Meditation is a powerful practice that calms the mind and fosters deep insights into both surface-level and existential questions. These insights, which arise from direct experience, are more valuable than theoretical knowledge or intellectual understanding. Once these insights emerge, they begin to integrate into our personalities, often unconsciously, leading to lasting change.
As a student of meditation, my goal in this blog is to clarify how meditation works in a tangible way. I hope this explanation helps anyone seeking answers about this transformative practice.
Calming the Mind: The First Step
At some point, everyone realizes how noisy the mind can be. From the moment we wake up until we fall asleep, our minds produce a constant stream of thoughts. This incessant mental activity has three main aspects that vie for our attention, often leaving us exhausted: visual, auditory, and somatic. Understanding these aspects is crucial for moving towards a calmer mind and, consequently, a calmer life.
The Three Aspects of Mind Activity
Consider this: if I ask you to imagine your car right now, notice how quickly the image of your car appears in your mind. This is the visual aspect of the mind at work, bombarding us with images all day long. Some images bring joy, others are neutral, and some may evoke fear.
Next, think of the voice of someone you care about. Can you hear it clearly in your mind? This is the auditory aspect of the mind, which, like visuals, can be so powerful that we lose track of who we are, where we are, and what time it is.
Finally, there is the somatic aspect, which is tied to emotions. Picture someone you deeply care for—see their face and hear their voice in your mind. Now, focus on your cheeks, lips, and heart. Do you feel anything? This emotional response drives behavior, motivating us to take action.
The Impact of Mental Processes on Daily Life
Now that we understand how the mind operates, let’s explore its impact on our daily lives. At its core, our mental activity revolves around wanting and aversion. On any given day, we’re either trying to obtain something or push something away.
This is not your fault; it’s how the human mind is conditioned. When we experience positive thoughts and emotions, we want to keep them. Conversely, when negative thoughts and emotions arise, we want to push them away—whether it’s a material object, a person, or a past or future event.
It’s also important to note that our thoughts are rarely about the present; they often focus on the past, future, or alternate realities. This constant mental chatter wastes energy and distracts us from the present moment. Imagine if this process slowed down or occasionally stopped—how much energy would be freed up, and how much more we could enjoy life. This is where meditation comes in.
How Meditation Calms the Mind
Meditation breaks the cycle of wanting and aversion. Although we won’t dive into specific techniques in this article, let’s consider meditation on an object, like the breath. The breath is always present, here and now. By focusing on the breath—the in and out, the rise and fall of the abdomen, the temperature of the air through the nostrils—we begin to notice that our attention wanders to past memories, future plans, or alternate realities.
For example, suppose I’m supposed to focus on my breath, but instead, I’m thinking about work. My mind is comparing my current experience with an imagined reality where I’m meditating “correctly.” This is a common occurrence. The key is to gently bring your attention back to the breath.
Three processes are happening during meditation:
- Awareness of Thought Processes: You become aware of the thoughts that were previously unconscious and driving your behavior.
- Improved Concentration: Your concentration power increases, which is valuable in itself and will be discussed in detail in another article.
- Breaking the Habit of Mental Noise: Repeatedly bringing your attention back to the breath gradually breaks the mind’s habit of creating unnecessary noise. The mind starts to slow down, but only after reaching a peak of activity.
A concentrated mind is a calm mind. Everyone has experienced this during their favorite activities—when you’re fully concentrated, the mental noise stops. Imagine having that peace throughout your life, making every activity as enjoyable as your favorite one.
It’s all about numbers—the more hours you invest in meditation, the more easily you can concentrate, and the less noise your mind produces. Once you reach a certain level of concentration, things become very interesting, and external motivation to continue practicing is no longer necessary. More on this in another article.
Insights Gained from Meditation
We all have questions—some surface-level, others existential—that we don’t have answers to. Meditation helps us find these answers through direct experience, offering epiphanies that are more meaningful than anything we read, hear, or logically deduce.
Consider the simple act of reading this article. You’re seeing shapes on a screen, and your mind is giving these shapes meaning. This direct experience of reading is something you’ll never forget, a small insight into the nature of perception.
Insight into the Fleeting Nature of Reality
No matter the object of meditation, whether it’s the breath, thoughts, or emotions, you will notice that they are all fleeting. They rise and fall. By simply observing the breath, this impermanence becomes so evident that it changes you forever. You realize that everything in life is transient, and this understanding frees you from the grip of clinging to pleasant experiences and resisting painful ones.
Pleasant experiences come, and you enjoy them fully, without fear of their passing. Painful experiences also come, and you feel the pain more deeply than a non-practitioner might, but you don’t resist it. Instead, you let it run its course and then let it go. This process gradually liberates you from the cycles of pain and pleasure, bringing you closer to true freedom.
The Profound Insight of No-Self
This is the most significant insight. As you meditate, you realize that the breath happens on its own, and you are merely aware of it. Similarly, thoughts arise and pass away without your conscious effort. They are not produced by you; they simply happen.
People often identify themselves with their minds, thoughts, emotions, possessions, and habits. But what if you discover through direct experience that these thoughts, emotions, and habits are not yours? If thoughts are not you, and the emotions, habits, and behaviors they generate are not you, then who are you?
Through continued practice, you will meet your true self for the first time, and you will love it. You will find everything you’ve ever wanted within yourself.
Conclusion
To benefit from meditation, consistent practice is essential. The calmness and peace you gain through increased concentration, coupled with the profound insights it produces, will expand your understanding and transform both your mind and body. Meditation will significantly improve your quality of life.
If you have any questions about meditation or any other topic, please feel free to ask. I wish you peace and success on your journey toward freedom from suffering for yourself and all living beings.
