Meditation

Meditation is practiced as part of many religious rites or rituals including but not limited to Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Native American traditions.  Some of the earliest references to mediation are found in the Hindu Vedas.  From the Vedic mantra 'Gayatri' "We meditate on that desirable light of the divine Savitri, who influences our pious rites" (Rgveda : Mandala-3, Sukta-62, Rcha-10 Translator: Wilson).  These practices are meant to connect one to something greater than the daily self -- providing (in Buddhist terms) serenity (samatha which steadies, composes, unifies, and concentrates the mind) and insight (vipassana which enables one to see, explore, and discern).

And so it begins. . .

I've been contemplating for a while what I should write about; what I could say that's fresh and interesting that other people aren't saying, or at least aren't saying in the same way.  First and foremost, I am a scientist -- an observer.  Second, for this blog, I love ritual.  I love sacred spaces.  I love finding out how people interact with the sacred, divine, universal. . . So that's what I'm going to write about.

With the growing reliance on the nuclear family and separation from extended kin as well as decrease in religious observance (especially among the educated), we as a world are loosing our connection to ritual practice.  I see this as a bad thing.  I think ritual is necessary.  It grounds us.  It frames our lives.  It makes things more important.  So science has to find a new ritual.  A ritual that embraces what we now know about ourselves, our planet, and the universe while at the same time fulfilling the desperate need we all have inside of us for meaning, stability, and community.