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The Journey Into Meditation

Beginning Meditation: The Questions People Ask

Each person who comes to meditation arrives with their own set of questions. Some are simple and practical: Why do we plant our feet on the ground? What happens if my mind wanders? Why do we sometimes meditate on chairs rather than the floor? Others are subtler: What does it mean to feel 'at one' with things? What is this practice actually leading towards?

These questions are not obstacles to meditation; they reflect the curiosity that naturally arises when we begin to turn our attention inward. And often the answers, like the practice itself, are simpler than expected.

Here at the School of Meditation, our teachings are based on the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta.  In simple terms, this simply means your true self and the ultimate reality are actually the same, and the feeling that everything is separate is just an illusion.

Beginning with the Body

One of the first things newcomers ask about is our emphasis on how we sit. Feet placed firmly on the ground. Hands resting easily. A posture that is upright and alert, without strain.

At first this can seem oddly specific. Yet the intention is very straightforward. When the body is balanced and grounded, the mind follows. The feet touching the earth act almost like a quiet anchor, giving the nervous system a sense of stability and ease. Rather than floating in abstraction, attention begins from a place of contact with the present moment.

Meditation is not an escape from the body; it is a return to inhabiting it more fully.

The Wandering Mind

Another common concern is: What if my mind keeps wandering?

This is not a problem but a discovery. When we sit quietly, we begin to notice what the mind has been doing all along—moving, planning, replaying, anticipating. Meditation does not create this movement; it simply reveals it.

Each time the attention drifts and we gently return to the practice, something subtle happens. The mind learns that it does not have to follow every thought. Gradually, spaces appear between our thoughts — moments of simple awareness, unoccupied and at ease.

From the perspective of Advaita Vedanta - the philosophical foundation behind the form of meditation we teach - these moments are significant. They hint at something already present: the awareness in which thoughts appear and disappear, but which itself remains unchanged.

Chairs, Cushions, and Simplicity

People are sometimes surprised that we practise meditation sitting on a chair. Images of elaborate cross-legged postures are familiar, yet such postures are not required.

The purpose of meditation is not to master a position but to allow the mind to settle. For many people, sitting comfortably on a chair with both feet on the ground creates exactly the right conditions: relaxed yet attentive, grounded yet alert. Some prefer to sit on a cushion; as long as they aren't causing themselves discomfort, this is fine too.

Simplicity is part of the tradition. When the body is at ease, attention can move inward without distraction.

What Does “Being One” Mean?

Perhaps the most intriguing question arises once the practice becomes familiar: What does it mean to feel at one with everything?

Advaita suggests something both profound and quietly practical. It proposes that the sense of separation we usually experience is not the deepest truth of our nature. Beneath the constant movement of thought and identity lies a more fundamental awareness, shared by all.

In meditation, there may be moments when the usual boundaries soften. The distinction between “observer” and “observed” becomes less rigid. There is simply our experience unfolding in a field of awareness that feels whole, unfragmented.

These moments are not dramatic or mystical. More often they arrive as a gentle recognition: nothing is missing, nothing needs to be added. The mind rests naturally in what is already present.

Returning to What Is Already Here

Meditation, in this sense, is not a journey towards something distant. It is a gradual rediscovery of what has always been available but rarely noticed.

The practical details—how we sit, where we place our feet, what we do when thoughts arise—are simply supportive conditions. They help create the quiet in which awareness can recognise itself.

From there, the effects ripple outward. Life does not become free of challenges, but it is met with greater steadiness. Decisions arise with more clarity. And the sense of being separate from the flow of experience begins, little by little, to soften.

An Invitation to Explore

For over 64 years, the School of Meditation has offered this practice in its original, uncomplicated form. The approach remains the same: clear guidance, a supportive environment, and the opportunity to discover meditation through direct experience rather than theory.

For those who feel drawn to explore these questions more deeply, our Introductory Course offers a simple starting point. Across six sessions, participants learn the foundations of practice and establish a rhythm that can continue long after the course has ended.

Sometimes the most meaningful understanding does not arrive through explanation, but through experience.

Meditation offers a space in which those quiet answers can emerge naturally.

 

Click here to find out more: schoolofmeditation.org/intro/

Click here to book our next in=person meditation course directly: schoolofmeditation.org/cs/public/create/pmt?item=6&event=756