Meditation

"Even a little practice of meditation will free you from dire
fears and colossal sufferings." - Bhagavad Gita

What is Meditation?

Meditation is:
* when the mind and body are still and the heart is open.
* not a passive state; it means changing your level of consciousness and energy to a higher state of energy (superconsciousness).
* memory ("smritti"); remembering who and what you really are: a divine spirit, ever perfect, ever free (contact with the Superconscious Self or soul).
* listening; prayer is talking with God or with your own higher Self, meditation is listening for the answers; developing intuition; tuning into intuitive guidance.
* stillness, of body and mind; the mind has no chance to be peaceful and still if the body is restless and uncomfortable.
* a discipline; it takes practice and forming new habits, attitudes and thought patterns; it is a habit not always won easily, but certainly worth the energy!
* concentration; taking the mind off of many things and placing it on one thing at a time.
* concentration on God or an attribute or aspect of the Divine, such as: love, light, peace, joy, wisdom, calmness, sound (vibrations), or power; it is concentrating so deeply that you become that which you concentrate on.
* in two stages: the "getting there" and the "being there;" both are valid parts of meditation.
* meant to change every aspect of your life; the test of your success in meditation is not in visions or what you see, hear, or feel in meditation, but rather how you are changing as a person in everyday life; the goal is to have your whole life become meditation.

Why Meditate?
Think how many things you do with the hope of attaining a condition of rest or happiness, once you've done them. You think, "Let me buy that zippy red sports car, or that shiny white compact model, or that beautiful, big SUV for the whole family. I'll never find true peace until I get it!"

Or perhaps you think, "I'll get that new house with the shaded porch and the large master bedroom; that calm, spacious dining room so we don't have always to eat in the kitchen with the cucumbers; that sunken living room. Oh, once I have all that I'll be able to relax at last!"

Usually, our mental image of an attained ideal is like a framed painting; static and never changing. It is an end in itself, not a passageway toward further beginnings and further challenges. Even when we see our goals as means to other ends, our vision of the future carries us to a time where rest becomes truly possible at last. "I would be happy if . . . " How countless are the ways we try to fill in that blank?

Peace is the natural condition of the soul. People sometimes speak longily of the peace of the grve - as in the term "requiscat in pace" ("rest in peace") - even if they imagine death as a descent into unconsciousness. The loss of consciousness itself seems to them, evidently, an attractive alternative to the ceaseless struggle of human existence. Meditation, however, poses an infinitely more attractive alternative, one that lifts the mind into a state of superconscious peace which, once attained, can be maintained through even the psychic upheaval of physical death.

Peace can never truly be found outside ourselves. What passes for peace is a temporary lull, merely, in the battle fo life. That new car, once you've bought it, will be only a prelude to new pursuits and fresh challenges. That lovely home will turn out to be an invitation to new responsibilities, further involvements, and perhaps even stronger attachments.

What happens is that, in the process of pursuing one thing after another, forever in the hope of getting everything finally just the way you want it, you become accustomed to looking for things, for more and more ways of helping you to rest better. Someday, surely (you think), you'll be able to enjoy life completely. The irony is that, in the very process of pursuing rest, you gradually lose the ability to rest at all. And in the process of pursuing enjoyment, you lose the capacity really to enjoy anything.

Our very enjoyment of life begins with the simple ability to relax. The ability is simple: That is what makes it so difficult! Since our birth, our life-force has flowed outward to the five senses, and through them to this world of endless complexity. It isn't easy, now, to reverse that flow.

The more you seek rest through doing, the more restless you become. The more you seek happiness through the senses, the less happy you will be, for the simple reason that excessive sensory enjoyment drains our capacity for happiness - it doesn't nourish it. The more we seek joy through things or circumstances outside of ourselves, the more we find that joy eludes us, for joy is within us - the source of true happiness is inside!

Why wait? Why wait for peace and happiness to come to you eventually? Will they come to you even after you retire from work? Hardly! If, having become ensconced in that rocking chair, you resist the tendency to keep on doing things no matter how unproductive, you'll very likely die of boredom.

Everyone, no matter how busy he or she is, needs to devote some time every day to practicing the art of doing things in a peaceful way. You'll never find peace until you make peace a part of activity itself. Inner peace should be part of every action and of every creative process. Hence the importance of meditation which helps to create within us a permanent state of inner peace and never-ending joy.

