When I tell people that I teach meditation, I often get a curious look from them followed by a statement like “I have heard that meditation is really good for you, but I don’t know if I can sit in those yoga positions.” Or “I would really like to find out more about meditation, but it is really kind of strange.”

I fully understand where they are coming from. When I began to practice meditation on a regular basis in 1979, I remember how challenging it was for me to get my practice started. I had read several books on the subject and found myself confused by the many different styles of meditation. I could not achieve the strange yoga positions anymore than I could let go of all of my thoughts! Yet, I was eighteen years old and tenaciously looking for something that might help me feel a sense of peace. Something that could help me focus my thoughts and achieve the things I desired in my life. I found that there actually were several meditation practices that appealed to me and began applying these with nominal success. As I continued my personal study and research, I came upon a lot of information that I share with my students who have the same concerns.

What is Meditation?

Let’s begin by looking at the word itself. The word “meditation” means to focus your attention on something. This “something” has traditionally been something sacred or spiritual. Meditation has been the cornerstone of many spiritual disciplines for thousands of years! In this context, meditation serves to expand the practitioner’s consciousness for the purpose of spiritual growth. It can obviously be found in the Hindu or Yogic traditions as well as the Buddhist traditions. Shaman’s have their vision quests. The more mystical sects of Judaism, Christianity and Islam also have some form of meditation practice to elevate or expand the consciousness of the disciple. When you think about it, even forms of everyday prayer serve the same purpose. The difference is that, in praying one does not necessarily experience a radically altered state of consciousness. Meditation is also a form of concentrated thinking. We have all meditated in the sense while problem solving or day dreaming. Again, this does not necessarily indicate a dramatic shift in consciousness. Within the mystical traditions however, meditation is all about reaching for a higher state of awareness in order to be closer to the divine mind as it is expressed within that particular faith. As such, it really does require a willingness to alter one’s consciousness to transcend ordinary awareness. It is often referred to in these traditions as a sublimation of the ego mind, in order to connect with the divine. The ego mind is the “normal” everyday awareness that worries and plans and identifies itself with the world. What is the divine mind you might well ask? Well, that is the real question, isn’t it?

Meditation arises in western culture.

Fortunately in the current decade, the concept of incorporating meditation into one’s life is not quite as foreign to the Western mindset as it once was. In the late 1960’s, Western culture became more interested in “alternative spiritual practices.” This is mostly a byproduct of a “new age” of thought arising from the dawning of the Aquarian age. After the initial psychedelic euphoria settled down, most people stored their bean bag chairs, lava lamps and paraphernalia in the attic and began the business of chasing the American dream. Meditation sort of went underground once again in mainstream Western society. Although a low buzz could still be heard in various circles remaining faithful to the consciousness movement, meditation had not yet become quite as trendy as it is today.

In the seventies, there were various clinical studies which began to take a serious look at paranormal phenomena. The study of esoteric phenomena like psychic awareness and psycho-kinetics became more common in the hallowed halls of academia. Even the U.S Army began a protocol for utilizing psychic spies in order to catch up to the Soviets doing the same! There were stories on the news about psychic detectives helping to solve murder cases. This popular science (science fiction for some) began a new wave of interest in meditation because all of the aforementioned would achieve their unique talents through entering a meditative state.

This clinical interest continues today but from several different avenues of study. The clinical data from studying the physiological and psychological makeup of people who practiced meditation raised some eyebrows. It seems that in addition to its spiritual applications, Western scientists have come to realize that meditation provides many health benefits as well. In the current era, barely a month goes by without some media journal reporting that meditation has been proven to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, improve mental health, decrease insomnia and strengthen the immune system. These physical benefits are augmented by various psychological effects including lowered anxiety, increased attention spans and improved self-esteem. What the mystics throughout time have known, people in 21st century Western civilization are discovering. A continued meditation practice is helpful in many ways. It has beneficial effects on the body, mind and spirit of the practitioner. It is for this reason that so many people in Western culture are asking about it. Yet, it is because of the fears of associating themselves with an alternative belief structure that many are cautious about exploring the benefits. This is where I come in.

Let’s break it down.

There are so many varieties of meditation that it is a good idea to categorize them. Here are what I consider to be the five main categories.

Transcendental Meditation. This variety is the most sought after by those wishing to have a mystical experience. The word transcendent applies to the ego mind structure. The reason for practicing this form of meditation is to achieve a sort of mystical union with the divine mind. It is believed by those who practice this form that the ego mind is a barrier which some how veils the connection. It is the goal of these practitioners to move beyond the confines of the ego mind so that the connection can be realized. If your goal is to explore Transcendental meditation , Tranquility-Training can help..

