The word meditation is used in many ways, and that is why there is so much confusion about what it is and how to practice it. Some people use the word to mean thinking or contemplating; others use it to refer to daydreaming or fantasizing. Meditation is not any of these. It is a specific technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. In meditation, you are fully awake and alert, but your mind is not focused on the external world or on the events taking place around you. Neither is your mind asleep, dreaming, or fantasizing. Instead, it is clear, relaxed, and inwardly focused.

Inner Dimensions
The Latin root of the word meditation is similar to the root for medical or medicate and implies the sense of “attending to” or “paying attention to” something. In meditation, you pay attention to your own deepest, innermost levels—dimensions of yourself which are seldom known. These deeper levels are more profound than the processes of thinking, analyzing, daydreaming, or experiencing emotions or memories. Meditation involves a type of inner attention that is quiet, concentrated, and at the same time, relaxed. There is nothing difficult or strenuous about creating this inner attention; in fact, you will find that the process of meditation is restful for the mind. In the beginning, however, the greatest difficulty is that the mind has not been trained to create this inner attention.

In every society, people are educated in the skills they need to survive and function in their culture: how to talk, think, work, and investigate the objects and experiences of the external world. We learn sciences such as biology, ecology, and chemistry in order to understand the world we live in, but we are not taught to understand or attend to our own inner dimensions. We learn to assimilate the goals, fashions, and values of our society without first knowing ourselves within and without. This leaves us ignorant of ourselves and dependent on the advice and suggestions of others.

Meditation is a subtle and precise technique for learning how to pay attention to and understand the various levels of yourself—the body, the breath, and the mind.

adapted from Yoga International, by Swami Rama

Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga & Meditation Timer.  It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.

Now & Zen – The Zen Meditation Timer Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Posted in Meditation Timers, Meditation Tools, mindfulness practice