Getting Comfortable for a Sitting Meditation:
Suggested Preliminaries:
Yoga Postures and Energization Exercises: Wonderful to get the energy flowing; or other gentle exercises of your choice which calm, rather than excite the nervous system.
Prayer: Always ask for guidance. Say a prayer mentally or our loud to the Divine in whatever form that feels comfortable to you. Don't forget this important step!
Chanting: If you don't play a musical instrument, have a chanting tape to sing along with, either out loud or mentally. Chanting opens the heart, an important ingredient for deep meditation.
How to sit comfortably:
One of the most important aspects of a sitting meditation is to be able to sit comfortably, without an aching back, or legs hurting or going to sleep. If you are in pain or great discomfort, the only thing you will be meditating on is that! Options for sitting are in a chair, or on a meditation bench, or on a pillow on the floor. Most westerners are not trained from birth to sit comfortably on a hard floor. So a chair is probably best for most of us, beginners or otherwise - and many very great meditators with many years of experience use a chair or stool for their meditations. It is not a sign of lack of meditative ability if you are unable to sit in the lotus posture or any other floor sitting position.

Chair Sitting:
Get a fairly straight-backed chair and sit forward in the chair so that both feet are flat on the floor. If your feet do not touch the floor, get a shorter chair or place a pillow or two under your feet to raise them so that your thighs are parallel to the floor. Do not lean against the back of the chair! The idea is to sit with an upright, un-supported spine. However, if you are not used to sitting this way, or if you have weak neck/back muscles or injuries, there are ways to overcome this challenge. Get a firm pillow of some sort (the crescent shaped ones are very good for this) and put it between your back and the back of the chair. The feeling you want is that of support, but not leaning into it. Move the pillow around until you achieve this feeling. If you want to place a pillow in the seat of the chair, to cushion a too hard surface, that is fine. Meditate for short periods of time in the beginning and work up to longer amounts of time. This way your back muscles will strengthen gradually. Yoga stretches and other such exercises also strengthen your back muscles with time and regular practice.

Floor sitting:
Meditation benches are a wonderful invention for making the legs feel comfortable and un-pressured and keeping the spine up-right. Finding hte right size and height is important. Padding on the seat often helps. Adding small pillows under the knees or ankles might facilitate your comfort also. If you have never tried a bench, please be sure to experiment with one. Some people are more comfortable sitting cross-legged on a pillow. The crescent-shaped or round-plump pillows are designed to help with this position.

Experiment!
Have a chair, lots of pillows, a bench and whatever else you want to try. When one position becomes tiresome, calmly switch to another. Eventually you'll find the best one for your body-type. Remember, everybody's body is different.

A blanket or two:
Many yogis recommend sitting on a wool rug, blanket, or piece of silk. Also the place you meditate should be a little on the cool side with a source of fresh air if possible. Thus another blanket or warm meditation shawl should be handy to wrap up in. The body does cool down a bit when you sit still for a while, so wrap is often important to maintain an even body temperature.

Get comfortable, but stay awake and ready!

Practical Hints for Meditation

1. Regularity - Set aside the same time or times each day for your meditation. Recommended are dawn (just after awakening), twilight, high noon, and midnight. Another is in the evening, just before bedtime. Best always to meditate on an empty stomach (2-3 hours after meals).

2. Exercise - if you have time, exercise a little before meditation. Yoga postures are excellent and of course, Yogananda's Energization Exercises are highly recommended. Remember that the exercises one does before meditation, should calm, not excite the nervous system.

3. Location - Set aside a room, or small part of a room, just for meditation. Try to find as quiet a spot as possible - or if this is difficult, try using comfortable "foam" earplugs or headphones to block out noise. (not hooked up to a walkman -- you want silence.) Be sure the room is not stuffy and a bit on the cool side; a blanket or shawl to wrap up in is nice. Have a place to sit, and a small, simple altar or focal point, like pictures, flowers, candles. You will find that the vibrations of meditation build here. Face East, if possible. Yogis say that there are certain natural currents, flowing east to west, which help you meditate better. North is also a good direction.

4. Sitting - Protect yourself from the downward pull of eart currents by sitting on some natural fiber, like a wool or silk blanket or piece of cloth placed on your meditation chair, bench, or cushion. Sit erect! A chair is fine, or a comfortable cross-legged position on the floor or on cushion(s). If you sit in a chair, try not to lean back. meditation benches are helpful, too. Whatever your position, keep your back straight, chest raised, head erect, eyes closed, and hands resting upturned, in your lap, preferable at the juncture of the thighs and abdomen.

