Which is it.. the unrelenting pursuit of Knowledge or of Wealth that drives us? In many respects there seems to be a link. Generally speaking, the more knowledge you have of a subject the more ‘in demand’ you are for that particular skill and correspondingly the higher the potential to gain wealth from it. Isn’t this why we put our children through school and college/university? Isn’t this why we put even ourselves through these institutions (often for the 2nd or 3rd time) just so that we can get ahead?

Well I’m here to tell a converse story. The intelligent woman doesn’t spend her life acquiring information, she spends it recognising that it’s already there! All of it! Yes.. all knowledge is available to all of us, not only the privileged few. The catch is that it requires awareness, and let me state emphatically that the majority of the human race is unaware. Spending all your time in front of a talking box (TV) is not awareness, it is a distraction.. pure and simple. Awareness is heightened with that simple tool silence. Silence can be experienced in a number of ways, primarily meditation.. but you do not need to be some sort of spiritual guru to experience it, you simply need to be still.

Those who have the guts to sit down in silence and hear their own thoughts will be quite surprised at some of the garbage which has been floating around up there (if you believe the mind is in the head of course). With practise, this discipline (like any other in life) produces some interesting results. Once stresses and thoughts have subsided, something starts to happen.. pure conciousness becomes the focus and in this point of pure consciousness you can place any question about any subject, and before your very eyes.. or shall we say to your very self will the answers be presented. Of course, don’t take my word for it.. be as critical as you want but remember you can never have an accurate perception of an event if you never try it, no matter what anybody tells you about it. And don’t tell me either that it takes somebody a week to learn the guitar or learn a software package.. because it doesn’t.. I know!

Interestingly, most world religions in their purer form have taught of this little life secret through the ages. Psalm 46:10 in the Bible notes, “Be still and know that I am God”. Mark 1:35 ; Mark 6:45-46 and Luke 4:42 also echo the need Jesus had for silence.  At this point I would like to point out that I advocate no religion in particular but instead all of them, yet my knowledge of them is limited so I welcome any additions to this list or corrections to the texts themselves. Ancient Hindu texts known as sutras talk of Dhyana and Pratyahara which mean meditation and withdrawal(of the senses) respectively.

My own personal experimentations on this matter reveal much creativity and answers when silence is experienced. [TBC]

06:00am.. the alarm clock tolls and wakey-wakeyness beckons. Of course it’s winter and your latitude on the globe says that it won’t really be light outside till about 08:00, but that doesn’t excuse you from work though, does it? The routine is set: shower, dress, eat, travel, work, eat, work, travel, eat, watch telly.. “hmm I have an hour before I’d like to hit the sack.. perhaps I’ll just watch some more telly”..sleep. Then, repeat 5x out of 7, perhaps 6 if you’re really dedicated to your work.

Come weekend and well there’s really so much that needs to be done.. things that you just don’t have the time to do during the week. Things that you prefer to do and things that you’ll just do to pass the time.. right? And after all the hard work is done, we have amassed a nice collection of things.. a house, a career, a spouse and the latest digital products. One of the greatest privileges in life is expression.. creation.. to make, to have, to experience what hasn’t been experienced before and add to one’s knowledge banks but.. this is still not the greatest privilege.

Because Life itself is the greatest privilege! Amazingly though, most of us are fooled at an early age into thinking otherwise. Value is assigned to the amount of things we have acquired or our status in society. The consequences of which can be seen in countries with rigid hierarchical structures such as Japan where the rate of suicide is particularly high.

We are thus brought back to our title: meditation. What is it? There are of course a multitude of meditations but the purest form is that of non thought. This kind is not contemplation about the romantic date that was had over the weekend or the visualisation of a deserted caribbean island for your sole pleasure. It is simply equated with existence. Meditation = Being. The best way to practise this is to remove as much stimuli from your senses as possible. A dark quiet room (with earplugs if necessary) free from distractions is particularly helpful. Sit in silence and see how long you can endure without thinking or moving. Not easy! This simple exercise illustrates the habits predominant in western culture. Most people do not have the discipline for meditation because they have developed habitually to act instead of be.

You may ask what the point of all this is. Ask anybody who’s experienced some sort of loss in their life and hopefully your understanding will grasp the issue of attachment. Some of the laws of this universe are obvious and yet we choose to ignore them regularly. For example, here is a Universal law: everything is transient. The job, the spouse/partner and even your precious 22 inch plasma screen with built in speakers.. yep its gonna go, or at least, you will.. and it will stay behind. Contrary to popular belief, money does not make the world go round.. Life makes the world go round. Rigidly holding on to transient things is an invitation for suffering.. and this is achieved through the practise of doing/having/thinking.

Meditation is not some foreign ritual which requires you to sit in any particular way or follow any particular rules.. it is simply a way in which to experience (or more correctly, live) the fundamental point about life.. which is life itself. If you are considering including meditation into your lifestyle then do some research but make it an entirely personal experience. While there are always certain ways of doing things better be weary of confining yourself to a meditation rule set. Find your balance.. learn.. and love to be.