The core secrets of meditation are about achieving complete inner freedom… sometimes called liberation or enlightenment. This author is not enlightened, but he has had some very powerful experiences. This is his humble attempt to help you in your journey.
Anytime you speak of secrets, it is important to understand that secrets are only secret because few people are willing to look in the right place.
When you look in the right place… secrets become obvious!
Unfortunately, finding your answers within is not a very popular solution in modern society. You are constantly barraged by media messages saying that happiness is just one more accomplishment away. It might be a nicer car, a bigger house, more money, or a more attractive partner.
External achievements are nice, but they will never bring you lasting happiness. The more you cling to them, the less inner freedom you have. This is why all the great spiritual traditions encourage you to look within.
There are a variety of traditions that have a variety of meditation techniques and other practices that lead (hopefully) to liberation. Some move energy within the body. Some use breathing techniques to alter state. Some focus on identifying with a presence greater than the body (or the ego mind). Some use chanting, visualization, prayer, etc.
There are certain elements, though, that are included in or arise from all of these practices. These elements could be called the core secrets of meditation.
You can practice them right now:
Relax: The first step is to turn off the sympathetic nervous system (the fight or flight response). Most people walk around their day to day lives in varying levels of unhealthy stress. This can be handled with simple relaxation. Even if you go no further than this, learning to really relax and bring a little bit more relaxation throughout your life is rewarding beyond words, but is achieved by very few people. It is not difficult, but it does take a little bit of consistency and a little bit of humility. You can relax by simply taking a deep, slow breath, and allowing your body to come to a place of greater ease.
Focus: The ability to focus, or hold your awareness on a single thing for a length of time, is almost unheard of in modern society. Again, we have built our lives around distractions, so this does make it a little more challenging. The benefits of focus, however, are nearly beyond belief. Focus intensifies all the benefits of relaxation. In addition, in activity is more enjoyable and more effective when done with greater focus. You can build focus quickly by just taking a few moments to pour all of your attention into one thought, image, sound, or activity. If your attention drifts, gently bring it back.
Accept: Acceptance could be considered inner relaxation. It is the cultivated internal non-resistance to whatever comes up. The more you accept, the less you need to resist or cling to thoughts, feelings, or events. This sounds weird to most people. To the people that experience it… it is almost blissful. To develop acceptance, just pay attention to all that comes into your awareness and acknowledge it. Sort of an internal ‘yes’… not ‘yes I like this’, but ‘yes I recognize this, and I let go of clinging to it or resisting it.
Be joyful: This tends to arise naturally with enough acceptance (notice how each of these leads into the next). Joyfulness is a deep happiness independant of circumstances. It is unmistakable. To experience a little joyfulness, smile, and let go of any concern for what has passed or what will come. Just love this smile in this moment as deeply as possible… and as you do, you might notice this moment is not just this moment… it is eternity… and so is this smile.
These core secrets of meditation can be found (at least to some degree) in virtually all meditation techniques. They are very powerful. With just a little dedicated practice, they will change your life.
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