The Calm Technique

'To see a world in a grain of sand
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.'
William Blake

This is a book on meditation. For many people today, the mere mention of the word 'meditation' is enough to have them reaching for the phone book in search of deprogrammers while muttering things about secret cults, sleep deprivation and protein deficiencies. It conjures up all sorts of exotic images of saffron robes, incense, chants, prayer and Eastern gobbledegook. Indeed, much of the research for this book has been conducted within these latter environments (although I have yet to encounter a genuine 'secret cult').

In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the misapprehension persists that meditation is inextricably linked with religious knowledge and understanding. I'm sure this attitude continues as much because of the romantic notions and enlistment techniques of the organizations that teach it, as it does from any intrinsic characteristic of meditation itself. Faith, rituals and philosophies are not essential for effective meditation. The physical and emotional rewards alone, while not necessarily the ultimate expressions of all that is possible within the art, are reasons enough for practising it.

The Calm Technique is mainly concerned with the temporal aspects of meditation: the physical and emotional benefits. Its primary intention is to improve your quality of life, your health and your understanding. This is achieved through a physiological state we call the Calm State, which is one of great peace and calm.

When you achieve this state, stress-related problems will begin to diminish or vanish completely. You will begin to develop a sense of wellbeing and confidence like you haven't felt in a long, long time. You will sleep better, eat better, think better, live better. In short, you'll feel great to be alive.

Obviously, for those who are so inclined, meditation can bring profound spiritual rewards as well. Those of you who are mainly concerned with spiritual enlightenment should consider the Calm Technique as the first step on a long, hard road. For such a search, this book is only a beginning. The Calm Technique can help you free your consciousness to pursue higher goals. When you have mastered it, you can combine the Calm Technique with prayer, readings from the various scriptures, as well as any of the other spiritual directions that are open to you. You should consider this as a major step in the right direction.

WHAT EXACTLY IS 'MEDITATION'?

Ask a thousand meditators to define 'meditation' in terms of their own experience, and you'll get a thousand different answers. This seems hardly surprising when you considee how personal and subjective the experience that takes place entirely within your mind is. What meditation does for one person may have little in common with what it does for another. As expectations ans appreciations vary dramatically from one person to the next, it becomea clear why so many of the traditional schools resort to mysticism and vagueness.

But how can we define 'meditation'?

A really smug definition of meditation one regularly heare is: 'the best definition of meditation is the act of meditation itself'. Obviously, this is not a definition. However it is forgivable because, in many ways, 'meditation' is as much an abstraction as 'love' or 'envy', both of which are extremely difficult to define in experiential terms.

The really cosmic definition of meditation says it is the means of elevating the consciousness from the Lower Mind to the Higher Mind. The analogy which explains this phenomenon usually goes something like this: 'The Lower Mind equates with what you see around you now - daylight, trees, cars, dirty washing, highway hoardings. The Higher Mind equates with the changes in your perceptions if you were to take on a satellite point of view. You would see yourself as more a part of the Universe; your everyday surroundings would seem less important anf less threatening; the higher you went, the more your horizons would be expanded.' While that is accurate to a certain extent, it is too heavenly and grandiose an explanation for someone just beginning meditation.

I believe meditation is best explained (if not defined) in a word: 'being'. When you learn how to live only in the momeny; when nothing distracts you; when you are not tied to the past or anxious about the future; when your mind and your emotions are your servants rather than your master, your consciousness (your awareness) is in the mosy perfect state possible. This state is simply 'being'. Meditation is about 'being'; not about 'doing'.

In meditation, you become peacefully aware of your real self: what you are and what your purpose is in life. The more you use it, the more aware you become. There is no flash of inspiration and enlightenment that allows you to shout: 'So that's what I really am!'; the experience is subtle and cumulative. By becoming aware of your real self (as opposed to the 'self' you like to present to the world, and indeed, the 'self' you may even pretend to yourself) you will no longer be a victim of the pressures and anxieties of modern life. When you learn to live for each moment, to enjoy and appreciate life to the fullest at that moment, you suddenly become impervious to the myriad of doubts and fears that you've lived with all your life. When you can finally appreciate that just 'being' is everything, that you cannot make life perform exactly as you would like it to, that you casnot control the future, and that there is no point in dwelling on what has passed, you will have achieved something something that most people never come close to in a lifetime: you will have peace.

Meditation is subtle and habitual. It is not a one-off adventure or experience that will transport you ino other worlds of cosmic ecstasy (well, not as far as I know). But there will almost surely be moments when you become blissfully unaware of the passage of time and the distractions of your own mind. There may even be times when you will be totally unaware of your very physical presence, yet be remarkably aware of your existence. Those are moments when you are just 'being', and they are moments to be treasured. When the mind is calmed, and external distractions and influences are eliminated, you will come in contact with the very essence of your understanding (being) and truly understand the meaning of peace.

This excerpt was taken from The Calm Technique  by Paul Wilson