Meditation

Why & How

If you have a human mind then Meditation is THE most important practice of your life. The motto for The Peaceful Minds Center is, “Happiness is not a state of life, it’s a state of Mind.” When you are happy, you are happy in your mind. When you are suffering, you are suffering in your mind. But what do you know about your mind and how it works? If you are like most people you basically know nothing. 

There are many misunderstandings regarding Meditation. So, let’s first talk about what Meditation is not. It’s not some “magic” or some esoteric Spiritual Practice shrouded in secrecy. You don’t have to be special, wear eccentric clothing or be particularly knowledgable to Meditate. Meditation is not something that should be feared and it cannot harm you in any way. It can only help.

Before we get to the explanation of Meditation, it’s important to understand why we Meditate. We are born into this world not knowing who we are, what we are or where we are. As our minds develop, we begin to learn language. We recognize our name – the name that was given to us by the people who were already here. They tell us where we are, what we are, what to believe, how to live and so on. Everything we think we know is what others have told us. If you were born to wise people then you had wisdom imparted to you. However, most of the people in this world are not wise and are suffering dearly whether it be overtly or covertly. They did the only thing they could – they unwittingly imparted you with the knowledge and causes of suffering. It was all they really knew. This cycle of suffering continues to be handed down from generation to generation … That is until someone like you comes across something like The Peaceful Minds Center and hopefully ends the cycle. As more people take the journey that you are about to embark upon, humanity will suffer less and less. Ultimately, we Meditate to end not only our suffering but the suffering of humanity as a whole. So, you can see that there is nothing more important. 

Meditation is about consciously managing your inner world. It would appear that difficult circumstances and situations are causal in our suffering. Is this true? Is what’s happening outside you the problem or is it what’s happening inside you in the face of what’s happening outside you the problem? We do not control what happens outside us. It is the great Karmic unfolding of cause and effect. Whether you like it or not, you are a cork in the karmic river and it is taking you where it wants. What makes your experiencing either desirable or undesirable is what happens inside your mind and body – your internal reactions to external stimuli. In other words we do not suffer what happens, we suffer our thoughts about what happens.  And, it is here that you have all the say in the world. You just do not realize it. 

The Buddhists for thousands of years have referred to the mind as, “Monkey Mind.” Like frantic monkey jumping from tree to tree our mind jumps rapidly from thought to thought. When you sit in Meditation you are practicing slowing down that monkey. At first it appears as if thoughts are coming rapidly one after another. As we take a more clear look at what is happening we realize that it is our attention that is moving quickly from thought to thought. The practice of Meditation, generally speaking, is the practice of training your attention to be where you want it to be. When you bring your attention to a thought you experience that thought and the sensations associated with it. When you take your attention away from a thought, what happens to the thought? The sensations? Let this be your Sadhana.

We must make note that when you begin you Meditation Practice you may notice pain arising in you. This can deter some practitioners so, let me explain. We all have pain. I’m talking about the emotional/energetic pain of past losses or trauma. One of the ways that we unconsciously mitigate this pain is a rapidly moving mind. A rapidly moving mind is akin to a child who does not want to listen and puts his fingers in his ears and yells blah blah blah! When your attention moves rapidly it distracts you from your pain. So, when the attention slows down the pain becomes more evident. This is ok and to be expected. Just sit with the physical discomfort that may arise in the quiet of Meditation. Do not give any attention to it. As you practice more and more the pain begins to fade into the background. You just be still. What can these uncomfortable feelings do to you?

The Peaceful Minds Center was created by Tom Notarianni to be a place where you can come and learn about your mind, how it works and train/rewire it to end the mental suffering that you are creating for yourself. In order for your practice to be fruitful you must understand what you are practicing clearly. The Peaceful Minds Center is constantly in the process of creating tools and opportunities for you to learn about your mind and how to practice training it. We have classes called, “Satsangs” at The Duncan Conference Center in Delray Beach. There is Full Moon Beach Satang and Meditation at Oceanfront Park in Boynton Beach/Ocean Ridge. You can work with Tom one on one in person if you live in the Palm Beach area. You can also work with via Phone/What’s App Internationally.

With Love & Kindness,

Tommy

The Peaceful Minds Center Locally Serves Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Palm Beach County and the surrounding areas. Mentoring, Public Speaking and Consulting are ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.