In Steps 1 through 3, you learned that you need to “take it slow and easy” – kind of the way I am posting these steps! You also need to “find a spiritual home” and “create time” to commence your spiritual journey. Now that you have made the time, it is time for the most crucial step in your spiritual journey. I bet you didn’t think it would come so early, huh?
This step is so crucial it is the bedrock upon which your spiritual journey will be formed. If you do not see this step through to the end, well then, you might as well have built your home on a bed of sand as Jesus talks about in Matthew 7:26 of the Bible. (I still find some analogies, stories, and wisdom from the Bible resonates from within.) Of course, without a block of time to make it happen, it’s a lost cause. If you haven’t completed Step 2 yet, hold off on this one. Remember, take it slow if you need to. No rush.
I consider meditation to be the single most important necessity in anyone’s spiritual journey. It is the glue that will hold together your belief system. Meditation gives you the means through which to listen to what comes from within. Without meditation, you will get mixed messages because the ego is fighting for it’s very livelihood.
Ego is that small part of your brain (and I mean very small – you will learn just how small once you are meditating effectively) that says “poor me,” “you deserve better,” and “If you want it, just take it. No one really minds.” Some people identify the ego with the devil on one shoulder while the angel is on the other. The ego is at it’s strongest in this fully awake state.
Once you start meditating effectively, and it can be a long drawn out battle with the ego, then you will find that you are able to receive clear, concise answers to your most pressing questions.
I talk in great detail about meditation in How to Meditate (Or At Least How I Do). I think it is a great place to start when you want to know the exact process of meditation. Now, I am a tad unconventional when it comes to the best posture for meditation, but you do what works best for you. Let me discuss some of the things you can expect as you are learning to meditate effectively.
First, the key to getting started is to learn to relax every single solitary muscle in your body expect the ones that you don’t control (i.e. your heart muscle – you wouldn’t want to relax that one too much anyway! That said, your heart will slow it’s pace to match the state of your meditation.) For some people, this is not an easy task. Think about how your mouth feels right now. Do you tense it up to keep it closed like I do? I normally keep my jaw clenched pretty tightly, but when I am meditating, I know that I cannot expect to do it effectively unless I let my muscles completely relax. Other people have difficulty with the muscles around their skull. Others with their shoulder or stomach muscles. Whatever it may be, that is probably the place that you will most have to focus on when reaching that state of complete relaxation.
Second, as you are attempting to work your way into that deepest state of relaxation, you will find that the ego is doing everything it can to stop you from succeeding. You’ll feel itches here, twitches there, tickles everywhere. The thing that will prevent you from reaching that state of complete relaxation is these itches, twitches, and tickles. Why? Because they usually force you to move.
Now the best thing to do under these circumstances is to make a quick statement along the lines of, “Thank you for your sharing.” I have had many different reactions to this ego attempt to distract my meditation. While I do not think you should struggle in your attempts to meditate, I find these distractions to be similar to, say, a mosquito bite. You can keep scratching a mosquito bite until you rub it raw. Or you can ignore it for a couple of minutes, and it will stop itching. However, it you give it a little scratch again, that will inflame it and make it feel more annoying again until you endure the itchiness once again until it dissipates. I have found that this is the best way to react to these distractions, as well. Ignore them; they will go away.
I know this is sometimes harder said than done. But if I could use an analogy. I am a third grade teacher. It matters not how many times I tell a student that it is best to just leave a mosquito bite along for a couple of minutes, they often still think, I have an itch and I am going to scratch it, dang it! There is nothing I can do. The only way that they can trust me is if they choose to. Sometimes it’s not a matter of believing, either – sometimes, probably most of the time, it is a matter of relief. They think they are relieving themselves, when in fact, they are usually making it worse.
This is true with distractions during meditation also. Sometimes it is best to just ignore those distractions. At least give it a try.
The second frustration with meditation comes from how many sessions it takes before one experiences the moment of eternal WOW! If you haven’t experienced it yourself already, you begin to wonder after a while, as I once did, if this state really even exists. In fact, you begin to think that reaching a state of euphoria in meditation is akin to seeing a UFO. There are a lot of people who say it happens, but they can’t prove it!
I know I can’t prove it. I suspect when I start talking about it, some people think I am off my rocker. I have met others who have meditated for years, and I can tell that they have reached the same levels I have because their experience mirrors mine. I have met others who have thought they were meditating, but after hearing them describe their state, I realize that they have only reached a state of deep relaxation. There is a difference.
I think the moment that you reach the ideal meditative state is when you cannot tell how far your hands are away from your legs. Or you can’t tell what position your leg is in in relation to the rest of your body. This is because the body feels like it is just a big blob. I discuss this in detail in How to Meditate (Or At Least How I Do).
The next level is when you actually feel like you are floating. You aren’t physically floating, but it sure feels like you are.
Then their is the vibration level. This is the level I am at right now. I reach a state when my body actually feels like it is vibrating. It doesn’t “look” like it is vibrating, but it does feel like it is.
If there are levels beyond this, I do not know them yet. Maybe as I continue, I will reach other levels of meditation. All I do know is that I am pretty happy with the state I reach now!
When you reach the state when you feel like you are a blob is a pretty cool feeling. But nothing like the “Holy $&!#” feeling you feel when you start to “float.” That was the instant that I felt like the energy expended on reaching that state was all worth it. “Expended” is the wrong word because you don’t really expend energy when meditating. You gain it. You obtain it.
I spent a long time enjoying this stage. It was quite a euphoric state. I always found it strange that I just didn’t always stay in that state. Why do I “let myself return?” Well, okay, I don’t really wonder that! It is pretty obvious that I need to return. Anyway…
Now, this level where I reach “floating” is my favorite time to ask questions of my higher power. It is the time when my answers come through the clearest.
This post is serving as a reminder for me, really. You see, I haven’t been reaching this level of meditative state in some time. It is time for me to be more regular with my meditation again. I have stated before that I have recently restarted my journey.
I have created my seven hours. As much as I like writing this blog, I know that it is nothing without my own continued spiritual growth. No growth means no new post material. So I better get cracking!
My next blog post will be about Taking Care of Your Body. You may ask what taking care of your body has to do with spiritual growth – well, I am glad you asked! But I am not answering until I start my next post!
Namaste