Meditation, Contemplation, Music, the Now
Meditation, contemplation, music, and living in the Now are tightly
intertwined. Here, we will examine each of these threads and see how the
practice or experience of one reinforces the practice or experience of the
others.
Meditation
Throughout history, people have invented various methods of meditation.
For convenience, you can divide them into two classes: object oriented
techniques and sound oriented techniques. Although these methods are
deceptively simple, mastering them is not.
"Object Oriented" Techniques
When using these techniques, you focus your attention on a single item.
You can use a flame, a mandala (mystic symbol), or even your navel; the
object itself is not important. The procedure goes like this: You sit,
relax, and stare at the object. At the beginning, think, "Nothing is more
important than this meditation." Immediately, your mind will think of
something more important. Consequently, one of your tasks is to make the
object of the meditation the most important thing in the world.
Another pitfall you will encounter is that your mind will tempt you to
quit early. The more insistent the mind is about this, the greater the
opportunity to become stronger.
Catching Thoughts
After you begin, thoughts will arise and distract you. The first step in
overcoming this obstacle is to "catch" the thought - notice it. If you do
not realize that your mind is drifting, then you remain spaced out. Once
you catch the thought, you let it go. Then, you return your attention to
the object. That is the essence of meditation.
For example, say that you have lit a candle and are staring at the flame.
Thoughts about your job subtly creep in. You are still gazing at the
flame, but you are worrying about a problem at the office. To get back on
course, you must first realize that you are thinking about the office and
not the flame. Then, you can continue meditating. You repeat this
procedure whenever a stray thought interrupts you. (Technically, in these
meditations all thoughts are stray.)
One variation is to focus your attention on the thought stream itself; the
thought stream is the "object." When a thought arises, you follow it.
Then, you let it go. Another will arise, and you treat it the same way.
The goal here is to return to an "empty" mental state, the space between
thoughts, and stay there awhile.
Zen Buddhists practice yet another method. They meditate on the rhythm of
their breath - inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Breathing is the "object."
When a thought interrupts, they catch it, and let it go. Then, they return
to the rhythm. This is a portable technique. Ideally, you remain aware of
your breathing throughout the day. If you are tense, you can return to the
"inhale, exhale" rhythm, and it will calm and center you. You see the
situation more clearly. Your emotions and impulses do not carry you away
so easily.
"Sound Oriented" Techniques - Internal and External
With internal sound meditation, you focus on a sound inside your head. The
sound can be either words that you repeat (like a "mantra" - a sacred word
or phrase) or the natural tones that hum inside your head. In the latter
instance, you focus on the tone. After a while, the tone stops, and a
different sound begins. A hierarchy of about two dozen of these internal
tones exists. (They are, perhaps, produced by the various frequency rates
of the brain, like the alpha and beta states.) When a thought interrupts,
you note it, and let it go. You then continue listening to the sound.
With external sound meditation, you chant a word, phrase, or sound.
Practice, and you can transport yourself to a light hypnotic state. Roman
Catholics use the rosary to repeat prayers and can work up an impressive
momentum.
Benefits
All forms of meditating produce similar, beneficial results. You become
more relaxed, because the electrical activity of your brain slows. At a
more metaphysical level, you can become the master of your mind rather
than its slave. (If you think that you are already its master, try this.
Stare at, say, the palm of your hand for five minutes. Make sure that no
stray thoughts interfere. Most of the time, most people are lost in
thought.)
In addition, most identify themselves with the Voice in Their Head. ("I
think, therefore I am.") Meditation can show that the Voice is not really
you; the Voice is those vagrant thoughts.
As your power to concentrate increases, your life, in a way, slows. Your
children do not grow so fast. You live longer and fuller. We are talking
here, of course, about the subjective nature and experience of time.
Because time does not push you, you can take ideas to progressively deeper
levels.
Contemplation
Contemplation is the act of considering something deeply, usually
religious or intellectual ideas, like God, the purpose of life, or karma.
For instance, you could think, "If no one can escape the consequences of
their karma, then perfect justice would exist. Mercy, however, would not."
Although insights like these can pop into your head spontaneously, that
usually happens after you have considered the topic for a while.
If you gear your life strictly towards survival, sexual pursuits, making
money, or gaining and maintaining power, then you will live superficially
- a two-dimensional existence. You will have little reason to reflect on
the more subtle aspects that the world, both inner and outer, offers.
Remember, though, the IROOT:NOT Universal Four. It states simply, "It's a
life." This penetrating-as-the-wind Universal means that *all* paths,
superficial or otherwise, are equal in the sense that *life is a gift*.
You can live well without meditating or contemplating.
Exploring philosophical, theological, scientific, artistic, or
metaphysical topics can enrich your life. It develops depth and breadth.
It stimulates vision. For instance, read the Holy Scriptures of most any
religion. Read the works of the great philosophers. Study a topic that
inspires you. All of this can trigger insights about Truth, morals,
reality, creation, life, the universe, and much, much more. Perhaps one of
the merits of being human is our ability to develop the finer aspects of
our mind, heart, and spirit.
