The Mystery of Meditation Revealed
"Oh, I can do that!"
Jacob Felder, RYT

If you are interested in meditation and are not already an experienced meditator I have good news for you. You already meditate! You've simply not recognized it for what it is. Let's take what is normally referred to as "Light Meditation." Perhaps you have a hobby or an activity you engage in so thoroughly that sometimes an hour or so will seem to slip by before you even realize it. Or perhaps you have walked through a flower garden totally captivated by the beauty of the flowers, the fragrances, the fresh air and sunshine. You were so caught up in the surroundings that you hardly had any thoughts involving life outside of the garden. Whether it was a hobby, a favorite activity, or a walk through the garden, afterwards, you found yourself feeling unexplainably refreshed and clear-minded, even a sense of peace and calm. Well, that's it; a "Light Meditation" has occurred.

That's right, the whole time you were engaged in these simple activities you were focused only on the matter at hand. You weren't thinking about what I refer to as, "the house, the mouse, the spouse, the bills, the pills, the thrills". While focusing on something simple and pleasurable, our brain wave frequency (or the business of the mind) begins to slow down to a calm state of mind. This brain wave frequency is referred to as the "Alpha State" and is generally considered the most relaxed state we can experience while remaining clinically awake. Now that one mystery is solved, please stick with me through the "Deep Meditation" part. After the "Deep Meditation" explanation I'm going to come back around to how to achieve both "Light Meditation" and "Deep Meditation" via conscious choice and effort.

You know that not-quite-awake, yet not-quite-asleep feeling you sometimes experience? Say you're sitting on the couch on a rainy Sunday afternoon, reading a good book, not thinking about much else. You decide to set the book down and just close your eyes for a few moments to relax. You seem to be floating or half forgetting where you are. You hear footsteps coming down the hall, the door opens, and some one near and dear to you says, "Oh, I didn't mean to wake you." With difficultly you barely open your eyes, and in a somewhat groggy voice you declare, "Oh no, I wasn't asleep. I heard you coming down the hall." They laugh.

Well that, my friends, is "Deep Meditation" or Theta brain waves. Theta is the first stage of clinical sleep. Theta is the one stage of sleep when we are most likely to be able to maintain conscious awareness. The main difference between this non-controlled dozing off scenario I just described and purposeful "Deep Meditation" is that in purposeful "Deep Meditation" you set out with the goal of reaching Theta, and learn to keep the mind alert rather than allowing the mind to become dull and groggy while in Theta.

Now, before I go on to the "How To" part I must answer a probable question. Why bother maintaining this alertness of mind while in Theta? The shortest answer I know is that while in Theta the brain waves are so slow and the mind is so void of thought that you get to experience consciousness free of cares and concerns of the world. In this absence of thought there is only one thing left, a deep seated feeling of peace and calm. Who would not want to experience that? Also while in Theta, serotonin is released, blood pressure lowers, the body releases tension, and our minds are clearer, just to name a few of the many other benefits.

No matter how mundane or exotic the approach to meditation, all meditations follow this model: 1) Focus on something simple and non-thought provoking. 2) Relax the body. 3) Exercise a passive awareness of changes in mind and body as you relax more deeply.

To clarify with an example, I will go over a typical sitting meditation. Please note that I am referring to a sitting mediation and not a moving meditation such as yoga, tai chi, labyrinth walking, and the like. Sitting in a comfortable position the meditator chooses a focus. In this example he or she chooses to mentally repeat a three word phrase while feeling the movement of their breath and all the while relaxing the body. Eventually they notice (awareness) that the body has begun to relax more deeply and that the train of consciousness (thoughts) have begun to slow due to the redundancy of the focus. Ah, Alpha brain waves, that is, "Light Meditation," has been achieved. However, to stay with Alpha the meditator needs to keep the focus going to prevent falling back into normal thinking mode.

If they want to move into "Deep Meditation," the meditator continues the focus and continues to relax the body even more until they begin to experience (awareness) feelings and sensations akin to that of the edge of sleep. Aaaahhh, "Deep Meditation." At this point, thinking is no longer an issue. Falling asleep is the issue. What to do? The meditator now turns their focus into a tool to help them maintain an alert mind so that conscious awareness can be maintained in the peace, the calm, the stillness, the bliss of Theta "Deep Meditation". 

Jacob Felder, RYT, first began practicing yoga in 1969 and meditation techniques in 1974. With over 35 years of experience, Jacob is a passionate and patient instructor to meditation and yoga students of all levels. He is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance at the 500-hour level and has over 20 years teaching experience. Jacob offers group and individual meditation training. For more information contact Jacob at: yogajacob@hotmail.com or 336.407.8602 or visit his website at: www.jacobfelder.com.