The Misconceptions of Meditation

In the old days when I taught meditation, I would sometimes be called an agent of the devil and some were concerned that meditation would be a sin against their faith. Today most educated people understand that meditation is not a threat to them in any way.

Yes, public conscious towards meditation and mind-body activities has grown considerably. This is a very positive development in general. Instead of meditation being something that is shunned by the general public it now is welcomed and valued. This is a very positive development in general. Things usually improve as truth and clarity increases.

However, alongside this new awareness and understanding of meditation, there exists a great deal of confusion and misinformation. At times it is minor and other times it is severed. This is nothing new. There has always been a lot of confusion around meditation. The only difference now is that it has become mainstream and impacts a much greater amount of people.

The series ‘The Quality of Thinking’ clarifies for the everyday person what Meditation and Centering actually are and what it is not. This may seem evident to many, but in my experience, people’s concepts of meditation vary greatly. This is due to many factors which I will discuss throughout the series.

At its root, meditation is quite simple and fundamental. People are often unclear between the technique of meditation and the process of meditation. The process is sometimes known as mindfulness or enlightenment. Both these terms most often only cause more confusion because they are represented in any number of misleading ways. This why I use the term Finding Your Center which is directed more to the day to day pragmatic benefits.

Some books have even been written on how meditation can be bad for you.  This is the furthest thing from the truth. If the meditation practiced is harmful it is not really meditation. There exist a great many associations and individuals teaching mediation today. Their motivation for teaching and what they actually teach is varied. Finding someone who actually understands meditation enough to teach it may be challenging for the beginner.

Meditation and mindfulness are natural processes of the mind and all people meditate in some form regularly whether they are aware of it or not.

The confusion lies in the false assumption that meditation is always comfortable. Meditation is a method of observing what is inside of your mind and body. It reveals what is there, and what is there may not always be pleasing or comfortable.

Meditation is fundamentally an act of observation. The discomfort comes not from the observation but rather from what is being observed. The factors which cause the pain will exist with or without meditation.  They will impact the persons’ mind and body in some manner somewhere in their lives whether the person is aware of the causes or not.