Observer Meditation. In the spiritual traditions this has been referred to as Vipassana meditation and it is designed to help the practitoner become the observer of ones own thoughts.This is a practice often recommended and utilized by therapists who believe meditation is helpful to their clients. Most therapists help their clients deal with long standing life issues and beliefs that inhibit the patient’s ability to live fully. These issues stem from the patient’s past memories are often painful and cause a host of psychological disorders and dysfunction’s. In addition to cognitive therapy, patients are often asked to participate in the observer meditation techniques, usually led by the therapist. This style of meditation allows a means of noninvolved participation with the painful past. This is to say that it is possible to look at the source of the pain without re-experiencing the pain emotionally. It can be very effective. In addition, The Observer self can be trained to realize how we react to various outside stimuli which invoke the reactive response. It is through the Observer Self that you can begin to notice what triggers your stress response and how that stress is manifested emotionally, whether it be through anger, crying, losing your ability to remain present and the host of possible reactive responses people have. Observer meditation is a very powerful form of changing reactive responses, but it requires a good deal of practice and a willingness to remain vigilant as an observer in your daily life. If you feel that you would like to learn to become less reactive to stress and more joyful in your life, Tranquility-Training can help.

Affirmation Meditation. People attempt this style as a means of shifting negative belief patterns about themselves. This particular style applies the premise that the subconscious mind can be influenced to adopt new belief patterns through introducing them subconsciously. Many people today leave little yellow Post It’s around the house to serve as a reminder that they are working on a particular change in self image. The Post It’s contain messages of a positive nature. It is believed by many that these messages will somehow sink into their subconscious mind and magically shift their negative self image to a positive one. In some cases, this is true but more often it is not. In order to shift belief systems from a negative view to a positive one, many things must occur. Practice is definitely the key, but simply repeating positive affirmations will not help the ego mind adapt a new belief. The ego mind has a harsh and judgment aspect to it that maintains that its reality is reality. This judge is slow to make changes and will defend these self images to the end. The only way to shift belief structures is to work with them and make conscious choices therefore allowing yourself to have new experiences. The problem stems from the fact that the ego mind is the part of us that is involved in the experience and will not allow new experiences to usurp its precious beliefs.

How does one get out of this sort of double bind? The best way is to get the ego mind can get out of the way long enough to insert new possibilities. The ego is attached to the concept of itself as a physical being. If you are able to put the ego and the judge to sleep, you can increase the possibility of inserting new ideas by creating an observer state. In working with the threshold of your conscious awareness (hypnogogia), it is more probable that you will be able to come to terms with the deeply rooted issues that verify the basis for the belief. Once you realize the origin of these beliefs, you can than make the appropriate choices to accommodate the new structure you wish to pursue. The ego has no defense against the new information coming into the storehouse of beliefs. In using this method, you have a powerful means of usurping the ego’s negative constructs and defenses. Tranquility-Training can help you establish a Vipassana/observer meditation practice.

Visualization / Imaginative Meditation. Imagination is perhaps the single most important aspect of human evolution. (Our opposing thumbs and ability to walk upright run a close second.) It is only because of our ability to imagine that we humans have evolved into what we are. I often get a chuckle when people in my classes have a fantastic experience during a meditation only to nullify it with a phrase like, “Well, that’s probably just my imagination!” Imagination is very powerful and is responsible for everything we humans have created in our reality. Nothing can be invented until the inventor utilizes his/her imaginative powers. Imagination is responsible for art, technology, religion, philosophy, government, and everything else that is part of the human experience. The obvious external results of correctly applied human imagination are numerous. Just as interesting are the internal manifestations like our imagined self images (as noted above), which have an external manifestation in terms of self destructive behavior. Anorexia is an eating disorder caused by a distorted self image or imagination.

As you can see, imagination has powerful physiological, emotional and physical affects. An interesting philosophical question arises as to the source of human imagination. Some believe that the subconscious mind is perhaps the source of imagination. Some believe it was an adaptive method in our evolutionary pattern. Still others feel it is the divine spark inherent in all of us. Let us imagine for a moment that the source point is not quite as important as how we use this power. We can all see that it is a latent power that has an obvious impact. What if we could all use our imaginative powers to create exactly what it is that we want. A world that works for everyone. Tranquility-Training makes use of Imaginative meditation techniques to first acknowledge your creative potential, then to help you to become a wise creator.

Focused/Expanded Awareness Meditation. This is a form of meditation that most every one can related to and a form of meditation we all practice. It has a lot to do with the thinking process. We humans think all of the time. Most of the time thoughts pass through our minds in a microsecond without our consideration of what we are thinking about. Our evolved brain (the neo-cortex) actually allows us to focus our awareness on many things simultaneously. The words you are reading, the thoughts you are having about the expressed opinions, the room temperature, the quite whisper of your computer fan, all of these can be recognized by you almost at once. All manners of stimuli seize your attention for a nanosecond and then disappear from your awareness just as quickly. Many people percieve this to be a problem in their lives. Some of my clients want to learn meditation techniques to help give them a more laser like focus of attention to help them overcome this percieved problem.

