I am sure many of you have posted something about meditation on this forum. I just wanted to pass on what I know about meditation from my years of studying yoga and how it is important in the practice of magic. What most people believe to be meditation is actually one step before actual meditation it is called concentration or Dharana in yoga. It is the sixth step in Ashtanga Yoga practice also known as the eight limbs of yoga. In Dharana what the practitioner does is focus on one object of thought. This can be anything like a candle, an image, a visualization, a sound or phrase, etc… What happens during Dharana is the mind wanders away from your object of thought. What you do is when you realize your mind has wandered; is you bring it back to the thought you were focused on. Meditation or Dhyana is when your mind no longer wanders. You are so focused that you are able to hold the object of your thought for long periods of time. When you are able to hold this thought for several hours or even days this leads to the eighth step which is samadhi. Samadhi means absorption this is when you no longer are aware you are meditating. You basically no longer experience thoughts, nor breath, nor external sensations like the body. All three of these steps are called Samyama. With mastery of samyama, all the psychic powers of yoga can be unraveled before you. In magic, magical talents like levitation, telepathy, and clairvoyance are available to you with mastery of samyama. There are other ways to attain magical powers but this way I feel is the best. Oh, if you are wondering I am still new to yoga and meditation and have not been able to attain samyama myself. But do not let this discourage you from trying it yourself. There are many wonderful meditation methods and videos available online. Meditation is not only useful for attaining magical abilities it also is useful for relaxation and reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and anger. I encourage everyone to practice meditation. That is all, Thank You and Blessed be.
@richard3 thanks for the info.
There is so much about meditation people do not know I suggest that if you wish to learn more about meditation and yoga to read the yoga sutras of Patanjali. There are various books with commentaries but my favorite is the one by Sri Swami Satchidananda. The yoga sutras tells you about many of the psychic powers you can attain by means of samyama, and much more.
This is fascinating material. I’ll have to look more into it.
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Ooh, yes I love the yoga sutras!!! Thank you for sharing this 
Thank you for your comment. Meditation is more complex than most people think. However, in yoga, it is just one part of the process, perhaps one of the most important parts. If you do not meditate properly you will not be able to enter samadhi and do samyama. In Buddhism, it was samyama starting with concentration, moving to meditation, and then eventually entering samadhi that allowed Buddha to attain enlightenment. However, I would like to point out that there are many levels to meditation as well as many levels of samadhi. I believe practitioners of magic and esoteric teachings such as witchcraft should incorporate the three components of samyama into their daily practice. Not only for the development of mystical powers which should only be used to help, bless, protect and heal others but also to develop a closer relationship with God and the Goddess, which is the main point of yoga and meditation. However, samyama is not easy it takes years of dedication to be able to even attain the ability to do samyama. However, I would like to say do not get stressed out and think you can never do it. The brain is a muscle the more you use it the stronger it gets. All you have to do is practice. Start with concentration and let that lead to meditation in time you will enter samadhi and then be able to do samyama. However, in order to attain the psychic powers, you will have to do samyama on each of them. Unless you attain spontaneous enlightenment then they will automatically come to you. Well, that’s all, Thank you, Blessed be.
Greetings @richard3!
This is some wonderful knowledge about meditation in Ashtanga Yoga- I can’t say I know too much about yoga, so thank you very much for sharing your wisdom! 
When I first learned meditation, I was studying at a few Buddhist temples. Eventually, I practiced the Rinzai Zen style of meditation. While some of the details may differ between Japanese Rinzai Zen meditation and yoga-based meditation (and I would encourage everyone to experience various types of meditation- there are so many styles out there!), it looks like the overall goal of releasing the mind and freeing yourself from burdensome thoughts is the same
And I absolutely agree that meditation can be an invaluable asset to magickal practice! I no longer meditate in the Rinzai Zen style, but the mindfulness and gratitude meditations I do daily have brought immense benefits into my life. Meditation is a truly magickal thing! 
Wishing everyone blessed meditations- love and light! 