Ancient meditation, Dhyana, was believed to have come from the Hindu tradition of Vedantism around 1500 BCE. Dhyana in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism simply means contemplating and meditating in such a way that it will lead to self-knowledge and self-discovery.

When it comes to ancient meditation of any kind, quietness, stillness, deep concentration and maintaining a lotus position with hand mudras are required. Lotus position is a crossed legged sitting position in which the feet are placed on the opposing thighs while mudra is a spiritual gesture using the hands and fingers. All these, in a serene environment will give meditation its true essence. But modern meditation is nothing like it.

Over the years, modern philosophers have discovered that meditation has everything to do with the state of the mind and the universe. These are the two most important factors when it comes to modern meditation. Modern meditation is the ability to unite your mind with the universe, requesting for what you want, regardless of the state of the environment. It is the hyper-state of focusing on what you want to do and blocking out every external and internal noise in order to unite with the universe.

To practice and master the art of modern meditation, you must understand the power of your mind and how it functions. Secondly, you must recognize the forces that are present in the universe and how they are designed to help you achieve full meditation without lotus position or mudras.

Modern meditation does not nullify the true essence of ancient meditation; it is the surface part of deep meditation. I always say, it is a simple meditation, derived from ancient meditation, for the hippy generation. It is simply the art of focusing on what you want and ignoring distractions—external and internal—around you.

For a guitarist to listen and audibly hear his own chords, he needs to connect his fingers with his mind and quietly listen to his own very music like he is playing in an empty auditorium. It may not be that easy, but with constant practice, his goal will be achieved.  

Modern meditation requires constant practice. It requires that you have what you want to achieve written in a piece of paper or index card. Then read it to yourself night and day. At some point, your desire will become a subconscious part of you. It will become a positive burden or obsession in your mind. Once it becomes an obsession in your mind, you have succeeded in aligning your thought with the universe. Then the universe will begin to respond to your dominant thought. It will align situations and circumstances to compliment the dominant thought in your mind. The universe will either give you an amazing idea that will be an answer to your need or it will directly bring the answer to you through a medium. Modern meditation is as simple as that!