Meditation is something that most people have heard about, and perhaps even seen other people doing, but ask someone what it is and most would struggle. In fact, experienced meditators quite often cannot give a clear mental definition. Why? Because meditation is something that lies far beyond the realm of the mind.

The easiest answer is to say that meditation is the art of stilling the mind so that we can enter into the tranquility, peace and calm deep within ourselves. However, it is more accurate to say that the various techniques for stilling the mind lead to meditation, for meditation is what happend once one has gone past the mind's limited confines and begins to explore the larger self that lies at the core of each human being. "When we start meditating in silence, right from the beginning we feel the bottom of a sea within us and without.", writes meditation teacher Sri Chinmoy. "The life of activity, movement and restlessness is on the surface, but deep below, underneath our human life, there is poise and silence." After one gains experience in meditation, the preliminary techniques fall away and one is able to enter into this beautiful space at will. The great meditation teachers - the spiritual Masters - are at home in this world of meditation, and feel its reality much more keenly than the impermanent surface ripples of day-to-day events.

We have all had meditative moments, perhaps even without realising it - perhaps a time when we were walking alone on a beach, or amongst some beautiful mountain scenery, or perhaps, or perhaps something just happened which shifted us out of our mundane everyday thoughts and gave us an awareness, however fleeting, of what was truly out there. With a conscoius meditation practice, these moments become deeper, longer and the awareness they embody begins to be felt more and more in your daily life.

However, unused as we are to enter into that space, we need to practice concentration techniques so we can focus our attention long enough to prevent our mind interrupting out journey of self-discovery. Concentration is the art of focusing our attention on one object, and we can use something like our breath, a candle or a flower to help increase our concentration span.

However, meditation is not necessarily something that merely takes place when you are isolated from the world. Meditation makes us realise that everybody on earth is bound together in ways that are far deeper and more profound than the mind will allow for. It brings forward in us a great sense of goodwill towards our fellow man. and makes us realise that only by looking outside our own narrow desires and helping to make others happy that we ourselves can be happy. When the Buddha sat down underneath the bodhi tree before his final enlightenment, he declared he was doing it not for himself 'but for all sentient beings', so that by his own example he could show them how to be happier. But one doesn't need to be a Buddha to feel this, or even a meditator: think of all the many people who devote their time to helping out at the local soccer club, running a community centre, or doing meals-on-wheels for the elderly. When like them we devote our time to serving other people, our own heart expands and we gain a deeper appreciation of our place in the universe; in fact, many ancient texts on meditation and spirituality say that this kind of service, if it done because it is the right thing to do and not because you are expecting from the people you are serving, has the exact same effect a seated meditation. Meditation is not an escape from reality - it is an acceptance of life as it really is and a way to gain the inner strength to change it for the better.