Quiet the Mind and Excite the Spirit with Meditation

If you think meditation is only for all those crystal clutching, granola munching, tree hugging, incense burning, drum circling oddballs out there...well, you probably have plenty of company in your opinion. Fact is the brainwaves found in and sought after in active meditation are actually a very normal and natural part of our brain's functions. If you have ever watched snowflakes falling, or watched rain roll down a windowpane, your mind has taken you quite naturally to those brain waves. If you have ever driven home from work and thought the car must have been on autopilot because you have difficulty remembering the drive, your mind led you to those brain waves by the sheer repetitiveness of the task. If you have ever been brought to tears by watching a movie or reading a book, your mind has been in those lovely meditative brain waves.

Am I writing this to sell people on the health benefits of meditation? Why bother? There are thousands of articles, research studies, websites, and books on the subject, just a couple of clicks away on the internet. Do I want to teach you how to meditate in an effective manner? There is a cottage industry out there looking for you, willing to take some money off your hands if you think you need help. As already mentioned, it is a natural process. I am writing to share some incredible experiences with meditation, and hopefully reach a couple of people who might enjoy them.

For those of you, who liken meditation to a gateway drug; just think about that for a moment or two. If you think meditating will lead you down a path of urges to eat yogurt, switch out your Led Zeppelin cds for Yanni, and start feeling a need to wear only loose-fitting clothes...well you probably would also like those websites willing to take your money to teach you how to do it. Consider for a second you are a woman in your forties, and after meditating, you want to eat some yogurt. Well, while your mind was in those open and accepting brain waves, your body told you it is about time you added some more calcium to your diet. As for new age music, it can be inductive of reaching the meditative state because of the absence of lyrics or a catchy melody you want to hum along or dance to. The loose fitting clothes? Come on. Comfort over style. We all want that occasionally. Fact is, if you are still reading at this point, you might agree, are intrigued, or just want to see where this is going.

Meditation has led me to places more exciting than the most sought after vacation destinations in the world. It has brought me to places more quiet than a library reading only room. Through my own desire, it has brought me to a place where I can be comfortable within my own skin and with the energy around me. That was good enough for me.

Why do we scoff at those who follow meditation with a religious devotion? Perhaps it is the rituals used by some. If you think you can only meditate with a white candle burning, patchouli incense filling the room, listening to new age musical expressions, and sitting on your favorite hemp fiber pillow, then you are simply someone who enjoys setting a mood. We all like to 'set the mood' for things sometimes. Does it mean reason and logic must be deserted to find a meditative state? Just the opposite. Meditation can actually enhance those qualities.

Whether this article reads to you as a sales pitch or a testimonial is of little difference. If you want to read about some personal experiences within a meditative state, the articles will follow. If you want to laugh at them, go ahead. Laughter is very good for you. If you want to satisfy some deep curiosity, feel free. Curiosity is a sign of a healthy mind. If you want to learn from them or try to experience them for yourself; let love shine on you and guide your way to far better experiences than can be described.

I will share meditations that led me through regressive childhood romps and understanding what later surfaced as adult inhibitions. I will explain meditations that opened my mind, unlocked my heart, and helped me to understand spirit. Meditation has taken me through a journey within my own body and to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. Did the experience change me into someone too sanctimonious to laugh at her own mistakes or too mellow to remember her responsibilities? Just the thought is laugh out loud funny, so I suspect you can assume the answer.

Meditation is a very personal encounter and the reasons for wishing to explore it can be as diverse as our distinct personalities. Whatever the motivation, it is as natural as breathing and can be enjoyed on a multitude of levels. Whether it is for enlightenment or just lightening up, health benefits or satisfying inquisitiveness, quieting the mind or exciting the spirit your brain will do it in any case. You have known it passively all your life and can be blown away by pursuing it actively.