However, this definition implies that meditation, to some degree, as training takes work or effort and that it is an active process. Many people approach meditation in this way, which is why I believe so many of them either give up completely or struggle and have difficulty becoming proficient meditators.
It’s very difficult to truly know one’s level of proficiency in meditation. There are no scientific measurements that can be taken to truly characterize one’s level of meditation and spiritual integration. Also, for the vast majority of us, we are not perceptively capable of experiencing another’s feeling or state of being, which would otherwise allow us to compare our experiences to a person that is proficient. However, I’ve spoken to many long term meditators and many of them perceive that they are not very far along in their journey, even after a decade or two of working at it. I also ask them to define meditation so I can better understand what they perceive it to be.
Do this quick exercise – identify a one word synonym for meditation. Please, stop reading for a moment, look up from this article and close your eyes. Center yourself, feel your body and ask for just one word to enter your mind. That is your synonym for meditation, how you define meditation. Read on after you have completed this exercise.
The synonym you chose is how you feel about meditation – how you have defined and characterized it at a deeper level. My synonym is at the end of this article. Go take a look. My synonym, which I will refer to as the S word, is definitely not active, yet it is life changing. If you practice the S word, it will not only dramatically improve your ability to meditate, but it will significantly alter your life.
Unfortunately, most people are as successful applying the S word as they are with meditation. Why is it so difficult? Because applying the S word to your life or meditation for that matter, is something that is very difficult for your ego to do. Your ego, which is your beliefs, coping strategies and brain processes, is hell-bent on control. That is its function. The ego literally despises the S word. The S word is the antithesis of the ego. The ego wants control and the S word is an admission that you are not in control. Furthermore, if you move into meditation with that as your intention, it becomes your declaration of how you wish to be, ego and all.
Becoming a good meditator means becoming good at the S word. What does this really mean? Many people think it’s like lying down and dying, or simply not caring and giving up. That’s not what I’m talking about. The S word simply implies that your ego is not in control. It is the realization of that fact. What this means is that for you to truly meditate, your ego must adopt the attitude of the S word. It must yield and give way.
This is the absolute, unequivocal key to meditation and becoming a great meditator as well as dramatically changing your life for the better. How can this be?
Because you are not your ego! Meditation is a practice that is intended to allow you to live and experience life being what you truly are, underneath your ego. Unfortunately, most people actually believe they are their beliefs, coping strategies and thought processes. The vast majority of people identify themselves as their ego. They live in their head and only recognize themselves in this way. Does this describe you? Is this truly all you are? I know that is not the truth. You are much more than your thoughts, beliefs, and coping strategies.
What happens when you apply the S word to your meditations? What happens when your ego practices the S word? The real you begins to emerge. The real you is of a spiritual nature. It is at the core of your being. It is real and it can manifest throughout all of your body. It does not reside in the head alone. Your brain is the seat of the ego, not your spirit. Your spiritual self is an energy field that permeates all of your body and surrounds all of you. It is infinite and as you achieve higher levels of spiritual integration you will come to recognize yourself as an embodiment of All That Is.
But first there’s the matter of the S word. Is there an easier way to meditate so that the ego can be lulled to sleep and allow your conscious awareness to emanate from that which you truly are? We have dedicated the last 19 years of our lives to figuring out how to do just that. We use the SolTec lounge almost every day and while doing so we surrender to what we truly are. You do not need the SolTec lounge to surrender, however, due to the effects of its’ technology, it is an excellent catalyst that facilitates deeper states of meditation.
Surrender is my synonym for meditation in practice and in life. It helps me to relax my ego and be my authentic self, what I truly am and what you are too.