Meditation is something that has been around forever and yet there is still there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about the purpose of meditation.
It’s possible that people meditate for different reasons and with a desire to achieve different results, however, meditation is primarily a doorway to the ‘expanded version of OURSELF’ and all the possibilities that this realization imparts upon us.
It is through meditation that we connect to the part of us that is the creator of the circumstances of our lives, our ‘inner being.’ In doing so, we can take control of our circumstances and overall well-being. And when we learn to appropriately direct our energy, we enable ourselves to create our life as we desire it to be, rather than just living it by default.
What is wrong with the way I am currently living my life?
Currently, the majority of people are ‘human doings’ instead of ‘human beings.’ We may call ourselves human beings but the reality is that we are caught up in, and distracted by, so much stuff that is happening to us and around us every moment of our lives. There is so much going on that we are just automatically reacting to based upon our conditioning, or the internal mind program that we identify with as ‘I.’ We have become used to not thinking most of the time and instead are just reacting and acting in ‘auto-pilot’ mode.
By auto-pilot, I mean that we can carry out many tasks every day without thinking about it. Once we have learned to walk, we do not need to give our attention to walking again. Driving a car becomes automatic once we have mastered the necessary skills, as does swimming and working (for many people who do repetitious work.) Even while talking with family and friends we see many people zoned out and thinking about other stuff.
Our minds resort to auto-pilot mode when we are not actively engaging it with our will. You may ask, “What is wrong with that? This is the way I have been living my life up until now and I’m ok.”
Why is living in auto-pilot mode not the best way to live?
Living in auto-pilot mode is repetitious and in the end, just plain boring!
Ask yourself, “Will I be happy in ten years if time my life is the same as it is now? This is what often happens to people when they have given up consciously thinking about their life’s circumstances and just settle for life as a human doing, going over the same stuff again and again.
Things do not need to be this way!
We, as humans, are fortunate among all the wonderful life on earth that we have the ability to learn and think beyond our programming and therefore create for ourselves a different or new reality from the life we are currently living. Other life, as we know it, is not so fortunate.
The reality for an oak tree is that it will only ever be an oak tree. A bird will only ever be a bird and the truth is that all life on earth, except for humans, can never aspire to be more than the limits of their programming.
What makes human beings different from all other life on earth?
It seems that many people don’t aspire to more than a life of continuing to live within the consensus reality and the limits that this narrow version of ALL THIS EXISTS prisons them within. If they are TRULY happy with that, then all is good, and they are living a life that has meaning for them.
However, there is a small percentage of people who are never satisfied with being confined, controlled, and manipulated by others. They desire MORE LIFE, MORE EXPERIENCE, and a GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PURPOSE FOR BEING HERE, alive on earth in this physical body at this time. The desire to know more and to experience more is what makes us different from other life forms that we know of. And the truth is that our greatest understanding of life has always come from those who have been able to turn WITHIN to KNOW THEMSELVES.
“There is a presence inside you. It is the life force that breathed your first breath when you were born. It is the life force that is breathing you now. It is a presence of unbelievable harmony, peace, and love, and it is inside of you. To connect with and feel the life presence, stop, close your eyes, relax, let go of thoughts, and focus deeply on the inside of your body for a few minutes. The more you do this exercise, the more the presence of pure harmony, peace, and love will arise within you.”
From: The Secret, Daily Teachings, by Rhonda Byrne. August 19, day 708.
What is the expanded version of my-SELF?
We have access to an ‘inner world,’ or energetic dimension/spiritual reality, which has so far remained out of reach of the majority of people that have walked on the earth. It has remained out of reach simply because people are either unaware of its existence, or have been misled about the way to tap into this infinitely valuable resource.
The truth is that it has always been there and is always available to anyone and everyone who is willing to do what is required to get there. The requirements are simple really, but not always easy.
To access our higher SELF/ inner being or connection to source energy we need to allow ourselves to have no thoughts, allow ourselves to just be, and allow ourselves to just do nothing – and to be ok with that.
We need to KNOW that sometimes it is ok to not need to be productive, to not need to be active, and to not need to do anything at all except just BE!
This means that we should release any need to control our meditation practice, and should not even try to understand it. Instead, let our meditations be a silent space where there is nothing for us to do, nothing that needs to be done, and nothing that should be done.