If you are a Seeker of Truth, then cultivate the ability and courage to
follow an idea through to the end, even if the conclusion goes against
what you want to believe. You must be bold and determined enough to let go
of your old but trusted ideas (and ideologies) and move to the next level
of understanding.
"Getting there" does not imply that you reach some final level of
understanding. The Evolution Train stops at many stations. Some passengers
leave the train, visit this or that station for a while, and then hop on
again, maybe years later. Others stay, making themselves at home there.
Unlike a rigid, holographic virtual-reality experience, your trip unfolds
organically. Turn on the music and enjoy the Ride, brought to you by the
Makers of Eternity.
Music
You can receive the combined benefits of meditation and contemplation by
listening to music, particularly the works of the masters.
Correspondingly, music can enhance your ability to meditate and
contemplate. Music resembles external sound meditation, because you fix
your attention on the flow of the sound. It resembles contemplation,
because you follow the logic of the music to its conclusion.
Music unfolds in the Now; it is not static. This art form can display
dynamics, subtle harmonies, exquisite melodies, and exalted changes of
rhythm and key. You can lose yourself in the interplay of instruments,
textures, and colors. Metaphysically, it even has an astral "architecture"
that could somehow affect you.
When you can follow a work all the way through without spacing out, you
will have reached a high level of focus. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is a
good test. Bach is well suited for the mathematically inclined.
Like meditation, music affects the brain. This was shown in a famous
University of California at Irvine study in 1993. Scientists made a
startling discovery. After listening to ten minutes of Mozart's *Sonata
for Two Pianos in D major* (K.448), students scored significantly higher
on IQ tests taken immediately afterward. The tests measured
spatial-temporal reasoning - a skill related to math. Other researchers
have used the two-piano sonata to reduce the number of seizures in
epileptics and to improve the spatial-temporal reasoning of an Alzheimer's
patient (Time Magazine, July 5, 1999, page 53).
Further study has shown that Mozart's music helps organize the firing
patterns of neurons in the cerebral cortex. This stimulates creative
right-brain thinking. This thinking keeps you loose, allowing you to
respond creatively moment-to-moment.
Focus
The aim of many Eastern religions is to stay focused in the moment, to
live in the Now. In the West, we call this "being aware." Living in the
Now means being able to focus on reality as it presents itself. This
includes both "inner" and "outer" realities. As your ability to focus
increases, the better you can follow ideas through to deeper levels. You
do not lose your train of thought. Your thinking and, consequently, your
actions are more cohesive, penetrating, and effective.
Relationships in all areas of life - both public and private - improve.
You pay more attention and are more sensitive to the needs of yourself and
others. For instance, you have probably experienced this: You are talking
with, say, David on the telephone. He is conversing with you, but you just
*know* that he is not giving you his full attention. He is focusing on
something else, and you feel it. Interactions like these are unfulfilling
to our human nature.
Being aware also allows you to view the otherwise too-close-to-see ego.
Most of the ego's functions are programmed, leaving little room to
exercise your free will. When you take notice of these programs, however,
you can make conscious choices. You can override the programs if you wish.
As your understanding expands, you can compare viewpoints without becoming
trapped in dualistic positions. Instead of defending your position, you
share it. You create less friction, because you have nothing to prove.
This path leads to wisdom.
Living Now
Even after you become enlightened, you must still deal with people and do
stuff. Everything is the same, but different. A sign that you are getting
tHere is that your background reality develops the feeling tone of being
dynamically content. You love life.
When you embody the moment, you tap into eternity. You can experience
timelessness. You wisely manage temporal pressures, because you are above
the turmoil. As Jesus put it, "I am in this world, but not of it." Like
this, you can consciously know how to balance situations. Perhaps the
highest expression of living in the Now is being an instrument of the
Divine.
Some misinterpret this state. They think that "living Now" means that you
do not have any memory of the past. If that were true, you would forget
language and would not know how to talk. You would not recognize anyone or
anything. Every morning, you would have to discover how to put on your
clothes. Realistically, when you are living in the Now, you have memories.
They do not, however, rule most of your actions. Memories are unreal,
except in the sense that they are data records.
Question: "That means my entire past, all my memories, are just data?"
Answer: "That's it."
Question: "I have no past?"
Answer: "Only data records."
Question: "But it seemed so real!"
Answer: "It was, when it was the present. The present is experience, the
past is stored data, and the future is imagination."
Conclusion
If meditating interests you, take a course with a qualified teacher. If
you want to begin without one, set yourself a specific time. Start with a
daily fifteen-minute session and work up to thirty minutes. Setting a
specific time is important; "I'll do it later" has a tendency not to come
around, while "8:30 AM" does.
The same goes for music; take a course in music appreciation. You will
find that music is one of those rare pleasures that will not make you fat,
transmit disease, or harm you in any way. Music is ear candy and a sonic
tonic that tunes and tones the system. It is good for you.
Living in the Now is all we have, at least for the moment. And in this
moment, you are in charge of improving the quality of your inner (and
outer) life. In many ways, inner changes reflect into the outer world. Do
yourself - and everyone - a favor. Desire to become a better person and
you will. Make the effort at first; then, it becomes effortless.
Life is a gift.
Be happy.
Rev. Dr. Evin O'Ryan
Starbuilders/ULC
www.starbuilders.org
