CHAPTER EIGHT
MEDITATION, DEMYSTIFYING THE
MYSTICAL, AND WAVES OF YOUR FUTURE
In the previous chapter, I wrote about the need to bridge the space
between who we really are and the image we present to the world. When
we’re able to do that, we can take steps toward freeing up the necessary
energy to become that ideal self, modeled after some of the great people in
the history of the world, such as Gandhi and Joan of Arc.
And as I’ve said, one of the keys to breaking the habit of being yourself
is working toward being more observant—whether that entails being more
metacognitive (monitoring your thoughts), embracing stillness, or focusing
more attention on your behaviors and how elements in your environment
might trigger emotional responses. So the big question here is: How do you
do all this?
In other words, how do you become more observant; break your
emotional bonds with the body, the environment, and time; and close the
gap?
The answer is simple: meditation. You may have noticed that up to this
point in the book, I have teased you with brief allusions to meditation as the
way to break the habit of being yourself and begin to create a new life as
your ideal self. I told you that the information in Parts I and II of this book
would prepare you to understand what you will be doing when you apply
the meditative steps you will practice in Part III. Now it’s time to explain
the inner workings of the process that I refer to as meditation.
When I use the term meditation, an image of a person seated cross-legged
in front of a shrine at home, a bearded and gowned yogi sitting in a
secluded cave in the Himalayas, or some other visual may come to mind.
That individual may be a representation of what you understand is the way
to “go quiet,” empty the mind, focus all of one’s attention on a thought, or
engage in any of the other variations of the practice of meditation.