Just BE and allow source energy to flow through every cell of our body to refresh and uplift us, filling us with love and vital life force. NO thoughts, no actions, just BE.
Why would you want to journey into this ‘inner world?’
This inner world is the space that connects us to our ‘True SELF.’ Our true self is the energetic SELF that has existed since the beginning and will continue to exist forevermore. This true self is the creator of worlds and at the moment has chosen to create this life so that it can experience what it is to be alive in physical reality and play a ‘game of life’ with many other souls who have come here for the same reason.
While most souls inhabiting bodies now are completely distracted by all the feelings and emotions that having senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing have (which is really fun and exciting), there have always been a few ‘Enlightened 
Souls’ that have sought out this internal world to gain an understanding of the greater purpose of life. Those that have woken up to the truth of it have left clues for the rest of us on how we can also achieve an enlightened state of being, just as they did. Jesus Christ and Buddha are just two examples of who most people are aware of.
Meditation, contemplation, and prayer, are basically the same things and are an important step to finding out who we are and therefore the purpose of our life. Becoming enlightened is the bigger picture, however, what is more important for most people is “How can I benefit RIGHT NOW from a meditation practice?”
How will meditation help me in my daily life?
There are many advantages to establishing a regular meditation practice and no disadvantages. The goal of the practice should be to become more aware of YOURSELF and to learn WHY YOU ACT AND REACT in the ways you do, and to use this expanded awareness to help you in every aspect of your daily life.
So, to be useful to us, a meditation practice should reveal to us our own mind as it is our mind that is the source of all our thoughts that cause us to act and react, and leads us to feel certain ways. The results of these things then create the circumstances of our lives.
One of my previous posts, ‘how do I learn to meditate: The 2 biggest secrets to help you learn meditation that actually work‘ will provide you with the basic information you need when learning to meditate.
Meditation allows the observation of the mind, and once we come to understand that a lot of the time we are just reacting based on past habits, we can choose to continue with these habits if they serve our highest good, or we can begin to consciously change our habits to actively change our lives for the better.
When our mind is free from reacting in auto-pilot mode and is functioning with deliberate intention, we can become powerful creators of the content of our lives. There is nothing we want that we cannot create for ourselves, so why not begin to deliberately create things that are of benefit to us and that support our long-term goals? To do this, we need to become mindful of and considerate of our thoughts and the results they create.
With mindfulness or awareness of what is happening at the moment, we will also experience being present for conversations, being in tune with how we and others are feeling, being aware of what is happening around us or likely to happen, and so much more. This is made possible because the ‘whole of us’ (mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects) is engaging, instead of just the mind of a semi-distracted, multi-tasking human doing.
Actively trying to achieve something while meditating can block access to our inner guidance.
While using focused thoughts to create desired outcomes in our lives is a valid way to meditate, and I do encourage it in the beginning as a way to strengthen our mind, (if you wish to take this path), it is not the ultimate goal of a meditation practice.
Once we begin receiving the life we have been deliberately creating, we can move our focus from our human desires of accumulation, conquest, lust, etc. to focus on the reason our soul chose to come to earth at this time to experience life in a human body.
Our soul came here to have fun and to be a deliberate creator, and we are able to tap into what our soul wants us to learn once we let go of what our ego wants and quiet our mind. In this way, meditation allows us to hear our loving soul whispering to us.
This inner voice, or Soul Wisphering, will guide us to seek experience, adventure, and a life filled with love, joy, and fun. It will never guide us to live within a routine, day in and day out. Our Inner Voice is spontaneous and playful and is available to ALL OF US, but only when we have quietened our mind enough so that we can hear it.
Meditation puts us into a ‘receiving mode’ where we can access information from our whole or blended SELF.
Many people already receive signals or impulses from their Inner Being as gut feelings, intuition, inspiration, etc. The signals will be subtle at first but with practice, we can expect to receive ideas, feelings, and thoughts that we know have not originated from our normal thought processes more often. These messages come from our source energy or Inner Being, and our Inner Being wants us to know that we are not here alone and that we are intimately connected to the source of creation at all times. It simply cannot be any other way!
