Benefits of Meditation

It is known that in most cultures, the sun is considered male and the moon, female. BUT surprisingly, in Japanese mythology it is the reverse, and it is the same apparently in the belief system of Vajrayana. Here, the sun stands for Wisdom (prajna) portrayed as a female deity, and the moon is Method (upaya, “skillful means.”) Sun and Moon celestials symbols are associated with the Indian gods, Shiva and Parvati. So the round sun sitting in the curve of the new moon, a motif often seen atop stupa (tower – kind of like steeple), conveys that tantric meaning which concerns the one-ness or union of Method and Wisdom. Both celestials appear at the top of many tangkas, Buddhist artwork — the moon is to the main deity’s right and the sun to its left. Confusing as that androgynous quality we actually all have?

We can take this analogy in our understanding about the Left vs. Right brain; Left vs. Right nostrils in our breath… as we balance Yin and Yang… it’s a practice.

Back to the practical …as much as I like the mythical fantasies to make things more interesting, coming back from the celestial vastness down to earth, grounding taking place so that I can again, take off once recharged and re-fueld – it’s a tune-up time:)

We are called human beings, not human doings, and a lot of the time I don’t think we’re actually cultivating or even recognizing that. So we can go for days, weeks, months, and virtually years conditioned to run on automatic pilot as if on a treadmill, trying to get where we need to be, trying to push away what we don’t want. Much of this is focused on attaining particular states of goals at some future time or being obsessed with things that have happened in th past.

If you start to pay attention to what’s on your mind, you’ll notice that the present -which is the only time any of us are ever alive in- kind of gets short shrift. It gets a little squeezed. So part of the virtue and the power of meditation is to reclaim the present moment, in the long term, meditation is not about sitting in the lotus position or like a statue at the museum, meditation is about your entire life. The real practice in meditation is living your life as if it really mattered moment by moment.

– Jon Kabat-Zinn

“In one study involving brain imaging technology and EEG readings of brain electrical activity, researchers found that regular practice of mindfulness meditation (which involves remaining aware of bodily sensations and thoughts, without passing judgement on them) significanly increased activvity in the LEFT side of the brain’s frontal area… Plus, they showed enhanced immunity, producing more antibodies in respose to a flue shot than did non-meditators.

In another study, researchers measured the brain activity of eight Buddhist monks … The monks had higher levels of gamma waves – high-frequency brain activity involved in attention, memory, and learning – before they began meditation, and this difference increased during meditation.”

– Andrew Weil, MD

“Such evidence and research in gamma-band oscillations may explain the heightened sense of consciousness, bliss, and intellectual acuity subsequent to meditation. Notably, meditation is known to have a number of health benefits: stress reduction, mood elevation, and increased life expectancy of the mind and its cognitive functions. The current Dalai Lama meditates for four hours each morning, and he says that it is hard work.”
– excerpt from Wikipedia

(Dr. Weil gives words of caution for the few, if meditating brings up any strong or disturbing emotions perhaps repressed over the years, consider seeking professional help.)