As is the case with any discipline it is taught, and the effectiveness and quality of the teaching depends a great deal upon the experience and knowledge of the teacher. It is therefore very important when learning meditation techniques that the pupil's development is in the hands of someone who has undertaken the requisite training and has acquired some previous teaching experience.
Location is of course another important factor. If you are based in London, for instance, you will require your training to be available at a London meditation centre, in a place that is convenient to you and easy to access.
Then it is necessary to have an idea as to which form of meditation is most appropriate to your own particular needs. Have you researched the various meditation types available and if so which of them comes the closest to meeting your needs?
Certain forms of meditation involve concentration, the objective being to expel particular unwanted thoughts from the subconscious. This is an intense process and can be traumatic, which of course would seem contrary to the stress-free state that meditation is intended to induce.
Others revolve around contemplation, focusing the mind entirely upon a particular thought that is at once both pleasant and nice. The intention is to create a feeling of peace and inner calm, once again rejecting outside thoughts that may jeopardise one's own inner feeling of peace and serenity.
Then there is mediation that is transcendental, widely recognised to be the most simple, effective and natural form of meditation available.
According to a study by the Journal of Clinical Psychology (1989):"(This form of) Meditation is more than twice as effective for relieving the mental effects of stress as all other meditation and relaxation techniques."
Meditation of this kind has been compared to diving under water: "you just take the right angle to let go and effortlessly slide into the silent depths of the mind".
The meditation benefits of a programme such as this are manifold with lower stress levels, improved health, a less traumatic and more pleasant work environment, better concentration, calmer and more understanding relationships with others and a peaceful and more enlightened personal lifestyle.
Learning how to meditate could prove to be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of your life, simply because it has a bearing on almost every other facet of your lifestyle.
The secret of true wisdom is to be found in the discovery of whom we really are; we are not our worries, or our thoughts - even our successes, but far more than this - at the quietest levels of our mind we connect with that timeless creativity, intelligence and energy that is to be found everywhere in Nature.
Credit: alchemy-and-alchemists.blogspot.com