Knowing that we are an extension of Source energy allows us to live with confidence, a sense of freedom, and power, and the experience of living as a limited human doing simply cannot compare in any way!
Shared with light and love in the hopes of making the world a better place one soul at a time.
Andrew
Hi Andrew
I loved reading your article because I am currently exploring Meditation. I am a Christian and would like to know if you know anything about christian meditation or point me in the right direction?
Cheers,
Angee
Hi Angee,
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my article.
Meditation in itself is not ‘religious.’ I would, however, consider it a spiritual practice. And the fact that we are spiritual beings is, I think, the premise behind all religions. So anyone can practice meditation and not feel guilty that it may not meet the ‘approval’ of their religious leaders.
Meditation is another way of saying ‘to pray.’ It’s connecting to the higher aspects of ourselves that are communing with the source of all creation, which Christians refer to as God. That’s all.
So, by all means, meditate, pray, and try different methods if one is not working out for you. After all, your maker wouldn’t want you to give up just because you were uncomfortable, it was too noisy outside, too late at night, or you were too full after eating a big lunch.
Find any way you can to get closer to your God and your life will be dramatically improved, whether you are a Christian or not.
I wish you a wonderful journey, and thanks for visiting my blog 🙂
Andrew
Years ago I read an essay by Anna Quindlen, called “Doing Nothing is Something” and although it doesn’t exactly talk about meditation I think it relates.
I am always busy and I think I do many things on auto-pilot. Like most people I call productive days good days but good days can also be those when you do nothing.
There have been days when I did absolutely nothing and I didn’t feel as if I had been wasting time; you truly reconnect with yourself and those “lazy” days are necessary. We cannot forget who we are deep down. When we live only on auto-pilot we tend to forget WHO we are. I think that many people have forgotten who they are.
I should try to meditate on those “lazy” days but also on the productive ones. I never seem to get to it … but I know I’m making excuses. I just don’t think about it.
How can I make this part of my day without having to write reminders? Maybe I should start writing reminders until it becomes a part of my day?
Hi Christie,
Haha, yes, maybe you could start writing reminders to meditate until it becomes a habit. When you begin reaping more of the benefits of meditating, it will become something that you won’t need to remind yourself about….. your mind and body will actually remind you because they will crave the benefits that meditation brings….. However, until then, maybe reminders are a good option.
I agree, sometimes lazy days are beneficial for us. No one can operate at 80 to 100% capacity all the time without suffering from burnout or some other problems. Our busyness is a form of avoiding ourselves….. so maybe when we become more accepting of ourselves, we will not need to rush around so much to avoid ourselves?
Enjoy your days off…. and sometimes, just chill out, get comfortable and feel your body relaxing….. and your mind will follow 🙂
Have a great day,
Andrew
I loved reading this article as I also believe most people live their lives on autopilot. I think many people just get up in the morning at a set time, go to work, and drive home without really giving it much thought. Just taking a few minutes out of the day to be quiet and not consciously thinking about anything can help connect with your inner self. It’s so true that as souls we chose to inhabit our bodies for a reason. By developing our intuition and learning to listen to our inner self, we can live life to its fullest potential and realize our true purpose in life. I’ve always been quite intuitive and don’t always listen to these thoughts, but much of what I sense seems to happen!
Hi Kathy. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my article. It’s great that you are intuitive. Many people would be envious as they are yet to be able to ‘sense’ when intuition is talking to them and guiding them for the best possible outcomes in all situations. I wonder why you are not always listening to your intuition? Our intuition will always guide us towards a life filled with fun, excitement, and adventure…… so it’s not something that we are all here to experience at this time, as you say, many, many people are living on auto-pilot. And that is ok, as it may be all that they can currently handle.
Have a wonderful day 🙂
Very good topic and thank you for the powerful words. Personally, meditation is one of the tools that let me be an ANIMAL, which is full of stillness and movement at the same time. And it is not about how meditation shapes my mind or thoughts, it is about the wondered mind or thoughts that are there to challenge my meditation.
I think one of the biggest fears is that most of us are ” scared to stop.” It seems everything OUT THERE is occupying every single PIECE of us, but surely, there is actually NOTHING OUT THERE.
Meditation, to be mindfulness, is our natural state, therefore we really should learn how to train our minds so we can take advantage of it.
