily be derailed from a body whose normal functioning becomes a trigger for distraction. Whether needing to use the restroom, or feeling the pangs of hunger, tending to the needs of the body in sufficient time to practice is always recommended. Timing here is important. Eating too recently can lead to a tired or lethargic state which leads to sleeping rather than practice. Being hungry can lead the mind to be distracted on when the next meal is causing the intention for your practice to be entirely missed. There are many other ways one can prepare to meditate, but these three tend to lead the average practitioner to be more successful in their seated practice.

Boredom and Meditation

Quick note on the role of boredom in meditation. Do not be afraid of boredom! It is a boon on your path to meditation. Both Buddhism and Yoga regularly acknowledge that a practitioner who gets bored and feels the nothingness of the moment, is in a state just preceding meditation. The challenge is then to double down on your intention, direct your awareness back to the single thought, and not let your senses become distracted by other stimuli. This is a critical point where boredom becomes a trigger to strengthen our meditation rather than a trigger to return to the pleasure/pain dichotomy.

Tips for Meditation:

1. Start Small: When beginning a meditation practice, start small. Start by trying to focus your awareness for a single minute. The basic techniques for this are observing the flow of one’s breath, counting to 100, or simply chanting a word or short phrase. Do not overtire yourself by pushing yourself to practice too long.

2. Build the Habit first: Allow your intention to be building the habit of showing up for your seated practice, rather than perfecting a technique or lengthening the time. Meditation is not something that just happens. Many practitioners who have meditated for decades, still have days where a five minute meditation is asking too much. A strong practitioner is one that show up regardless of what is going on in their mind or their lives.

3. Lengthen the practice slowly and as needed: When you have tried to meditate for a minute for a period of time (at least 30 days), you can extend your practice to 2 times a day, and then perhaps 5 minutes. Do not worry if you can do it one day and not the next. Allow for each day to be different. Observe the differences and work with your practice to support what you WILL do rather than what you SHOULD do.

4. Try different meditation techniques: There are tons of different styles, meditation techniques and approaches. If one style feels awful, uncomfortable or too much, try a different one. Explore your own discomfort but also give yourself permission to try other styles. Find peace with what works for you. Remember many sects were formed due to someone feeling the need to personalize their meditation practices!

5. Set your Intention: Both yoga and Buddhism often return to the concepts of “Intention” and “Attention” as the key to progressing on our path. Try not to sit for your practice with a distracted mind. Instead, use the practice of setting an intention to support your focus and harness the power of the mind towards a direction that serves you and builds connection.

6. Practice not perfectionism: In the process of learning to meditate, we must build our capacity to focus, maintain that concentration, exclude external stimuli, stop the mind’s storytelling, observe the self, etc. It is a lot! Be gracious with yourself and know that technique is there to support you not to judge you. We are all navigating the way the mind functions. So don't give up when it is hard, or not perfect. Remember, it is only practice.

Enjoy the meditation below on the classic and foundational technique of Naming and Noting our thoughts!

https://soundcloud.com/sarah-miller-923786880/naming-and-noting-meditation