New age philosophy and practices are all too often stereotyped. Many people think it is all about swanning around a flat in lots of scarves, listening to music with flutes and harps, and probably smoking lots of marijuana. If you do these things, you are not necessarily being a bad or misguided person, and new age philosophy does have a strong association with such practices. However, the point is that there is more to new age enlightenment than the things mentioned above.
One of the reasons New Age believers pursue meditation or take courses in spirituality is to achieve a higher spiritual and mental state. A high, in short. No, this is not the debased concept of high that people get off party drugs, shopping, etc. Rather, it is the high of operating at a level that agrees with your spiritual and physical nature, and comes from connecting with nature and the universe as a whole.
Meditation and improved breathing play a huge part in attaining this “true” high. Some people talk discuss this state or process as one of being “transported” or “taken away.” However, we can also understand it as a return. We are trying to recapture our connection with the outside world, in a contemporary context where mass media and other distractions constitute most people’s truth, but they actually cut us off from reality. Meditation is not supposed to be an escape, but a way back to what is really important.
This idea of meditation as a path to a deeper truth or reality is well developed in the religions that have attained the most sophisticated understanding of meditative techniques: Buddhism and Hinduism. In these religions, meditation and breathing are intimately connected. One uses breathing exercises to clear and prepare the mind for meditation. On the other hand, one can meditate on the practice of one’s breathing.
Hold on a minute. Why would you meditate on something as natural and simple as breathing, anyway?
Well, to many Buddhists and Hindus, as well as those who have a philosophy that draws a great deal from these religions (including new age), air is not just a collection of air molecules. It is actually life-energy. Drawing breath not only keeps your body going, but also helps you tap into the energy binding the universe together. This is why you do not need to breathe in anything other than “normal” air in order to get a high. Once you understand what breathing really is, this simple act takes on its real significance as not only something that fuels your cells, but also opens your mind and helps free it from the limiting, self-centered attitudes so prevalent today.
People may take “controlled substances” in order to stimulate certain parts of their brain by releasing or introducing certain chemicals into their system. However, there is a much more natural way to get a high. It is natural in two senses: it uses your body’s natural functions, and it also connects you to the energy of nature and the universe. Try taking up breathing techniques like yoga breathing and experience this connection for yourself.
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