Meditation is a non-denominational means to connect directly with God, Love, the Universe, the collective consciousness of all creatures, the sky, the earth, etc. Love is within you and you are part of Love, and it is only our egos which perpetuate the illusion of separateness. Meditation is not religion, hypnosis or thinking, but is indeed a form of prayer. More than anything, meditation is direct experience. You don't need to belong to any religion in order to practice meditation. The process is very simple. You just relax, breathe deeply, and think about nothing. It feels very nice, like falling backwards into a giant pillow.
I prefer to stretch for a moment, then sit upright, eyes closed, palms resting upturned on my knees. Others prefer to lie down. Begin with a deep breath, hold it, exhale fully. Allow your abdomen (rather than your chest) to expand as you inhale. The first time you do this, place your hand over your navel and press out with your abdomen as you inhale. When you feel your abdomen expand, you are breathing right. At first it may help to concentrate on the light you will "see" between your closed eyes, but eventually you will become the light and sound. Thoughts may pop up, but you just let them go.
Group meditation can be a very powerful experience, especially when chanting together. Actually any repetitive sound will do. And you don't need a sectret mantra, and you don't have to memorize a foreign language! Om mane padme hum, hari hari, nahme oho rengay kao!! No, a chant can simply be a humming sound you make when you exhale. If you want to get fancy, begin at one pitch then slide to a lower pitch at the end of the exhalation. Again, focus on the sound and the light, and this will help to calm random thoughts as you begin.
The most important thing to understand about meditation is the simple fact that it is the practice and the experience that provide all the benefits. You don't need a guru, priest or religion to stand between you and the experience. A teacher can get you started, if you wish, but that is all. A true teacher will never ask for anything, and is happy to share simply for the sake of sharing. In fact a true teacher may very well learn more from you, and will never ever say that you cannot learn without their guidance. There is no One True Way, just as there are no two identical people.
Sometimes you can become so relaxed that you may fall asleep while meditating. This is okay. Sometimes you may feel so good afterwards that it might be wise to wait awhile before operating heavy machinery! If in doubt, just check your pupils in the mirror to see how much they are dilated. Your blood pressure and pulse rate will drop when you meditate. I usually meditate for ten or 20 minutes in the late evening, when things are generally quiet. I don't use any candles or recordings of ocean surf to set the mood, but everybody is different, so you might want to experiment.
So what does meditation do for you, anyway? Well, some of the obvious effects are relaxation, an improved ability to deal with daily stress, improved clarity and focus in creative and thinking processes, better interpersonal relations, vastly improved health, energy and stamina, etc. Mostly you will just feel really, really good. How does meditation do this? Well, I suppose you could say that it renews our link to the source of everything, and reminds us that we are all in this together, and that anything nice I do for you I do for me. And I mean this very literally. But actually I can't explain how it works unless you already know. So try it.
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