Seven Indicators That Meditation Is About To Go Mainstream

Although meditation is thousands of years old, it is relatively new in the west. Here in America, new ideas seem to introduce themselves at three levels. First, a new idea is viewed as threatening and it is feared. Later, it is made fun of, ridiculed and laughed at. And finally, it is accepted as the unique idea of those who originally ridiculed it! Meditation is presently making a turn from the second to the third level, where we find humorous depictions of people meditating on all kinds of advertising. This is a hint that just around the corner will be a serious discussion and an embracing of meditation. In fact, it's already begun! Here are the seven indicators that meditation is about to go mainstream:nn - People are getting restless regarding their spiritual beliefs. nn- Organized religion is losing numbers..nn- Drugs, alcohol, and smoking are no longer effective escapes. nn- Bookstores and coffee shop hangouts are getting busier. nn- Christians are discovering deeper avenues, such as; St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Merton, and St. Thomas of Aquinas. nn- A new cooperative rather than divisive movement is rising. nn- The word meditation is now being spelled correctly (mediation?). Another indication is that people are just beginning to notice how their attitudes toward their particular religion might separate them from others of different faiths. The most prejudiced and judgmental religions; the very close-minded ones, still can't see their own divisiveness in the way they view other religions. When challenged by differing outlooks, especially those contradicting their dogma, they radically and violently react in the most disparaging ways to all that dare defy them, believing that others are against them and threaten them, and react accordingly with a collective paranoia. By only judging others, however, they cannot see their own hatred and fear, nor do they want to face these two negative emotions. The fact is that most mature religions are broad minded, understanding that beliefs are just beliefs and that religion is merely theory because it can never be proved. Arguing over theory is counterproductive, like pushing on a string because the foundation of religion is based on hypothesis, and hypothesis can never serve for logical discussions. For example, God exists is hypothesis because in actuality, nobody has ever see God and have only communicated with God through prophets. Therefore, what can be argued about God? As Walt Whitman once said; "This is what you shall do; love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not conce ing God . . . . . " A sign of spiritual maturity is feeling comfortable with neighbors who practice another faith regardless of whether it is Islam, Buddhism, New Age Spirituality, Wicca, Catholicism, Baptist, Judaism, Atheism, Agnosticism, American Indian, or thousands of other religions, including no religion. A sign of spiritual immaturity, on the other hand, is fighting against all these other faiths and practices; which only keeps one angry, aggravated and unhappy. As people begin to understand that one religion doesn't fit all and accept that there are many ways to heaven through many doors, they will naturally look for common religious values that all can share. Meditation is one of those values. Meditation requires no beliefs; it is completely experiential and non-invasive regarding one's beliefs similar to a vacation away from work that doesn't interfere with your job at all but actually refreshes you so that you can perform your regular tasks even better. As meditation goes mainstream, we will find commonality among our differences. We will also discover how to be happy again instead of being fearful and angry because of divisiveness. Meditation is glue that can hold good people together, yet requires no allegiance to a belief system, and with no allegiance to belief, we become free to be complete human beings with no further need of religious intolerance. We can finally love our neighbors. nn

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E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com. His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit www.AYearToEnlightenment.com