From: tt@wag.caltech.edu (Toshi Takeuchi)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Why meditate?
Summary: I try to give some explanations why I meditate.
Date: 1 Sep 92 19:50:40 GMT
Article-I.D.: qiclab.1992Sep1.220202.18789
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA


	Why meditate?

I'll go back to the beginning for me, before I started meditating...

A friend asked me, "Would you like to learn how to meditate?"

I did some previous investigation of the matter and I knew that:
1. Meditation relieves stress.
2. Meditation was one of the paths to "enlightenment".

Well, I didn't believe in religion of any sort, but I was still curious.
I thought that it wouldn't hurt to try to learn something that was
good for the body!

(In fact, I did a study while in college, and found that there was
a Psychologist at Ohio State University, who did studies on medical
students.  One set of students went through relaxation/guided meditation
exercises, while the other set did something else.  Well, as you might
imagine, the set of students who did meditation exercises had a
significantly higher count of white blood cells, compared with the
set which did not meditate.  
--This led to the conclusion that meditation led to reduction of stress,
which gives a healthier immune system...)

---------

Immediate effects of meditation/breathing exercises:

1.  Hay fever, which plagued me almost all my life virtually disappeared.
    Along with that, my almost year round stuffy nose finally disappeared.

2.  Felt much more at ease for a SHORT period of time following 
    meditation.

I'll explain 2 above a little more.

--At first, I felt really good about myself and about life after meditation.
  However, an hour later, after I "re-entered" the "real" world I thought
  that none of my problems have improved, and my feeling good about myself
  is just a trick.  

--I thought that meditation was just a drug to take me away from my problems.

Of course, this may seem to be a valid assumption, but I realized that it 
is not the world and my problems that change, but MY PERCEPTION of the
world and my problems.

If you look at the world with suspicion, then the world will look upon
you with suspicion.

---------------

All right, so my perception towards the world started to change.

Other effects I noticed:

I quit drinking large amounts of coffee.  My body just didn't want it
anymore.

Increased awareness of consciousness.

What in the world does that mean?  Well, I won't bias your perceptions
and let you figure it out yourself.

--------------

In conclusion:

Meditation may make you healthier and change your perceptions and expectations
of the world.  Buddha speaks of ending suffering through removal of
attachments and expectations of yourself and others.  For me, an integral
part of this process involves meditation.

There is no need to whip and torture yourself and force yourself to
behave in ways that you do not want to.

Meditation may guide you along and some desires and expectations may fall
away.

Many people get scared when this happens.  They quit mediating and say
it wasn't for me, or some other excuse.

That's okay!!  It's part of the learning process...

The final comment, which I have to make, and yet will be incomprehensible
to many of you, is to center through the heart and above the head and
ask "not my will but the highest will be done".

The reason I ask you to do this is it provides protection for you
and helps you from getting sidetracked by the many traps and pitfalls
which you may experience from meditation.

What do I mean by focusing through the heart and above the head?

First, feel your chest, roughly where your heart is, then feel the top
of your head.  Feel the skin on top of your head.  You can then
practice moving the feeling of the chest in front of your body.  

Yes, you can feel things outside of your body, and it's not
imagination :)

Then move the feeling behind the chest, then practice a focus in front
and in back at the same time.  Also, move the feeling off the top of
the head a foot or so.

Here's what you are doing:

It is a focus through the heart and crown chakra.  The heart focus helps
to move your wants and desires away from personal desires.  

Let's just say it helps the cycle of removing attachments and desires
that Buddha speaks of.

REMEMBER that this is an experience.  

(Please don't argue about personal and impersonal because I'm just trying
to use the best words that I can to relate an experience.)

The focus through the crown gives balance in your focus as it will generate
movement from the root to the crown, thus spanning the major chakra system.
Chakras are described in many Eastern religions.  I will explain more
if you e-mail me.

The root to the crown is what is concentrated upon in Tantric Yogas 
(Kundalini).
---------------

Okay, if you have further questions, or feel like asking anything, then
write to me and I'll either answer directly or post something on the
net.

Thanks to all who send me feedback.  It is nice to know that somebody
is reading these things!

Toshi
tt@wag.caltech.edu