Introduction: The Modern Meditation Dilemma
“When people can’t drink even a glass of water with awareness, is it reasonable to expect them to achieve a meditative state for an entire hour?”
The Power of Meditation: Insights from Tradition
Meditation is a powerful practice, and experienced practitioners like yogis and monks can effortlessly enter a meditative state. Their lifestyle facilitates this seamless transition into deep mindfulness.
Simple Steps Towards Achieving a Meditative State
For ordinary people, caught in a whirlwind of desires and distractions, the journey to meditation should commence with simple acts, such as drinking a glass of water with complete awareness. Achieving a meditative state in these moments can lay the foundation. Once this is mastered, they should aim to consume at least one meal a day with full awareness, further cultivating their ability to access a meditative state.
The Hurdles of Immediate Deep Meditation
Expecting these individuals to sustain a meditative state for an hour right from the start is unreasonable. Promising them specific experiences during meditation may only serve to distract them from the present moment, as they may fixate on why they aren’t entering the anticipated meditative states.
The Jargon Barrier in Spiritual Practices
Moreover, the glamourization of spiritual courses, which repurpose simple acts with complex scientific terminology such as ‘engineering’, ‘theta’, ‘gamma’, and ‘REM’, complicates the process. The question arises: what relevance do these terms hold for the average person striving to achieve a meditative state? Ideally, such terminology should be reserved for scientists, avoiding the imposition of these complex concepts on individuals seeking spiritual simplicity.
Spirituality as a Universal Solution
The distancing of many, especially the youth, from spirituality—unless they possess a genuine interest—underscores a broader issue. In light of the numerous challenges we face today, from crimes and global warming to widespread hatred, integrating spirituality and its practice of reaching a meditative state into our daily lives becomes more crucial. By universally promoting spiritual growth and the regular attainment of a meditative state, we have the potential to mitigate these problems and aid in the healing of our planet.
