Meditate for Calm Awareness shares a concentration technique that helps individuals keep their minds and attention in the present moment rather than on the thoughts of the past or in anticipation of the future. We are preoccupied with events that have occurred either recently or in the distant past because of our emotional reactions to people and difficult situations. Emotions drive out common sense responses and replace them with compulsive thinking that cannot solve problems. The true and elusive answer is in the non-emotional response that this simple concentration exercise advocates.
Its daily practice encourages patience and allows individuals to entertain the thought to refrain from reacting emotionally in advance of challenging encounters. We need to reprogram our responses, and this process takes time to develop. Practicing non-reaction to extremely emotional situations is the key to calm and peaceful living, however, it is not easy to understand the effectiveness of this concept unless one applies it immediately at the moment of stress.
The information contained in this article points the way to handle unexpected results of the practice of meditation.
Emotions are meant to assist us in the fulfillment of our reasonable goals, they should not be out of our control, drawing us into confusion. Anger is the emotion most needing modification. The method by which this is achieved is by slowly but continually diminishing our reactions to small irritations throughout the day. Meditate for Calm Awareness openly shares this once mysterious but now obvious method that has been obscured intentionally as well as unintentionally through the ages.
Anger is caused by the ego’s frustration of not getting what we desire. We often feel guilty for being upset and angry because our conscience exerts pressure on our minds and bodies when we act in ways not in accord with kindness and patience. We do not always realize this, which produces a response filled with excuses and justifications as well as denial that we can be in the wrong compared to other’s misdeeds.
Many spiritual teachings show the way; however, because of their ancient roots, they tend to be obscure in their instruction. The best way to align oneself to truth is to journey within to find the link to our knowledge of right and wrong through a connection with conscience made clear by the exercise of calm awareness in any stressful moment of challenge to one’s well-being.
A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
The meaning of the word meditation is defined by several meanings. For this reason, the subject of meditation is so often mystifying and confusing for the truth seeker. In its purest definition, meditation refers to the way, the method, path, or process by which one is led within, to a universal center of calm awareness and inspired intuition. Therefore, the word meditation is best understood as a verb. It is an action taken toward an ultimate objective, rather than a noun describing a state of being or a goal in and of itself.
This booklet advocates the means to an end approach over the various purposes and meanings of other forms of meditations available to the seeker today. The method of chanting repetitious words, songs, and mantras of any culture, or the focus of silent attention on an outer object, mandala, candle flame, inner mental image, or one’s own breath, is used to assist the practitioner to transcend the general thinking processes and interrupt its perpetual presence in the conscious mind. These activities, however, and practices that developed from, and are more suited to past generations, only penetrate to the surface levels of spiritual experience and transformation of act and attitude, leaving the deepest of today’s needs unresolved. Granted we may feel quite relieved to be free of the ever-present nagging compulsions associated with our uncontrolled thinking and feeling, however, a true transcendence of mental activity comes as a result of a discriminating examination of the content of our thoughts, rather than avoiding or discarding them for a too-quick resolution to the various psychological problems and complexes that ironically only the thought-forms themselves can reveal. So we must not be misled to believe that detached or transcendental living can be achieved by a mere avoidance of thought and its accompanying pull upon our emotions.
Thoughts, to lose their hold on us, must be understood for what they are: the result of emotional needs and desires on many levels of our being. There exists a constructive healthy mode of thinking and an unhealthy destructive mode, and it is meditation’s true purpose and responsibility to bring an individual to a clear understanding of that difference of attitude and its accompanying thought patterns. The function of a healthy mind is to entertain thought as the vehicle for inspired inner direction and motivation. Thus, the meditation process encourages the capacity of the discriminating mind to develop a continuous discerning perspective; the purpose of which is to clarify which thought patterns are worthy of emotional support from those that are not desirable.
