regardless of cause, and, more important, it works even if what caused it is unidentified. Meditation is so effective because it short-circuits the stress cycle. It provides a reliable means of moving quickly and easily from those changes in body chemistry that are an integral part of the physical effects of stress. Releasing stress in this natural way heralds a return to normal function and health.
This rationale explains further why we benefit from starting the meditation technique with relaxing the physical body and why the “release,” or the relaxation of body and mind, promotes a return to normal health. Once we trigger that state of release, the body chemistry returns to normal and the normal state means health. What we really need to do quite simply is to let go!
Spiritual Benefits
Spiritually, many people find meditation leads to a peace of mind they had not imagined possible. A member of our group, Cathy, recently told me that her body had never been worse but she had never felt so good! Her face was shining, full of enthusiasm and she said she was experiencing a quality of life she had never known before.
This peace of mind comes at a level so fundamental that it becomes in reality a true, direct experience. Many people who have firm religious beliefs to begin with are surprised by the depth of this experience. While some are apprehensive that meditation may conflict with their beliefs, the usual experience is that it leads to a heightened appreciation of their particular religious tradition and a greater level of personal joy.
This experience is often even more noticeable in people with no fixed religious views. I am sure that we all would like confirmation that there is more to life than just this mortal coil. In the past, most people seem to have relied on the word of others that this was or was not so. By contrast, in modern times there has been a common disenchantment with formal religion and an urge to seek direct experience. Frequently, however, as the immediate material world is explored more fully, it is found to be exciting, but lacking. There has to be something more. Meditation often leads to a direct experience of that something more. You only have to see the smiles on the faces of many of the people I have known who have learned to meditate to realize that this is a fact.
Does Meditation Lead to Survival?
How long am I going to live? That question can lurk in the recesses of our minds to catch our breath whenever we are unaware. If we are a cancer patient, that question can be a constant nagging fear unless we reach acceptance, unless we regain our peace of mind. This does happen.
There is plenty of evidence from recent research that lifestyle factors do extend how long we live, as well as how well we live. Regarding meditation specifically, there are many studies confirming the quality-of-life benefits. Remarkably, while meditation has been shown to be therapeutic for many illnesses and enhance or lead to recovery from them, to date there have been no good outcome trials with meditation and cancer. What we can say is that many long-term survivors greatly valued their meditation and believe it to be a major factor in their recovery. My own case attests to this and so do the stories of many of the people in the book Surviving Cancer.8
There is no doubt in my mind that these techniques work. I am consistently surprised by the large number of people who tell me their lives are the better for having had cancer and responding to it in the way they have. Speaking personally, I now feel my whole quality of life to be vastly better than before I had my leg amputated. I meditate because I want to. Meditation is a regular part of my day. As Judy, another person with cancer, said recently, “Cancer changed my life for the better. It has taught me so much and I have gained so much through it. I cannot imagine myself having done it all without the prompting cancer gave me.”
A Summary
Meditation is so important because it leads to
1. A clear mind This enables us to think clearly and to make good decisions.
2. A calm mind This frees us from stress and reestablishes balance in body, emotions, mind and spirit. Inner peace and contentment follow, along with a quiet confidence in all we do.
3. Healing This flows naturally from the balance we experience in deep, natural peace.
4. The truth of who we really are As we relax deeper and deeper, our awareness opens in such a way that we experience our inner essence, the truth of who we really are. Now the confidence and the smile come from deep within, and they last throughout the ups and downs of life.
How do we do it? How do we meditate in this way?
It is such a simple thing this meditation, and yet we are used to great complexity in our modern lives. How do we relearn simplicity? How do we learn to be still? How do we “let go” ?
It helps to understand something of the process. The type of meditation that will help us most to heal is very specific. In meditation that is intended to be therapeutic and lead to recovery, the intention is for the body to be deeply relaxed and for the thinking brain to relax, to become calm and to become still. But what is this meditation really like?
We can explain a great deal of the nature of meditation, how it works and what it does. But the true essence of meditation needs to be experienced to be fully comprehended. Dr. Meares asked a venerated Yogi in Nepal what it was like to meditate. The Yogi replied by asking him how he would describe the taste of a banana. You can use words to make comparisons and descriptions, but in the end the only way someone else can really know that taste is to peel a banana and try it! It is a matter of direct experience.
I hope these words give you the impetus and the confidence to try meditation. I trust they will leave you free to enter into this experience with an open, willing mind, knowing you are embarking on a very personal, exciting venture.
I have felt meditation transforming my life for the better and I have seen it happen often in others. It is probably the most pleasant thing I can do on my own and the most beneficial. Meditation has a place in everybody’s life.
As we set out the techniques, we are aiming to deeply relax our body and our mind. We are seeking to let go and regain our balance at a very deep, fundamental level.
The technique we shall use is set out in four easy steps: preparation, relaxation, mindfulness and stillness. Each of these steps is easy to learn; each has healing benefits in its own right and each flows quite naturally into the next.
Step 1 • Preparation
Start with the Right Attitude
The attitude with which we begin and then continue to practice our meditation is very important. In modern society we are used to striving for achievement. If we want something, we normally expect to have to work or struggle for it. Not so in meditation. Once we actually start the procedure, we need to abandon any sense of striving, for if we sit down with the intention to “meditate or bust,” we, can be sure of an unhappy result! The only striving may be in making the time to do it, exerting the will to say, “This is my time for meditation and nothing else takes precedence.” That can be effort enough, but once we commence, the accent is on effortlessness. It needs to be a focused but relaxed process.
Use an Affirmation
