Meditation is an ancient practice that was brought to the West from the Far East and Asia. However, anthropological studies show that various forms of meditation have been used in nearly every culture and religion since the beginning of recorded human history.

For Christian Today, meditation is called Contemplative Prayer. An excellent book to read on Contemplative Prayer is Thomas Keatings,"The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation (Wit Lectures.)".

Often times people wonder what the difference between prayer and meditation is. I once heard it said that prayer is talking to God and meditation is listening to God. Meditation is the act of opening and being receptive to spirit.

Meditation is also a practice of mental discipline. It is mind training. Through the practice of meditation a person is able to quiet the mind, master focus and singular attention, and work with what has been called ‘The organ of intuition’, the imagination. It has primarily been used as a spiritual tool allowing its most ardent practitioners to access, strengthen, and control their mind as a means of achieving internal peace and communion with spirit.

In Western terms this translates to the ability to focus the mind on a specific activity or thought to the exclusion of all else, reducing stress and anxiety, stabilizing the body, and becoming centered. You can also visualiz results not yet achieved therefore creating a mental blueprint for the selected activity that the body can follow automatically, without thought. This type of mind training is scientifically researched and validated and used exstensively in professional sports training.

These outcomes from the practice of mediation are extremely useful for life. The combined effect of these outcomes puts one in a state that is often referred to as “The Zone.” It is quite advantageous to be able to access “The Zone” at will. Mediation builds the foundation from which “The Zone” springs forth. A disciplined and well trained mind is powerful.

There are many forms and variations of meditation, too many to describe here. All forms can be broken down into two very large and general categories: mobile and immobile.

In the former you are involved in an activity using the whole of your attention like walking, gardening, washing dishes, Tai Chi, yoga, etc. In the latter you are typically sitting in a specific posture with eyes closed or focused on a singular object like a mandala or the flame of a candle. In both categories of meditation you are encouraged to empty your mind and focus on one thing.

Mental Focus – The typical American has mastered the art of multi-tasking. You are driving, talking on the cell phone & eating your lunch all at the same time! Or if you watch television regularly you are literally training your mind to function with a short attention span by the quick pace of the passing visual images presented to you, especially in commercials. This scattered mental processing creates stress and a limited ability to focus which is counter productive.

Meditation often starts with focusing on your breathing, a word or an object. When your mind wonders you are instructed to gently return to your original focus without judgment or irritation. This is often very difficult to do at first but with practice the mind can be trained to hold a focus for extended periods of time.

How long do I need to meditate?

Most start with 5 minutes and work up slowly to an hour in 5 minute increments. The most important aspect of the mediation is consistency of practice and not the length of time spent mediating. You must practice 5 minutes of mental focus as many days as you can until it can be sustained. Then you add 5 minutes and practice daily until you can hold your focus for 10 minutes. This continues for as long as you would like. Most people find that 20 minutes to an hour is all the time they need to witness significant and lasting results.

It also trains a person to relate to thoughts as separate from themselves by observing them as passing clouds and always returning to the original focus. It makes it very clear how fleeting and contradictory are everyday thoughts can be. This teaches the person to no longer be unnecessarily flustered by thoughts but to observe them, thus creating greater control over ones responses and actions.

When you are able to sustain and hold your focus on a specific thought or movement during your sports training it makes it easier to master new techniques. The stronger your focus, the sooner the new technique is naturally incorporated into your overall physical patterns. Also if a troubling thought enters your mind you are able to ‘observe it’ instead of react to it therefore having greater control over your performance.

Reducing Stress & Anxiety – An additional benefit to strengthening your mental focus is the ability to limit ones thoughts to a chosen topic and hold that focus to the exclusion of all else. By default this activity reduces stress and anxiety. If you focus your mind exclusively on a specific pattern of movement or the visual image of a winning activity then there is no room for thoughts that generate stress or anxiety. And again, when you master the ability to ‘observe’ thoughts they are less likely to disturb your focus.

Many clinical studies have proven that TM - Transcendental Mediation lowers blood pressure, slows breathing, and slows down one’s heart beat. These all have a calming and soothing effect. It allows the mind to function with more clarity. Meditation is the best way to become grounded and centered. This means becoming focused on the activity at hand, calming oneself emotionally, mentally and physically, and aligning thought, emotions and body to a singular goal.

Visualization – Mental patterns created in the mind help us come to conclusions and make very quick decisions. An event (i.e. my hand is burning and a hot stove is glowing red) is linked to a thought (move hand away from glowing red burner) which is linked to an emotion (ouch!) This chain of logic is called a neural pathway and we have millions of them. It’s how we learn and survive. This is nature’s built in training mechanism.

The good news is that we can consciously create new neural pathways at will, training our mind and body to accomplish desired goals.

When we are able to hold our focus and calm ourselves through centering and grounding then we can begin to use our imagination to visualize desired activities and train or minds to create new neural pathways. The classic example of this kind of meditative training is told often by Michael Jordan.

As a youngster he visualized making baskets over and over again in his mind, feeling how good it feels to accomplish this task and moving his body in the correct way. This mental training, mobile mediation, combined with his repeated physical practice created an unstoppable force. This technique is used by all trainers of professional athletes and many Olympic athletes.

Putting it all together - When your mind is clear of extraneous thought and you have developed the ability to focus on a singular thought or activity you calm your mind & body. In this state you then visualize the desired activity and allow yourself to feel the joy of accomplishing it effortlessly and without any stress.

Replay this scenario over and over again then combine it with action. If action is taken consistently, it will put you in the zone where your body takes over all conscious thought, time changes and everything flows. It is truly magical and can be achieved by employing the ancient discipline of mediation in your life.