Intro to Meditation part 2 - The Ripple Effect by Cleo Wolf, L. Ac.

A still pond,
Frog goes plop!
Ripples spread.

In 1993 a study was conducted in Washington DC to see how a group of meditators can affect social behavior in their vicinity, the results were astounding. There was a 23% drop in violent crimes. The study was conducted by a quantum physicist, John Hagelin. It was not the first of its kind but perhaps the biggest. The idea is that we each radiate quantum fields and are sensitive to that energy as it is radiated by others.

Through our practice we contribute to a “healing field”, when we heal ourselves we help to heal the world. ~Roger Jahnke

In one pointedness meditation we begin with focus on a selected meditation object, and develop strength of mind. As this grows we maintain the focus and observe thoughts as they arise and let them go, rather than beginning to think about them. We begin to appreciate and gain insight into attachment and impermanence and our own nature. We learn not to believe everything we think. Letting go of this is pure pleasure. These lessons are  experiential not intellectual, so they are literally written into the fabric of our cells. This changes our vibration, the quality of the energy we emit and experience. Together, one pointedness and insight, known as shamatha and vipassana are the meditation that produces the ripple effect.

As we change so does everything around us. We add to the world we experience through a gradual process of building momentum. As we progress we become more aware of this and our impact becomes less scattered and we are more able to influence what is perceptible to us through our choices and intention. This is the message of many physicists, neurobiologists and religious leaders around the world, that we are responsible to an unknown extent for our own well being and that of the whole world, especially in our immediate vicinity. Cultivating loving kindness and compassion in meditation is the most powerful act of choice we can make. It becomes its own path, where we benefit and so does everyone else. We become consciously creative. We awaken, gradually, more and more. We enjoy life more and more. Basing change and choices on such positive foundations determines a positive outcome.

In the process of meditation we see the Ripple Effect as it is produced and experienced by ourselves and by others. It is as simple as one thing leading to another and as grand as creation.












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