Our unique ability to hold multiple things in our awareness is an interesting facet of the human experience. It is understood by those who practice this form of meditation that we humans can allow our awareness to be focused with a laser like intensity or allow it to become more effuse and open to subtleties in your current experience. Both styles are of exquiste value. We are taught in Western culture to focus our concentration so that we might learn what is being taught. However, in focusing on any one thing, (for instance the words expressing this philosophy) we miss some the subtleties of our experience. In noticing the subtlties, one has even more information on which they can assess the reality of their experience in the moment. Both of these practices have their uses within the Tranquility-Training Method. Awareness is the key to living life to its fullest and making the most of the time we are given to be alive.

In the current era, people from all walks of life are using meditation and visualization techniques to help them manifest their goals and live more fully. Research shows that the power of meditation lies in the practitioner’s ability to relax the body and access the subconscious mind. The subconscious acts like a file cabinet for the records of our experience. Therefore, the exploration of our own subconscious mind is essential because its content is responsible for much of the reactive responses we have to the stress in our lives. It also shapes the way in which we view the world and our relationship to it. TTM offers you a means of accessing the subconscious mind. During this workshop series, you will learn techniques designed to help you react differently to life’s challenges. You will learn to relax and focus your body and mind completely. You will learn to explore the deepest parts of yourself and transform your inner world. The goal of TTM is to help you live in full awareness and consciously explore all parts of you!

At this point you might ask yourself, if you can benefit from a continued meditation practice?

If so, can you do this in a way that is easy to practice and integrate into your life without having to adopt a new philosophical belief structure?

First the good news.

Meditation can be integrated into your life without any discomfort or radical change in religious belief. Gone are the days when you had to become a disciple of any particular faith in order to have a successful meditation practice. Because of the in depth clinical inquiry done throughout the past few decades, the many benefits of meditation are available to anyone who has a CD player and a set of headphones! The Tranquility-Training Method is an organization dedicated to helping people achieve a successful meditation practice that is suited for their unique needs. The classes (offered privately and in a group setting) are reasonably priced and encompass only hours of your life. In each class you will learn techniques adopted from each of the five main categories that can be applied within your daily life. Our technique welcomes and encourage all people from all walks of life and philosophical views. In addition to classes, we offer products for at-home training that are designed to help you expand your range of consciousness. While these at-home training exercises are more transcendental in nature, they contain elements that are useful to anyone who would like get a sense of deep relaxation and openness. This is truly Meditation Made Easy!

Now the part where you decide whether it is good or bad news.

A continued meditation practice will produce a change in you. Actually, it is your willingness to move into a continued practice that produces the changes. Your intention for beginning and continuing a practice will be fulfilled if you approach meditation with a light heart and a willingness to explore. What are you exploring? From our perspective, only parts of yourself. The Tranquility-Training Method classes will teach you to completely relax your body and explore the essence of your mind and spirit. This complete relaxation is the basic stepping stone from which all other meditation practices can be applied. So let’s imagine what changes might occur.

Physically, there are many changes that occur. The most common effects are lowered blood pressure and reduced muscle tension. In addition, studies have shown that there is a reduction in stress related hormones which have a damaging effect on the body chemistry. People who meditate often report that they sleep soundly and generally walk through their day with a sense of relaxed purpose. Physically, there seem to be no adverse effects.

Clinical studies also suggest that meditation can have a profound effect on our thinking process. Some people believe that new neural pathways are developed through practicing meditation. By implication, the more neural pathways, the more efficiently our brain works. I am not absolutely sure that this is true, but it does give pause for thought! (Pun intended) The forms of meditation that might produce this effect are of a more focused/expanded variety. There are studies that show that people who practice transcendental meditation experience sometimes experience short-term memory loss. Perhaps this is true in some cases, but is probably more accurate to say that some people who are attracted to transcendent meditation probably have always had the same challenge. It is difficult to ascertain whether or not this “flightiness” is a direct result of a transcendental meditation. Transcendental meditation practices should not be the primary path of people who do not have a well-grounded experience of being alive on planet Earth. In other words, a well-developed ego. People prone to delusions and other psychological disorders might consider learning some of the more focused varieties of meditation.

Meditation can help you have a deeper connection with your spiritual practice. Meditation has its origins and maintains a connection to the spiritual part of human experience. Will meditation change the way in which you view the world from a spiritual perspective? It might. It is hard to tell. For most people, when carefully guided through the process by someone who has a deep respect and knowledge for all spiritual practices, the experiences gained in meditation can enrich their current philosophy.

The end result is change on some level but the change is under your control.

A final word.

In order to have a successful meditation practice, one must take into consideration why they would adopt such a practice to begin with. The practice should have a purpose. Once this purpose is established, a good teacher will help you discern a practice that is right for you. While we would love to have you as a student or client, we realize that Tranquility-Training is only one method among many. We humbly suggest that if you are drawn to meditation, for whatever reason, that you follow that impulse. We believe that you are ready for the change, whatever that may be and look forward to hearing about how it has changed your life.