TheLeaderInside.com

“Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity.”

~~~ Albert Einstein

I wasn’t sure how many of these articles I would be writing on the topic of meditation, but it seems as though the more I write about it, the more I have to write about. So, today’s article will continue with our discussion about this wonderful practice and talk more about what it can do for your life. I would also expect that there will be several more of these in the weeks to come. I keep learning more and more about it — and — as I learn I feel a need to share it with you.

I’ve also included a short video (about 7 minutes) that will play some excellent meditation music for you as you do your practice today. I hope you enjoy it. Don’t forget to turn on your speakers. Just click the “Play” button — and then you can continue reading today’s article as you listen. When you’re done reading, play it again as you do one of your meditation sessions for today. (hint-hint!)

Today I wanted to talk about why we seem to be in a state of bewilderment, to some degree, most of the time. When we look at our lives, what do we find that we’re doing?

It seems as though we keep moving from one place, or one thought, or one lifestyle to another, searching for lasting happiness and inner peace. There seems to be something empty in us that we’re trying to fill.

We know we want to feel good, but every time we do something to make us feel good, it doesn’t last. We keep looking and looking but that sense of true satisfaction never seems to come. We’re looking for that missing piece and never seem to find it. Whether we realize it or not, we truly do want to learn some basic truth about our lives. We want to be able to see the bigger picture about the universe and our place in it.

I believe that meditation is the best way to achieve this knowledge.

Since I’m a Buddhist, I tend to follow a learning path based on the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha saw that life is made up of four aspects: impermanence, suffering, selflessness, and peace. He saw that we all live a life of suffering because we constantly keep banging our heads against this wall of reality. We always want our lives to be different than what they are. We tend to spend our lives spinning our wheels. We even have this saying that, “What goes around, comes around”. In Buddhist language this is known as samsara – or the circle of suffering.

“People in this world look at things mistakenly, and think that what they do not understand must be the void. This is not the true void. It is bewilderment…”

~~~ Miyamoto Musashi

We’re always living for tomorrow, or we’re hanging around in the past. Whether that means we’re anticipating a promotion at work – or our retirement – or a new and better job — or perhaps we’re going through the “should-a – would-a – could-a” routine of wishing we had done something differently in the past. We keep going around the circle hoping that the next time we do something it will be better than it was before. We seem to spend so much time protecting ourselves from the bad that we completely ignore the good.

Even when we’re feeling some happiness, it doesn’t seem to take too long before we’re shifting our focus onto something that causes us stress of some kind. This is what Buddha described in the first Noble Truth – the truth that there will be suffering, bewilderment, pain and dissatisfaction in our lives. We’re stuck on this wheel of suffering.

“After his experiences as a prince and as a wandering monk, the Buddha had learned that all people have one thing in common: if they think about their own life, or look at the world around them, they will see that life is full of suffering.

Suffering, he said, may be physical or mental. The Buddha’s most important teachings were focused on a way to end the suffering he had experienced and had seen in other people. His discovery of the solution began with the recognition that life is suffering. This is the first of the Four Noble Truths.”

(Note: We’ll be getting into the other Noble Truths as we continue with these articles on meditation in the weeks to come.)

We see the world as a place where if we just do something once more – give ourselves one more chance to get it right, we’ll be okay. It’s our minds that are convincing us that this is the way to feel better. It’s our minds that encourage us to form opinions and make judgments. It’s the ego-thinking that’s creating all this restlessness, and until we learn to understand how the ego works, this mind of ours will continue to fool us into thinking that this is just how it is. The beauty is that once we recognize that this is where the problem lies, we will have taken the first huge step towards finding our true self. Many Buddhists refer to this as an awakening — or an enlightenment.

“There are many paths to enlightenment. Be sure to take one with a heart.”

~~~ Lao Tzu

Again, the best way to begin this training process for moving forward with learning about why we’re so bewildered all the time, is to meditate. Be still — listen and focus on your breath and let all those thoughts fade away. There’s true reality in the silence.
——————————————-
If you’re new to us here, be sure read the other articles about meditation. You can find links for them over in the left sidebar under the “Recently Posted” section. They all have a title starting with the word, “Meditation”. Don’t forget, spend at least 10 minutes twice each day meditating. Meditate for longer if you can. If you’ve been doing 10 minutes, take it up to 15. The longer you can maintain your focus on just your breath, the better.

“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”

~~~ Buddha

Namaste!

And, as I always say in closing — remember these words …

You are the most precious gift you can give yourself. Every day look in the mirror and say, “I’m available to more good than I have experienced, realized or imagined ever before in my life!” Do this every day while you look into your own eyes.

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

~~~ Buddha

~~~ DBL-R

P.S. Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically, whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.
================================================================
As you know, I do practice sitting, silent meditation every day in my life. Recently, I did a podcast about this for another blog that I read. Take a moment and click this link to hear what meditation means to me and what it does for me.

My Meditation Podcast

In my meditation I use what I truly believe is the most powerful personal growth and mind development tool on earth. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” - then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels —

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution

====================================================================

====================================================================

Technorati Tags: peace, inner self, inner peace, Buddhism, Buddhist, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life