What Meditation is:
The urge to discover more about the inner side of life is stimulating many today to a new interest in
meditation In the past this kind of "higher thinking" was considered a passive, reflective form of devotion,
but meditation as it is becoming widely practiced today is a positive and creative use of the mind, actively
linking the inner and the outer worlds It entails concentration, reflection, a clear conception and formulation
of ideas or thoughts, and then considering and visualizing ways and means of relating them to life, thus
taking into account the affective domain and physical activity. The usual contraposition of meditation on the
one hand and action on the other is misleading Meditation is inner action
The "inner action" of thought is something that we use all the time, even though we may not notice it.
Thought lies at the back of everything we do: building our attitudes, our relationships and our whole way of
life. In the world of the mind are born the practical beginnings of everything that man creates on earth. From
the architect's thinking before he makes his blueprints, to the scientist seeking a new formula, from the
world statesman to the educator, the fabric of everyday life is being woven out of thinking In this way the
future is hourly being created, thinkers are building the pattern of things to come.
Each one of us can consciously use creative thinking, and with it participate in building the inner structure of
the world that is to be. For it is not only the thought of the inventors, the scientists and the nations' leaders
that is bringing in the new civilization—the weight of the mass of public thought and the power of all men's
aspiration are bringing into being the circumstances and the conditions that we shall have tomorrow Each of
us can play a constructive part in this if we so choose.
The mind can become a great creative instrument as well as a vital "activator." Its vision can link us with our
higher possibilities, and through it we can probe the outer boundary of our existing knowledge and catch
sight of the world of meaning and values. This enables us to gather in the higher ideas of the true, the good,
the needed, bringing them down to everyday recognition and making them part of life.
Creative thinking is a definite stage in objectifying ideas and higher concepts; and because thought is an
energy we can use its power to develop the qualities, the attitudes, and the conditions that we think should
prevail. If we use thought consciously and creatively, we can bring about changes in ourselves and our lives,
as well as in our environment and in the world.
But thought often plays through us unconsciously and haphazardly, and frequently it has us instead of our
having it, bringing worry and depression and sweeping us along with its own force. If we use it selfishly it
can even be destructive. Therefore, at the same time as we realize the power of thought we must see the vital
need for right thought, for right motive behind thought, and for right understanding of its subtle processes.