Moreover, there can be confusion between the more superficial forms of meditation mentioned above and those that reach deeper levels of understanding, because the more simple forms can appear to bring about similar and even immediate results, while the more profound meditation needs time in which to develop. One very revealing effect of a more penetrating and productive meditation is its difficulty in performance in the initial stages, in contrast to the ease with which the other forms of meditation are practiced and experienced. It is much easier to ignore the observation and evaluation of thought content than it is to confront it directly for the purpose of self-renewal. A calm and centered state of being and attitude, however, comes only with a greater respect for the value of daily meditation practice. The serious meditator should not expect to achieve results too quickly, because the first stages of meditation present the practitioner with an invitation to view and become familiar with the content of the subconscious mind. Here in our subconscious reside the motivating forces and impatience that play upon our emotions and lead us into undesirable action. The source of our shortcomings and character issues can be revealed to us through an examination of the thoughts we entertain on levels below our conscious awareness. Thoughts are “alive” and often remain dormant until an emotion is stimulated to bring them to the surface or threshold of the awareness of the self-observing conscious mind. Scientology and Biofeedback have devised a method of registering these latent emotions and thought forms using a device inspired by the mechanism used in the polygraph test. The person undergoing the process of auditing or biofeedback goes back through time and personal experience to uncover the memories, known as engrams in Scientology, which touch off strong emotions that then surface and register powerfully on the auditing or biofeedback machine. It is these unrecognized past emotional reactions, buried in the subconscious, that give life and energy to present and often negative emotionally conditioned responses. Through the process of becoming increasingly conscious of powerful and unrecognized emotionally charged reactions to events embedded in the memory, a person is gradually “cleared” of these previously conditioned patterns of responses.
The mind eventually releases these dormant motivations stored in the memory when they are recognized as the supporting factor keeping the behavioral problems perpetually alive. But there is an important principle lacking with the practice of Scientology and Biofeedback that can truly free an individual from continuing negative programming. This vital principle lies in the development of a non-emotional reaction to provocation and stress in future experiences. Although the process of clearing the subconscious from past trauma does to a degree take place with the practice of practitioner-guided auditing or biofeedback, there is a lack of instruction given about how to avoid future emotional programming. On the other hand, one’s individual, private meditation practice, can and does connect the seeker with an inner self-auditing, self-monitoring system of awareness. Most importantly, one can prepare oneself against further emotional programming through the method of introducing to the mind the concept of the non-emotional response to life’s stresses, especially the emotion of anger. This does not mean that a person becomes cold or detached to the point of not living life to the fullest. What it truly means, is that our thinking and emotions are monitored by a self-discriminating conscious awareness which becomes a stronger influence presence in the mind as the practice of meditation continues daily. By slowing down our conditioned habit of emotionally reacting, we begin to realize that we have a choice in all circumstances. We can either react to everything with anger and judgment, and therefore enforce negative thinking and depression, or we can refrain from acting emotionally, to then observe dispassionately the shortcomings of others that previously provoked us to react.
The power to control one’s emotional reactions brings us to the threshold of potential for expanded experience hitherto blocked from our awareness and understanding. The mind’s doors of perception and creativity open to us, and because of our new and transcendental view of circumstances and opportunities, we can take up the challenge of real creative living. We then give life to a fulfilling inner reality. It is our early programmed, negative, and traumatic emotional memories that are an obstacle to real creative growth and spiritual development. Freed by self-awareness from these emotional thought-forms, which haunt us from the living grave of the subconscious, along with a non-emotional preparedness for overcoming reactions to future stress, we can finally take advantage of the promise and joy life has to offer to the truly sincere and dedicated seeker.
The word meditation is a verb, and its action leads to the noun of spiritual contentment and an ever-expanding state of calm awareness.
FIRST STAGES
Continuous unwavering effort is essential to begin and sustain the daily practice of meditation. At the same time, it is through meditation itself that we become acutely aware of our need for patience and devoted practice. To struggle willingly with this dichotomy assures us a firm grasp on our potential for the development of calm awareness in consciousness. When we practice the meditation daily and observe our impatience, we are transformed by the light of our new understanding. The meditative experience encourages us to make an effort to overcome our first obstacle: the resistance to sitting still. Often the first feeling we encounter when we sit is the uncontrollable urge to move and to be busy mentally and physically. We often feel the urgency to get things done and to be active, rather than “waste precious time” sitting in meditation. Here is where our feelings tempt us away from stillness, which is our only opportunity to view the true contents of our minds and hearts. Here is revealed the first stage on the path of enlightening self-reflection. Although there is far more to be discovered about ourselves in time, we cannot skip this first step, because impatience is an attitude that reflects our underlying desire nature, and feeling and desire lie at the heart of physical and mental activity.
One of meditation’s advantages is its power to monitor desire rather than abolish it. Desire is our motivating source of direction for the worthwhile goals we choose in daily life, and it is through meditation and contemplation that wise choices can be made. Meditation allows us leisurely time to observe our thoughts and feelings and to choose to concentrate on those mental directives that do not compromise what we deeply feel in our conscience to be our true path. When we sit in meditation, our feelings and thoughts become amplified as our conscious attention becomes aware of them. There are relatively few outer distractions when we close our eyes and ears to the outside world; and so, because of our magnified inner experience, we might begin to believe that we are getting worse, more impatient, and more out of control of our thinking than we are. We are just beginning to recognize the true and present state of our inner being. Here is the opportunity to acknowledge our need for change and our need to develop a patient attitude. Patience is being inwardly still, accompanied by an absence of emotional and mental agitation.