Hope to hear u more about it…..
Thank you for all the meaningful words you shared…..
Yoyo
Hi Yoyo. thanks for your insightful comments. Yes, to be aware or mindful of our situation and thoughts at all times is very valuable. This is how we take advantage of our creative energy to actually get everything that we want from this lifetime. Once we realize, as you have, that there is nothing out there, that life is an internal experience, then we have the mindset we need to focus on the only thing that we have any direct control of, and that is our thoughts. They will either support us in achieving our dreams and desires or work against us and limit our ability to live the life we dream of.
So, becoming mindful becomes the path to our dreams. Mindfulness and awareness connect us to the higher aspects of our selves and eventually, we will become whole again and unlimited in our ability to achieve through the Law of Attraction everything that our soul came here to experience while in this physical body.
I wish you well on your journey. With much love and respect,
Andrew
I love your saying that most of us are human doings instead of human beings. To switch off the autopilot mode and take our lives into manual control is so much discomfort, but so rewarding on the other hand. Staying in the present moment also a big discomfort as the mind wanders all the time. I help people to stop smoking at smokingisachoice.com and one of the greatest issues people face is the fear of never being able to smoke in the future. People feel empty and stressed. Trying to stay at the present moment, at least a couple of times a day, is one of the techniques I offer to overcome anxiety and unsureness.
Hi, and thanks for your time and comments. I am surprised that people who want to quit smoking also fear not being able to smoke again in the future????? Instead of feeling stressed and empty by this, I thought that they would feel lighter and unburdened by kicking the habit. We are all different in our responses to life’s challenges, however, we can all benefit by remaining present in the moment more often. This is the only place that we have control of our thoughts and therefore actions, and it is the place where we can effectively create positive changes in our lives. I wish you well on your journey.
Cheers, Andrew
This is very powerful. I have always wanted to meditate but actually, I did not truly understand how to begin and what not to do until now. I do believe I am one of those people that is always reacting and doing things on autopilot as well. I understand better now how I can change that. I really want to start meditating and being in the receiving mode. This is so very useful and I will adapt what you have suggested here.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Nate. many thanks for reading and commenting on my post. Like everything in life, to meditate or not is a choice that we need to make. If beginning a meditation practice is something that you really want, you will do it. There will be no question about this. It’s just a matter of actually thinking the thoughts that will lead you to doing it! So, how much do you desire to be in the ‘receiving mode’ to get the things you want in this life? The strength of your desire will be your motivation so I suggest that you really focus on what you desire and use this to make your meditation practice become a reality.
I wish you all the best, my friend!
Andrew
This is so true! I have been meditating for years now and it has completely changed my life. Once you find out who you really are, your entire universe changes.
Hi Rhonda. Meditation is definitely a life-changing experience and once people get into a regular habit of meditating, they seldom quit, because the personal benefits to them are easy to feel and are also noticed by others. Many thanks for sharing.
Andrew
Hello Andrew,
Great article! I love how you go straight to the point of what you are wanting the reader to get.
I love this part of your article it is so profound: Once we begin receiving the life we have been deliberately creating, we can move our focus from our human desires of accumulation, conquest, lust, etc. to focus upon the reason our soul chose to come to earth at this time to experience life in a human body.
Keep up the good work. Best Wishes, Neiciy
Hi Neicy. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my post. While there is nothing wrong with ‘playing the human doing game,’ life has so much more to offer us in the way of profound experiences. To access these experiences we need to begin the journey inwards to seek out ‘The extended version of ourselves.’ This is the only place where we will face our true being and learn of our reasons for coming to earth for a human experience.
I wish you well on your journey,
Andrew
Nice post. Seems like you are really a good authority on meditation. I actually used to meditate quite often when I was younger and playing sports. I used to get nervous and meditation really helped me to stay calm, in the present, and not worry about outside triggers. The goal was to find that focus spot, somewhere in your gut, your “one”. It really did work. Really enjoyed reading this!
Hi Spence. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my post. It’s great to know that you were able to use meditation in the past to help you achieve your goals. I wonder, do you still meditate now? Meditation is great for stating in the present moment, and this is of such benefit to all of us in nearly every situation we can find ourselves in at any time throughout each and every day.
Many thanks ofr sharing.
Andrew