For a more definitive explanation of the process of meditation, you need to understand that you as an individual are a little more than the sum of your visible (physical) parts. You do actually have a non-visible presence. It's very much a part of you. In fact you could say that both the visible and the non-visible parts of you go together to make up the whole "you". The non visible you is often referred to as your "higher self".
Getting your head around the concept of a higher self and it's exact relationship with the physical self is not always easy. Especially since the terms "physical" obviously relates to physics, the science of matter and energy. And for many people (including, for many years, this particular author), If you can't see and touch something, it doesn't exist. But wait a minute, we already know that you can't always see energy. In may forms, energy is invisible to us. But we still know it's there. Take the energy of the sun. The solar flares that constantly bombard this planet. Normally we can't actually see them, but at certain geographic locations, in certain conditions, the Northern and Southern Lights give us a most spectacular light show. Highlighting the suns previously hidden energy to the greatest effect.
So can we see our "invisible" higher self? No we can't. But we can communicate with it, and that is what meditation is for.
And why do you want to make a connection with your higher self? Because your higher self is not constrained by the physical limitations of your human body. It doesn't forget. It doesn't make judgements based on your current physical needs or requirements. It has no need of money, shelter, material possessions or sexual gratification. It is obviously aware that your physical body does, but is in the gifted position of being able to reason WITHOUT material influence. It sees the wood, the trees and everything BEYOND the physical obstructions. All of which affect our actions and reactions in the physical world on a daily, if not hourly, basis.
You can't talk to your higher self, any more than you can talk to your arm or your big toe, because it's you! Or at least another part of you. Your higher self IS however, linked to your mind. Your thought processes. It also has a Universal connection. Everything in the Universe is linked and your higher self is the bridge between your physical human body and, well... absolutely everything. It is even - believe it or not - in communication with the higher self of that person that you have a problem with at work. The boss who doesn't appreciate you. The sibling who doesn't talk to you any more. Anybody and everybody you have ever met has a higher self and YOUR higher self knew exactly what their intentions were and what they were going to say to you when you last met.
OK so you can't have a cosy chat with your higher self (it already knows what you were going to say anyway) but you can link with it through the process of meditation. You are actually in contact with your higher self all of the time anyway. It's just that so many other thoughts, material influences and visual distractions get in the way.
When we meditate we try to concentrate on one single thing and cancel out all other thoughts. As you are already aware it takes practice and often your mind drifts away to worries and concerns that the physical world is currently placing in your way. It's pretty much impossible to just switch the material world off, which is indeed why we try and fix our minds on something to bring things under control. We can actually concentrate on more than one thing at a time, but the less things on our mind, the more the awareness of the higher self is introduced. And that is the purpose of the exercise.
As you will no doubt have noticed if you have tried meditation for any length of time, you suddenly find that these days you seem to be so much better equipped at dealing with everyday problems. You may also have found that there have been occasions where you seem to know EXACTLY how to deal with a situation that presents itself, when previously such a scenario would have left you wondering what to do. And perhaps you now are generally more relaxed about life in general. It's almost as though you have the knowledge at some other level that all is going to be OK and when tricky situations come about, you are going to be able to rise above them and deal with them effectively. If you just scored yes three times on those last scenarios then congratulations, you are meditating and it's working!
And if you didn't, don't worry, keep at it and you will succeed. No meditation is 100% effective. There will be some point where material thoughts predominate. When you find yourself drifting off to more material matters just acknowledge and return your concentration back to the meditative state. Some percentage of a meditation will always be successful. With practice those percentages will be higher. And the more times you try, the more percentages you get to add to your ever-expanding total.
And whether you are having great success or not, how about trying the following visualization whilst listening to the Meditation Music channel.
Imagine that the music is an audio representation of the energy being received from your higher self. Use THAT thought as the single object of your attention throughout the meditation. Imagine that you can SEE the music, and that your higher self is delivering the exact information that you require at this time, and it's all coming through in the frequencies of the music. Just sit with your eyes closed and allow the music to wash over you (best experienced with headphones on) and KNOW that you are getting exactly what you need to calm you and prepare you for the challenges that lie ahead in the next few hours and days.
And don't be surprised if, as you use this visualization more and more, you begin to see shapes and colors transforming before your closed eyes. If this happens, you'll probably find that these shapes are part of one single movement and as such they aren't in fact happening behind your closed eyes at all, but are visions of the third eye, which is of course the real instrument of meditation.
Bear in mind also that by using the music as your object of attention, and seeing it as this higher self thought process, you are of course by default devoting your entire attention (or at least all of the time you can focus on it) to your higher self, which - as mentioned at the beginning - is the whole point of the exercise. The results will hopefully be even more beneficial for you.
Meditation Music.co.uk broadcasts through Live365.com. All music streams from the USA and is licensed through the relevant bodies
For a more definitive explanation of the process of meditation, you need to understand that you as an individual are a little more than the sum of your visible (physical) parts. You do actually have a non-visible presence. It's very much a part of you. In fact you could say that both the visible and the non-visible parts of you go together to make up the whole "you". The non visible you is often referred to as your "higher self".