5. How long? - Do not set unrealistic goals for yourself. Better to meditate 5-15 minutes and be very consistent about it, then increase your time as you can. One longer meditation each week is very helpful. Also it helps to meditate with other people, especially devotees who have been meditating longer than you have - the energy of a group meditation often helps you to meditate longer than you would ordinarily be able to, on your own.

6. Upon beginning your meditation, say a prayer either out loud, or inwardly, to God and the Masters, to guide and help you. do some chanting, if you can (using a cassette tape of chants is very nice - sing along with it)! Practice breathing to relax. Inhale, tense the whole body, then throw the breath out and relax - do this 2-3 times. Then do some "measured breathing:" Inhale to a count, hold that same count, then exhale to the same count, and begin again - do this 6-12 times. The count can be 8-8-8, 12-12-12, or higher if you feel comfortable. Then relax and breathe normally, but be aware of your breathing. NOTE: Do not hold your breath if you are pregnant or have cardiac problems, i.e., do not do measured breathing.

7. You should now feel relatively relaxed. Hold the body still! Mentally check it from time to time to see that no part becomes tensed again inadvertently. Physical tension is a great deterrent to calm meditations. Be very silent and relaxed, yet aware.

8. Meditate with joy, with devotion! Don't wait for joy to make you joyful, be joyful first yourself! Meditation simply helps you remember, on ever deepening levels of awareness, who and what you really are! You are one with the infinite Light.

The Hong-Sau Technique:

To meditate effectively, we need to learn to concentrate deeply. We can concentrate on many things, but in meditation we first need to become peaceful. The breath and mind react intimately upon one another. The breath instantly responds to different mental and emotional states. As the breath flows, so flows the mind. By concentrating on the breath, the breath becomes calmer, and the mind enters into a state of peace. the great yogi masters say that "Peace is the soil in which the flowers of meditation will grow." This truth forms the basis of meditation and of the Hong-Sau technique of concentration as taught by Paramhansa Yogananda and also by his direct disciple, Swami Kriyananda, the founder of Ananda.

1. Energization, prayer, and chanting are suggested before medcitation, but Hong-Sau actually may be done at any time and in any place.

2. Inhale and tense the whole body. Exhale and relax. Repeat three times. Then, inhale slowly to a count, from 5 to 8 counts; hold the breath to that same count; exhale to that count and immediately inhale again to the same count. Repeat 6-10 times. Please remember that these are preliminary breathing exercises, not the technique itself.

3. now, without counting or tension, take a long slow deep breath. When the breath begins to flow again, begin to observe the breath in your body - whether in the lungs, in the nostrils, or sinuses. Be an impartial observer, not caring whether it flows in or out or remains stationary. Simply remain attentive to whatever the breath does by itself, naturally. Moving the forefinger of the right hand in for inhalation and out for exhalation may be helpful for helping you tune into the breath.

4. Follow the inhalation with the mantra Hong (pronounced to rhyme with song) and the exhalation with the mantra Sau (pronounced like saw). Repeat the mantra mentally only. Be careful not to move the lips or tongue. Hong-Sau is a Sanskrit mantra meaning, "I am He," "I am Spirit," or "I offer my little self into my Higher Self."

5. As your practice deepens, begin to enjoy the pauses between the inhalations and the exhalations, when the breath is not flowing. Do not actively hold the breath in or out. As many times as your mind wanders away from Hong-Sau, bring it gently back to the technique.

6. After your period of practice of this technique (5-10 minutes is fine for beginners, gradually increasing the time as you go) inhale and exhale 3 times, and then leave the breath out as long as is comfortable. As you need to, begin breathing normally.

7. Throughout the practice, keep your eyes closed and looking upward towards the point between the eyebrows; don't strain your eyes; let them relax! If you wear glasses, have them removed so your face relaxes even more.

8. After completing your practice of Hong-Sau, be sure to sit in silence and stillness for at least as long as you practiced the technique. Practice devotion, inward chanting, visualization, or prayer.

6 basic points of Hong-Sau technique:
* Breath/mind connection, * Relaxation and preliminary breathing exercises, * Watch the breath/mantra/enjoy pauses, *Keep refocusing the restless mind on the breath and *How to concentrate at the spiritual eye

May the powerful meditation/concentration technique of Hong-Sau bring you ever closer to your own highest potential.

Bringing Meditation into Daily Life:

Practice Practice Practice