The problem of how to make the transition from a state of impatience to patient living comes about primarily through the sincere recognition of our need for change. But it is the unique mental exercise of bringing one’s attention to one point that serves to draw our mental activity away from the “normal” and often compulsive patterns of our thoughts that cause us to stir impatiently. As we focus on our fingertips, we are practicing directing our attention from within rather than being subjected to the will of wandering thoughts. So meditation is a combination of examining the nature of our thoughts and at the same time gaining mental and emotional control over them through the effectiveness of concentration. The environment is the great molding influence on our lives. We react emotionally to people and situations, and the energy generated by those outer experiences creates and sustains the thoughts that mirror our emotional response to the experience. If we wish to modify our thinking and feeling, we need to learn to gain a measure of control over the process by which thought comes alive through feeling and emotional reaction. By the daily practice of bringing our attention to a focus separate from our “normal” feelings and thoughts, we can gradually train our minds to be the master of experience instead of its victim. It is helpful to understand how we can easily get caught up in a maze of feelings and worried thoughts if we analyze the nature of emotions. Feeling and emotion is the foundation of our five senses. The nervous system conducts that which is sensed by the body and then carries that information to the brain, which then proceeds to translate the impulses into intelligent thought. Just as an electrical charge always needs a proper conducting element to assist it in its travel from place to place, the nervous system also uses feeling and emotion to assist the neurological impulse on its path to central command: the brain.
Because the nature of feeling and emotion is not tangible, it is easy to become caught up in its processes without knowing what is happening to us. Feeling is an 7 integral part of all action and is the sustaining energy which keeps thought alive. The purpose of the connection between thought and feeling is the fulfillment of desire. It is essential then, to have time away from active mental and emotional experience, so that our more constructive aspirations and potentials can be contemplated and given the sentient energy to be developed. We can easily decide to do something for our own advantage because humans are naturally inclined toward self-fulfillment. But since we live in an environment with other individuals with the same needs as our own, it is important to transform our self-centered and self-involved impulses toward a more sensitive, sharing and patient orientation. Meditation allows us time to contemplate and think about these things. It gives us the opportunity to be released from the daily struggle to survive in a demanding material world. We may ask ourselves, why all this bother? Because in our hearts we know there is more to living than over-emotional involvement with other individuals and spending precious time acquiring and collecting material things.
In another sense and at a deeper level, true emotion is our connection with the heart and soul of inner life. The essence of emotion can reflect the joy and appreciation of being alive. Impatience and the angry response to stress is part of a whole system of thinking, feeling and action that can entirely bypass the true meaning of life. Loved ones and material objects can and do enhance our lives, but an excess of these experiences can involve and distract us from our responsibility for personal growth. People and things cannot substitute for true inner self-fulfillment, which comes only from the transformative practice of self-conscious awareness and realization. The practice of meditation can be that first step that allows the natural process of enlightenment to develop within. As children we were closer to that peaceful spontaneous way, but environmental pressures and circumstances inevitably prodded us into reaction, and from there led us into a disturbed state of emotionalism accompanied by negative thoughts, which in turn support more uncontrolled negative feelings. The way back to a childlike innocence can come about through reordering the priorities in our daily experience and choices. We can still go about doing our normal work and responsibilities, however putting the purpose of finding and maintaining our true and deeper nature should dominate our thinking. Then all other things fall into place.
This does not mean that everything works out to our advantage and that there are no hardships to go through in life. It simply means that our negative thoughts and emotions will not get in the way of spontaneous personal development and achievement. We will refrain from projecting our own selfish self-directed desires onto experience. Instead, we can allow the natural processes of creative living to take the lead in our lives and show us, through moment-to-moment inner intuition and revelation, the real and truly rewarding path before us. We need faith in this overriding inner benefic influence to guide our way. Egotism and willful pride can destroy our chances for true happiness. That is why we need to take the first step to transformation, which involves being still long enough to observe our own faults and the way we, on our own, without faith and inner light to guide us, fumble in the darkness of mental and emotional distress. Letting go of ego control, stimulates a higher intuition to respond and take the reins of our lives from within. This takes place in the silent and sacred moments of meditation.
