The irony of meditation is that it is an intellectual exercise which aims at non-intellectual realization. Meditation is inherently intellectual since there’s always a reason why one meditates. And if you observe, you will notice that most of the selling points for secular individuals are the physiological and mental benefits the practice can provide. Yet it’s mystery is that it can also provide psychological and spiritual empowerment.
Another irony is that though meditation is at our disposal at any moment, it’s not entirely free. Sure, at this moment, you can sit down and close your eyes, and begin to breathe, but if you’ve been taking in all manner of sensory data all day, you already know how frustrating and unrewarding an experience it can be, and all you will be left with is an attempt— like buying a lottery ticket and not winning.
The payment for meditation is ‘attention’— a hefty fee in the minds of those who feel they can’t control the direction of their mind at and by will, can’t sit still, or can’t “control their thoughts”. It’s also not free in the sense that it restricts the input of sensation by using discrimination to weed out unnecessary imprints. The majority of humans are slaves to sensation, so the practice of meditation can be seen as unaffordable and even sacrificial of the artificial limitlessness humans fantasize about. The five senses are the culprit here, as they inform man that all worthwhile experience must be derived from external stimuli, and that no significant benefit can be derived from an internal process. We know this to be invalid of course. The very nature of the five senses is to manipulate humans into serving them— making one believe that it has the value— that you must serve it for validation. Meditation holds the opposite to be true. Next to the celestial bodies, biology is the natural ruler of the human race,
but meditation is a science which if persisted in, promises to make man a co-ruler:::