Entering into the unitive state,
he attains the goal of evolution.
-Paramahamsa Upanishad

Knowledge is bondage.
-Shiva Sutras

Silence is the language of god,
all else is poor translation.
-Rumi

To be full of things is to be empty
of God. To be empty of things is to
be full of God. -Meister Eckhart

For one gains by losing
and loses by gaining.
-Tao Te Ching

Silent meditation is unique in that it’s the only activity which points us back toward our true nature. Rational discernment is important, but knowing about something is not being it. The only thing masking the infinite is that we are always looking out through our senses, or into our minds. There are many benefits to having a regular meditation practice, but be advised, it is deigned for enlightenment.

The spiritual path has two parts: preparation and practice. The prep is about purifying yourself, and the practice is meditation.

Meditation is immediacy without concepts. It’s about looking inward toward consciousness itself. It’s about the witness paying attention while taking a rest from all thoughts and emotions; you need only be present. When done as a daily practice, it can even deconstruct subconscious egoic programs along the way, helping with the prep work. It’s been the enlightenment method of choice for centuries because it really works.

There’s so much more to us hiding just below the surface that they call it grace. Meditation makes you much more available to grace, and if you meditate with a true guru your chances are better, because they are conduits for grace.

There are many techniques which are
supposed to lead us to God, but, of
all these, meditation is the one
recognized by all the saints and sages
because only in meditation can we see
the inner Self directly.
-Swami Muktananda | Meditate

Unity obtains when the activities
of mind have ceased. The witness then
abides in its true nature. Otherwise,
the witness is identified with the
activities of mind and is just another
thought-form itself.
-Yoga Sutras

The Self is realized in a higher state
of consciousness when you have broken
through the wrong identification that
you are the body…
-Kena Upanishad

In the depths of meditation, sages saw
within themselves the Lord of Love, who
dwells in the heart of every creature.
-Shvetashvatara Upanishad

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How to meditate.

The goal of meditation isn’t to achieve something, but to reveal the ground-stuff of your being, by getting all the noise out of the way.

I have lived on the lip of insanity,
wanting to know reasons,
knocking on a door.
It opens.
I’ve been knocking from the inside.
-Rumi

When first trying to meditate, most people find it hard not to think. Parts of our brain are subconsciously thinking along various lines of thought, and our consciousness moves between them. Meditation is about learning how to extend the time between those thoughts until those thoughts fade. Adyashanti would say something like, if you take your foot off the gas pedal, eventually the car will come to a stop.

The amount of practice it will take to go thoughtless for short periods depends on how much attention our thoughts are requiring. Practice makes perfect, and if one practices even a few minutes a day, it will get easier. Meditation is like taking the ultimate break from the day; to step out for a second. Relax, maybe starting at the base of the spine, and just practice being aware without thoughts.

The more you process those thoughts, the easier it gets, until eventually a thoughtless state becomes a familiar resource you can easily drop into. Spending time there each day will refresh you, clear your head, and make you much more available to Grace.

Here is an excellent introduction to why people meditate, with a little at the end on how to meditate.
Why Meditate | Joel Morwood | Vimeo 10:31

It cannot be perceived by the mind, because it makes the mind think. Still, the Self can be known, and to know it we do not need the help of the mind or the senses. -Swami Muktananda | I Am That

And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, [Jesus] answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation…the kingdom of God is within you. -Luke 17:20-21 | KJV

That which makes the mind think but cannot be thought by the mind, that is the Self indeed. This Self is not someone other than you.
-Kena Upanishad

The Self is one, though it appears to be many. Those who meditate upon the Self…see the Self in everyone… -Chandogya Upanishad

The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me. -Meister Eckhart

God sleeps in the rock, dreams in the plant, stirs in the animal, and awakens in man. -Ibn Arabi

Wake up from this dream of separateness.
-Shvetashvatara Upanishad