FURTHER INVOLVEMENT
Along with the inspired desire for self-improvement, comes the more difficult stage that the seeker will experience. When viewing the truth of our present state of being, we have to be prepared to confront the issues that for years have been suppressed below the level of our conscious awareness. Previously, we had not had the courage nor the desire to view these experiences from our past, because we lacked the knowledge of what to do with what we see about ourselves. To complicate the situation even more, we can feel isolated from the rest of society and feel we are the only ones grappling with these concerns, the only ones experiencing the torrent of emotions that we feel.
We are not alone, but when each of us is concealing our mental confusion and emotional pain from everyone else, we can be duped into believing that we are a soul alone on an island of despair. We are not alone in this struggle; it is humanity’s struggle. We need to face up to the fact that there is more to life than what meets the eye and that there is something more meaningful than the mere act of being a sentient being. This can be a rather frightening revelation for anyone caught unprepared. When we attempt to stick our heads up out of the sand of the unconscious realms of mind, we can be very surprised indeed at what we see. There is a whole world, inside and 9 outside, to be explored and rediscovered. Some of the experiences ahead might not be so easy to assimilate without the proper tools at our disposal. That is why it is important to follow the directions of the meditation. Meditation is more than sitting still, yet it starts with just that simple act.
A gradual process of developing awareness is set into motion from learning to calm the body and direct the mind from within. Conscious awareness leads to a revelation of our inner shortcomings, but we still lack the knowledge of what to do about the flaws in our behavior that we see. And so we must first find the courage to accept the truth we undoubtedly will see about ourselves, no matter how hard it is to face. Then it is important not to allow an emotional reaction to what we see about ourselves to take control and draw us down into a state of distress or depression. We need to resist the temptation to become overwhelmed by the “phantoms” rising from the depths of our deep wellspring of thought and emotion. Also, it is essential to remember at these times of self-confrontation and crises, that we will later and eventually arrive at the gateway to positive and inspired intelligence, which is waiting to emerge and guide our way from moment to moment.
When we see ourselves for the over-emotional way we are or have become, the most important thing to do is to be still and accept what we see as the truth. Lie still and let the feelings remain without reaching for any distraction. After some time of accepting the truth, we will be relieved of the haunting memories. This is a true catharsis and the beginning of a new way of being, the way we were intended to be, spontaneous, kind, and aware.
CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT
At any point in the meditation process, unconscious material can bubble up to the conscious mind for review. Perhaps an image of the way we were treated by our parents, an unfriendly peer at school, or co-worker later in life is revealed to our conscious awareness in meditation or during the day at any time. Or perhaps the images of a past relationship where mental or physical abused occurred, when we were too young or unprepared to know how to protect ourselves comes to our attention. The questions arise, “What are we to do with this information?” “How are we to respond wisely now to the issues of the past and perhaps present?” The answer is to look the facts squarely in the face, even when the thoughts from the distant or recent past bring with them again the painful emotions that originally accompanied the experience. The first step in dissolving the wounds of the past is to accept the fact that this indeed happened and that it is still lingering within us in the present subconscious mind. There is no absolute way to explain the meaning of experience. This is something that individuals must ultimately do for themselves. Perhaps it is best not to have answers to everything, but at the same time, acknowledge the issues being presented for reevaluation.
A peaceful mind, being a mind with little or no disturbance, comes about through the elimination of past and suppressed contents of the subconscious. A peaceful mind is not a filled mind, but rather devoid of conditioned thought patterns and their accompanying emotions. It is the practice of sitting in stillness that allows mental self-evaluation to take place. By stilling the body, the mind which is filled with thoughts, comes to the center of attention. This is why it is important to understand what to do, or better, what not to do when this point of the meditation process begins. Again, it is important to learn to remain calm amid chaotic thoughts and feelings.
We learn to stay calm by practicing to sit quietly even though the mind is still disturbed by thoughts supported by turbulent emotions and desires. Meditation brings about a healthy confrontation between our pure objective observation and our uncontrolled thoughts and emotions, which are amplified because there are no distractions. And it is difficult to say how long each person will grapple with their subconscious. The length of time is measured perhaps by the degree of failure to live according to conscience and how much-suppressed material we have yet to uncover. This means that the process may take months or even many years, because we are unaware of many of our problems, and they often come to our attention only when provoked by a unique set of circumstances that may not redevelop for quite some time. Whenever these thoughts and issues arise, it is best to observe them as if they were happening to someone else. This gives us a feeling of being detached from the problem, but still being willing to take responsibility for what we observe. Looking at our issues objectively, much as a stranger would see them from the outside, will help us to control our emotional responses to what we see in ourselves.
