In this podcast, Guy Finley explores the true meaning and purpose of meditation, and explains why it is the most natural and practical thing you can do for yourself.

Talk notes: When you go outside on a beautiful day and step into the sunlight, do you have to try to enjoy the warmth? Or is the warmth of the sun just part of what is there, and you are a part of it? Similarly, real meditation is effortless. It is the fulfillment of natural relationship, not the attempt on our part to create relationship. Your being itself is meditating, as it is a natural part of the whole.

The day will come when you will understand that if you are just present to your own body, you need not do anything more. The catch is that it takes a long time to realize that, for all of your efforts, you have done nothing except produce the sensation of having accomplished something. Authentic meditation could simply be described as a moment in which it is enough to be what I am.

The essential pain in our lives is born out of the idea that we can take something from the moment to complete ourselves. This action actually separates us from the moment, and keeps us from being present to the beautiful, quiet energy that naturally occupies the body. When you are in relationship with this natural energy, you will see how unnatural it is for you to take something from the moment in order to make yourself feel whole. Everything that you have always wanted is always being given to you, and meditation is the enjoyment of the gift.