Meditation is a cleaning service Vancouver for the mind. Before I explain this enigmatic statement allow me to first explain what I mean by the word “meditation.” In its simplest sense meditation is merely the focusing of attention. In the mind’s normal state of affairs it wanders from mental image to mental image and from commentary to never ending commentary. By contrast, when a person enters a state of meditation, he or she actively makes the intention to focus attention on something. This something can be anything from the present moment itself, to the breath, to a mental image or repeated mantra. The essential task of meditation occurs when the practitioner realizes that his or her mind has wandered from its intended focus of attention. When this realization is made the practitioner simply, gently and non judgmentally brings his or her focus back where it belongs. This process should ideally continue for a period of time no less than twenty minutes. Some people find this to be a high bar to aim for at first and so the beginner can start with shorter periods and simply work his or her way up to twenty minutes.
This practice acts as a cleaning service Vancouver for the mind in many ways. First of all the more one meditates the less the mind jumps from idea to idea. For most practitioners of meditation this will never cease all together. But one of two things will happen. Either the mind will slow down in its jumping from idea to idea or the practitioner will be able to maintain an awareness of this process and sort of keep it in the background whilst continuing to maintain focus upon the intended focus of attention. Along with this strengthened ability to focus comes a sense of calm and an ability to think more clearly.