So You mean You were Meditating as in Sleeping?

My response was "No, sleeping and meditating are 2 very separate things."

This was a dialogue I had last week and it has become the inspiration for this blog. It seems there is some confusion as to the difference between meditating and sleeping. Both are an eyes closed state of rest, however the benefits and experiences are substantially different. In sleep it's an unconscious state of rest. Total black out. No thoughts, and no consciousness.

Meditation however, is no thoughts, yet consciousness. Ie, you are awake and yet not having thoughts. In sanskrit this state is called Turiya.

So why would you want to experience this state? How can it differ to deep sleep?

It's been proven that the thoughtless state of wakefulness is a state of rest 4 times deeper than unconscious sleep. When the mind is awake and alert yet there is no mental activity, then the body recognises that this is a very safe environment for rest. The mind and body is interconnected and so when the mind is quiet so too is the body. The body feels safe to go into a very deep level of rest knowing that if it is to be disturbed at any time, it will be conscious and able to interpret this situation accordingly, and act.

Our body's are very primal. We still have the intelligence within it that we've always had from our ancient ancestors. These are the mechanics of survival. Meditation is a very deep state of rest and it's deemed by the body to be very safe. In Turiya, you are still able to hear noises and come out of your meditation at will.

This level of rest in meditation has been proven through numerous studies to be profoundly deep. The studies measure metabolic rate, skin elasticity, blood plasma levels, breath, pulse, and using EEG's, brain activty. When the body reaches such a deep level of rest the natural intelligence within the body kicks in and the upgrading process begins. The body has this remarkable intelligence that is able to restore balance and order given the appropriate environment.

It's possible to deduce that sleep isn't sufficient rest for the body because everyone is sleeping every night and yet we still have hospitals full, prisons full and a large portion of society on prescribed drugs for cholesterol, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure etc etc.

If sleep was a sufficient level of rest would we have all of these imbalances within our body still? Does it really cut to the chase and balance out the high level of demands we are placing on our mind and body in today's lifestyle?

It's not that we don't want to be sleeping, sleep is still very relevant in our lives. It's just a question as to whether it is able to provide sufficient level of rest to restore balance to our mind and body to get optimal living when we are out of balance?

Meditation is the gateway to an expanded state of consciousness. When we transcend thoughts and body and yet we are still awake and conscious, we experience a realm never experienced before. It's a realm of Unboundedness, a realm of pure bliss, a realm of unconditional love. It's a stillness that one cannot experience when we are unconscious in deep sleep. Combine the two, sleep and meditation, to your daily regime for optimal living, and watch your life soar with abundance!