The Power of Meditation: Returning to Your Natural Stillness
“You are the still point of awareness around which the world spins. You are, by nature, a peaceful being. At your essence, you are silent. At the very core of your being, you are completely and utterly still.” Many of the world’s wisdom traditions affirm this truth. Yet for many of us, that experience feels far away—especially when the world around us feels chaotic or overwhelming.
What Is the Purpose of Meditation?
Meditation is not a journey, a task, or an effort to “achieve” something. It’s a return. A return to the peaceful center of your being. Its purpose is to restore your awareness of that stillness and silence that already exist within you. When you rediscover this inner space, the world loses its power to shake you, and clarity begins to emerge naturally from within.
Meditation doesn’t mean giving up or becoming passive. Rather, it connects you with the source of your inner strength so you can move through life with greater focus, wisdom, and love. It’s about sharpening your awareness—not numbing yourself. And it’s through that awareness that you begin to hear the quiet wisdom of your own heart.
The Illusion of Meditation Techniques
There’s a common belief that meditation must follow a certain technique or formula. But being doesn’t require a method. There is no “how to be.” You already are. Meditation simply makes you more aware of that being-ness.
However, most of our attention is caught in constant thoughts, feelings, and external events. We get lost in them and forget to be. The beginning of meditation, then, is the simple act of noticing where your attention goes.
So rather than asking, “How do I meditate?” ask, “What am I giving my attention to?”
Cultivating Self-Awareness
At its core, meditation is the cultivation of self-awareness. It’s becoming aware of the one who is aware. This kind of presence doesn’t rely on external objects or conditions.
You might begin with a candle, soothing music, or a spoken commentary, but these are only stepping stones. If your attention stays on the object or voice and doesn’t return inward, the experience may soothe you but won’t necessarily bring you into deeper awareness.
Meditation invites you to go beyond those aids and into the vast stillness of your inner world.
Embracing Inner Silence
In meditation, you return to where you’ve always been. You don’t have to move or change anything. You simply become aware of being.
This sounds easy in theory but can be difficult in practice. That’s because our learned habits of attention constantly pull us outward. Most of us are deeply conditioned to focus on what’s happening around us or on what others are doing, rather than tuning in to our inner world.
Learning to meditate means learning to read your inner landscape and recognize what distracts you from presence.
Reading the Inner Signs
Meditation is like reading. Words on a page don’t have meaning until you engage with them. Similarly, inner signs—like thoughts, emotions, and impulses—don’t have meaning until you observe and reflect on them.
When you begin to observe your inner patterns without judgment, you’ll notice which thoughts or emotions dominate your attention. You’ll recognize how certain patterns—like fear, judgment, or guilt—are rooted in long-held beliefs.
For instance, feelings of guilt may stem from the belief that you are inherently flawed. Controlling thoughts might arise from a sense of needing to fix everything. These patterns reveal how you’ve constructed your sense of self around ideas that don’t reflect your true nature.
Watching Without Reacting
As you meditate, distractions will arise. That’s normal. The key is not to resist them or follow them. Just observe. Let your thoughts come and go. Name the feelings if you like—but don’t cling to them.
Over time, you’ll notice these thoughts and feelings lose their power. The emotional storms will fade into ripples. Your inner clarity will deepen. You’ll stop identifying with thoughts and emotions and begin to experience the peaceful, spacious awareness that underlies them all.
Reclaiming Your Inner Power
Many people believe their emotions are caused by outside events or other people. But as meditation deepens, you begin to see that triggers are not causes. The source of your emotional response lies within.
That insight allows you to stop blaming, start healing, and reclaim your power. The more you watch, the more clearly you’ll see the difference between what arises within you and who you truly are.
Eventually, peace becomes your natural state—not just during meditation, but throughout the day.
You Are Not Your Thoughts
Thoughts come and go. Emotions rise and fall. Beliefs shift and perceptions change. But your being—the conscious awareness behind all experience—remains constant.
Meditation reveals this truth. As your awareness becomes more refined, you realize you are not your thoughts, emotions, or reactions. You are the one who sees them all come and go.
And when you stop empowering those patterns, they begin to dissolve, revealing the silence, beauty, and power of your true nature.
A Simple Practice
Question: What are the three main thought or emotion patterns that arise most often in your mind?
Reflection: What belief might be fueling each of those patterns?
Action:
Find a quiet space. Sit comfortably. Close your eyes or rest your gaze gently ahead.
Withdraw your attention from your surroundings.
Notice the thoughts passing through your mind—don’t judge, just observe.
Name any feelings that arise.
If your attention drifts, gently bring it back.
Remember: You are the one who is aware.
Let yourself settle into that awareness. Let peace emerge.
If distractions come, watch them. Don’t follow. Let them pass.
Be aware of being aware.
And then… just be.
Written by our professor Mike George
