Just as we are moving from experiencing 3D to 4D in the movie theatre, our world seems to be moving from three levels of consciousness — waking, sleeping and dreaming — to accepting a fourth state — meditation.
As early as 1970, major scientific research journals published articles proving that meditation alters the mind-body physiology in ways that waking, sleeping and dreaming do not. As recent as July 15, 2011, Jeanne Ball (25-year teacher of Transcendental Meditation) wrote that during this ‘lost’ state of consciousness “thoughts subside and one becomes increasingly more awake; the mind settles down and consciousness itself becomes primary. Meditators describe this as pure consciousness or unbounded awareness.”
Although meditation and its beneficial effects have been with us for thousands of years, it is only in this decade where we as a society are beginning to see its mass appeal. Today, researchers and lay people alike recognize that daily meditation reduces stress, enhances our enjoyment of life and expands our creativity. In addition, this lost ‘art and science’ is a fundamental vehicle for knowing oneself, and as the ancient philosophers espoused “all knowledge is self-knowledge.”
What we as humans have yet to learn about ourselves will fill volumes and is recoverable through meditation. There is more to this world than the eye can see, and as research now proves, you could be missing the best part of it. We know much about what it means to be human, which is only half the equation. We are humans and beings. Meditation allows us to explore our ‘being’ aspect. If you find yourself asking, “Is this all there is to life?” — get yourself to a meditation mat.
The Whiteness of Being
Always I feel the intimacy of your gaze,
as though we have met before.
This magnetic pull breeds familiarity;
shared experience.
The velvet feel of you on my fingertips
sends shivers of recognition down my spine.
Although a single remembrance does not arise,
your in-to-me-see gaze stirs me,
yes, I have been here,
a witness to true beauty . . .
that union of great gentleness with great power.
February 2011
