Let's think of meditation as work. It is the work of remembering.

It's "chunking up" (that's an NLP term,) to a higher level of perspective and abstraction. It's getting the bigger picture. It's remembering where you are, who you are.

And it's doing so in a way that is not just intellectual. It's a way of embodying, learning in an intimate and visceral way, that anything is possible, that freedom is possible.

There are two kinds of meditation. A curriculum which involves two basic steps.
(actually there are many steps on the way, but we'll come to that in later modules).
For now let's deal with these two basic kinds of meditation.
The first is just stopping. Stopping all activity, ideas, habits, noise. Stopping. Now.

The second is coming into awareness, seeing things as they are, looking deeply, unencumbered by your preconception of them.

How do you do that? Practice and you will find out.

What does it mean - to see clearly?

It is recognizing that everything is interconnected and that therefore everything you do matters. Not just everything that you do, but everything you say, everything you think, everything you imagine, everything you feel .. has an effect, impacts your life, and the life of others.

I tell my student, "If you want to learn to meditate try it our for ten years. Take a shot at it. Stay open. What a luxury! No need to hurry. After ten years you can decide it you want to pursue it further."

And I'll also ask, "How long does it take? To be present, to let go of anxiety and distraction enough to just be present? A moment? A few moments? The time it takes to breath deeply two or three times?"

And then there's putting it into action.

Between those two possibilities and that question, our path lies."