The Nature of Meditation
General ·People view meditation as a means to find relaxation, relief from anxiety, stress, depression or other ailments. This view is a form of spiritual materialism. It is simply not true. If anything, these rewards are the byproduct of maintaining a meditation practice. The riches of meditation lie elsewhere.
Meditation at its highest level is a demanding task. The rewards are huge and training is needed to achieve high states of consciousness. Meditation means finding stillness of mind and body. Stillness unleashes Fire. Not the physical fire you see when you light a candle. A spiritual Fire that burns away the dross of your soul. A spiritual Fire that upholds the basis of the physical world. In various spiritual traditions or religions it is called Cosmic Fire.
Notice what happens when you stay still for a long period of time. Perhaps you are confined to a room or bed because you are sick. What happens? You become restless? Imagine if you were confined for a very long period of time? That restlessness builds. That restlessness is your coming in contact with Cosmic Fire as your body heals. That restlessness is your reaction to the Fire. Your needing to move is an avoidance of the Fire.
Meditators on the other hand want to cultivate that Fire. The burning is like a purification of your mind where samskaras (emotional imprints in your psyche) and your persona, everything that is not real can be consumed in the Fire revealing the real you.
So yes, meditation, as a byproduct may bring you stress relief, or freedom from anxiety or other ailments. But also know meditation is much, much more. It is a pathway to high states of consciousness. It can become addictive. The positive kind of addiction that steps toward becoming the totality of who you can be.