The Heart of Meditation

David Simon A Vedic expression declares, “Reality is different in different states of consciousness.” We could just as easily say that truth is different in different states of consciousness. During sleep, the experiences, images, and people in our dreams seem so real, yet they dissolve into mists of barely retrievable memories when we awaken in the morning. In our waking lives, the story we weave feels just as real. Still, it is our own consciousness that is co-creating every experience and interaction. And what is consciousness? Consciousness is the potential for all creation. At the deepest level, it is vibration. As some of the most modern theories of physics are telling us, the whole manifest universe is made up of different frequencies of vibration. Everything that we perceive as physical is really made up of fundamental wave forms of energy and information. The 5,000-year-old Vedic tradition teaches the same principle: In the beginning, there was the unmanifest field of pure potentiality, the ocean of pure potential. Then it began to vibrate. That vibration, those waves on the ocean, was silence becoming manifest. The sound Om is, in fact, the expression of this ultimate field of pure potential. From a Vedic perspective, everything is sound. This is the idea expressed by the Sanskrit term nama rupa. Nama is the origin of the word "name" or "sound," and rupa means "form." Nama rupa means that underlying every form is a vibration. If something is creating distress in that form, on some level we can see it as dissonance in the vibration. So, all healing is really the restoration of harmony, and there are various ways to reestablish harmony—including the timeless practice of meditation. Primordial Sound Meditation is based on the principles and power of vibration. In this practice, each person is given a specific set of sounds—a mantra—to repeat during their meditation. These sounds are fundamental to the physiology and psychology of human beings. When we allow them to resonate in our awareness, they have a harmonizing, healing, and transformational effect. They allow us to move beyond the noisy thought chatter of our minds—the stories that we are constantly telling ourselves — into the silence and peace of pure consciousness. Meditation, in its essence, is about vibrating between the levels of the personal and universal, between mind and no-mind, between constriction and expansion. Even in constriction, we are not attached to a particular outcome or resisting what is; we are just observing with witnessing awareness. As we meditate on a regular basis, we become increasingly awake and aware of the connection between mind and no-mind, without judging either state. In the process, we shift our identity from our ego and stories to the silent witness that is not bound in time or space. With this expansion of self comes freedom and creativity. Our mind then becomes the instrument of our soul, which is whispering its sacred message to us. As long as our mind is writing the script of our life, we are caught in the net of past and future. But when our soul assumes its rightful place as the author of our intentions, we begin to hear its quiet voice whispering encouragement to make choices that bring happiness, health, love, meaning, and peace. About David Simon, M.D. Dr. David Simon was a world-renowned authority in the field of mind-body medicine. As a boardcertified neurologist and expert in Ayurvedic medicine and other traditional healing arts, he brought a unique perspective to the relationship between mind, emotions, and health. In 1996, he co-founded and assumed the role of medical director of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, where he served as the driving force in developing and leading the Center’s programs, workshops, and retreats in mind-body medicine, emotional healing, and spirituality. David was also the author of many popular wellness books, including Return to Wholeness, The Wisdom of Healing, Vital Energy, The Ten Commitments, and the bestselling book Free to Love, Free to Heal.

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