Detaching ourselves from the immediate emotional involvement allows us to view the contents of the unconscious coming into view in the conscious mind, without complicating the issue further. This is a dispassionate mindset. The emotional energies attached to the thoughts presenting themselves will have a chance to be defused with calm observation. To resolve a problem means that the situation is well understood, and the stress involved is accepted as a part of life’s experience. We must also see our part in the problems we struggle with on a daily or occasional basis. Accepting responsibility for one’s actions is essential in overcoming complex and demanding issues. If we can see the flaw in our behavior and recognize the need for change within ourselves, half the battle will already be won. If we can change the behavior of other individuals in our lives by our example, we will have achieved even more. But most often, others will not be so willing to be transformed simply because we have come to realize the need for transformation. The key then, is to be content with the understanding we have acquired and to bring that sensitivity into our involvements with others. They will perceive in us the patience that we are learning to develop through the daily practice of meditation. Patience provides us with the inner strength needed to handle life’s continuing challenges. At times we may be confronted with conditions that are far too difficult to handle and so we must realize our limitations and extricate ourselves from the situation entirely. The freedom to withdraw is contingent on the ability to have a firm hold on one’s center of being and awareness. One must develop a keen sense of discernment that leads to an understanding and acknowledgment of that which we are capable of handling and that which is better left to its own devices.
It is the continual practice of meditation that allows us to accomplish the task of controlling our own reactions and emotional involvements. Patient non-response comes about through a continual building up of the power to refrain from an emotional reaction. We accomplish this by taking our egos out of the equation. By seeing things from a more detached and higher perspective, our personal feelings and emotions are not quickly drawn into response. We can stand apart from the stress and remain in a state of mind more conducive to constructive action. In this way, we practice the transcendental way of looking at experience. This gives us time to think, or rather to be open to other possible answers and responses that we could not think of with our rational thinking and stirred emotions. By refraining from being emotionally disturbed or angry, we are setting the stage for the intuitive mind to come to the rescue. We step out 12 of the way, so to speak, for a higher perspective and intelligence to enter the situation and resolve the issue with the wisdom that comes to us in the moment of need. Meditation helps us pause from reacting emotionally or angrily to life’s stressful situations and helps us to exercise wisdom in the common circumstances of our lives. Although we may at times think that sitting regularly is difficult or even a waste of time, it is important to remember that it is only in the opportunity of quiet moments of meditation, that self-realization is possible. First, we must go through perhaps a rigorous self-evaluation of the contents of the unconscious, but the clear and inspiring state of mind that will result from it will be rewarding beyond our expectations.
FINAL ACHIEVEMENTS
The catharsis that takes place when a person allows their thoughts and feelings to be transformed in consciousness is accompanied by a sense of remorse toward what has transpired in the past and a sense of rejoicing for the freedom yet to come in the future. Remorse is sadness, an emotion that is acceptable on the path toward a more liberated mind and heart. If we are not uncomfortable with what we have done, by the part we played in the drama of our complexes, we will be forever blaming others for our fated situation. The guilt we feel must be acknowledged. And we must see guilt as an ally, rather than as an enemy. Guilt is conscience and therefore our friend. Guilt is the feeling and awareness of wrongdoing, measured by our inner standard of right and wrong. We need to learn to respect the feeling of guilt and give that awareness a chance to communicate with us through the pressure it exerts upon our consciousness. It is through accepting its presence that it can work its magic of guiding our minds and hearts in the direction of our best advantage. It is the precursor and harbinger of thoughts and feelings about to surface to the conscious mind from the subconscious, there to be observed and evaluated in the light of calm awareness.
Guilt is synonymous with conscience, and when we allow ourselves to feel the uncomfortable feeling of conscience, it uses to get our attention, we will reap the benefits of its presence in our consciousness. It brings us the chance to move forward in the process of self-development by constantly hovering about wherever we go. We only need to sit and let it do its work. Its work enlightens us about our failure to follow the higher dictates of wisdom in our choices. When we let ourselves listen to its prodding, it will take us safely to a clear and undisturbed conscious state. This is a true peaceful being and living, and from this state of enhanced awareness, our purest and constructive desires can begin to unfold. Meditation is the key to sitting still and allowing guilt, or conscience, to play its part in the drama of life’s evolving experience. Conscience is the pure principle sustaining all the spiritual and religious beliefs in the world. It stands as a beacon of truth, lighting our way in the vast wastelands of unconscious living. Allowing wisdom to overshadow and direct our lives, will put all things in order and we can proceed to newer and more creative forms of self-expression. A calm and peaceful mind and attitude expresses itself fully through the creative and productive process of an ever-expanding and self-developing awareness. Meditation is the key to the inclusive state of sharing the benefits of the higher mind’s transformative influence in the world of everyday living.