1. Is meditation "natural"?

... It is important that students not use meditation to block the senses or the quality of human experience. As being with a place in nature, it is vital that we embrace the natural environment wholly and respect its cycles and interdependencies. We are blind to essential reality if we fight this truth, and on a practical level, we are damaging our own nests.
... Our human organism is a product of natural processes. We would be remiss if we were to ignore the conditioning and instincts that are simple responses to stimuli. Although some of our responses are dictated by genetics and environment, we, like many organisms, also have the ability to make choices. The fact that humans by and large haven’t made very good choices is probably the reason we need martial arts at all. They evolved out of our inability to make equitable arrangements to share resources and territory, and our need to defend our means of survival from others. It may be a sorry beginning for a system that has progressed into something more useful and beautiful, yet as the arts continue to evolve, they can become more practical for a peaceful existence. Perhaps self-defense of the individual will give way to defense of the species and the planet.
... Understanding our physical organism and exploring the mental energies that keep it going can help us improve the quality of our existence. The mind is curious by nature, yet we easily become conditioned by constant external stimuli. It takes more effort to stop the controlling effects of conditioning than to change our responses. By doing this through meditation, we gain access to tools that can break dependency and help us achieve inner freedom. Not unlike hypnotism, meditation can be used to remold patterns of behavior, emotions and feelings. Meditation can open channels to transform personality structures and expression, but it can also be easily sabotaged because it is subject to manipulation. Meditation is not an escape from reality, it is full awareness and enjoyment of the present and your presence within it.