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The United Nations General Assembly has set a powerful intention for global harmony by unanimously declaring December 21st as World Meditation Day. This landmark resolution on December 6, 2024, invites the world to pause, reflect, and embrace the transformative practice of meditation—a timeless tool for cultivating inner peace and collective well-being. May this annual day — and all days — remind us to come together as one human family to nurture our hearts, uplift our spirits, and envision a future rooted in unity and understanding.

World Meditation Day now joins the other observances on the UN website, with the official page as follows:

What is meditation?

Meditation is an ancient practice that involves focusing one’s attention on the present moment. Rooted in religious, yogic, and secular traditions across cultures, meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Today, it is embraced worldwide, transcending its spiritual origins to become a universal tool for personal well-being and mental health.

The most recognized definition of meditation generally describes it as a practice where an individual uses techniques such as mindfulness, focused attention, or concentrated thought to train the mind and achieve a state of mental clarity, emotional calmness, and physical relaxation.

There are diverse types of meditation, each offering unique approaches to achieving calm, clarity, and balance. Research underscores its ability to reduce stress, improve focus and emotional balance, alleviating anxiety and depression, and enhance sleep quality. It also contributes to better physical health, including lowering blood pressure and managing pain.

Technology has further expanded access to meditation, with apps and online platforms enabling individuals to practice anywhere and anytime.

Benefits of meditation

Beyond individual benefits, meditation fosters empathy, collaboration, and a sense of shared purpose, contributing to collective well-being. Celebrated for its universality, meditation is practiced across all regions of the world by people of all ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the significant benefits of meditation, particularly mindfulness meditation. WHO’s discussions on stress management underscore the importance of learning coping mechanisms, such as meditation, to support mental and physical well-being.

According to WHO, meditation can be a powerful self-care tool to support treatment and enhance overall well-being, particularly in managing symptoms of anxiety. Incorporating mindfulness meditation into your daily routine, even for just a few minutes, can help you achieve a sense of calm and focus.

Additionally, WHO acknowledges the mental health benefits of practices like yoga, which often incorporate meditative elements. On the International Day of Yoga, WHO highlighted yoga’s contributions to lifelong health and well-being, emphasizing its role in promoting healthier populations and a more equitable and sustainable world.

Photo by Darina Belonogova via Pexels.

World Meditation Day

To raise awareness about meditation and its benefits, the General Assembly proclaimed 21 December as World Meditation Day, recalling the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

Additionally, the General Assembly acknowledged the link between yoga and meditation as complementary approaches to health and well-being.

Cultivating peace and unity through meditation

At the United Nations, meditation holds a special place, exemplified by the Meditation Room at UN Headquarters in New York. Opened in 1952 under the guidance of Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, this “room of quiet” symbolizes the essential role of silence and introspection in achieving global harmony. As Mr. Hammarskjöld put it, this house, dedicated to work and debate in the service of peace, “should have one room dedicated to silence in the outward sense and stillness in the inner sense.”

In times of global challenges, such as armed conflicts, climate crises, and rapid technological advancements, meditation offers a powerful means to cultivate peace, unity, and compassion. World Meditation Day reminds us of the importance of nurturing human consciousness to address these issues and create harmony within ourselves and our communities. By fostering inner peace through meditation, individuals contribute to building a more resilient and sustainable world for current and future generations.

 Good health and well-being

Meditation is increasingly recognized for its contributions to mental health — a fundamental human right — and its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasize health and well-being as central to achieving sustainable development. Goal 3, “Good Health and Well-Being,” aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, addressing key challenges such as maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and access to essential medicines and vaccines. This target also highlights the importance of mental health, universal health coverage, and the reduction of health inequities to build resilient and inclusive societies.

Source: https://www.un.org/en/observances/meditation-day

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Integral Yoga Meditation Teacher Training program will enable you to go deeper in your own practice and guide your students to go deeper in theirs. You will receive instruction in the theory and techniques of meditation, including mantra, visualization, breath awareness, witnessing, and prayer. You also will learn the yogic breathing techniques and how to refine and develop them. You will be taught different ways to incorporate meditation into Hatha Yoga classes. After completing the training, you will have the knowledge, skill, and confidence to teach a six-week meditation course.

Curriculum

This course trains you to teach a workshop or meditation course, which will provide your students with the information, experience, and motivation that a new meditator needs in order to begin and develop a regular meditation practice. Your curriculum includes instruction and training in the following:

• Theory of meditation
• The principal techniques of meditation, including mantra, breath, and witnessing
• Overcoming obstacles to meditation practice
• Leading guided meditations and visualizations
• Answering questions about Yoga and meditation
• Maintaining a spiritual diary
• Developing a personal practice routine and a long-term practice plan
• Deepening and refining your own practice
• Integrating your meditation practice into daily life
• An outline for a workshop of any length
• A syllabus for a 6-week meditation course

Certification

At the end of the course, graduates receive a diploma certifying them to teach Integral Yoga Meditation. This course qualifies for 300-hour Integral Yoga Certification.

Prerequisites

The course is available to certified Yoga instructors of all traditions who have had a meditation practice for at least six months and to anyone with a well-established meditation practice. Daily 30 min meditation practice and attendance in one group Integral Yoga meditation per week is required during the training.

Online

We are committed to providing a safe and high quality program for all participants. Our graduates will develop skills to teach in person or online. The Yoga Alliance criteria about teacher trainings online is adapting as we move forward. We have dedicated staff to oversee the online coaching to have personal connections throughout the training.

All materials and recordings will be accessible for 3 months after graduation. More info and registration about this Teacher Training program here.

The post Meditation Teacher Training – November 2024 Online appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

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It takes a long time to learn how to pray just for the sake of praying and not for anything else, not for our own selfish desires. The reason that we obtain little satisfaction from our prayers is that they are not really sincere attempts to touch God. When we begin to go deeper—to seek God and nothing else—then we will be satisfied in our prayers and reap its benefits.

I realize that there are a number of people who do not believe in a God who is “sitting somewhere, out there.” “What is this God?”, they ask me. “Is God going to come running just because I cry?” I do not believe in such a God either. I think that God is everywhere and has no name or form, no limitations like that. God is Consciousness Itself. In that case you might ask, “Then what is the purpose of prayer? How can you say God is going to hear our prayers and answer them?” I would reply saying that God is all-present, all-knowing. God is not bound by any particular form but is an all-pervasive Awareness or Power. And by your concentrated, sincere, and unselfish prayer, you are tuning your mental radio to receive that Power.

I can tell you that there is beautiful music in the room where you are now. Some of you will agree and some of you will not agree. Those who deny it will say, “We don’t hear any music now. How can you say that there is music in this room?” To you I say, “Bring a radio. Plug it in, and tune it. You will get the music.” By tuning the radio you are not creating the music. The music was already there; your tuning simply attracted the radio waves. If your tuning isn’t correct, you won’t hear a thing. In the same way, God’s Grace, God Consciousness, or the Cosmic Power, will be attracted only when you tune your mind to the proper wavelength.

Some people say they tune in through meditation; others say they tune in through prayer. In either case they are doing essentially the same thing. Meditation means to focus the mind wholly on one thing. Real prayer means to meditate on the conversation, the giving and receiving, between you and God. An unmeditated prayer, without full concentration, will not be very powerful, so it is not surprising if such a prayer brings no satisfaction. There has to be proper attunement; the mind should be one-pointed, focused, and free from selfish motives.

Some people say that it is unnecessary to do anything but sit quietly in order to get into that higher state, Satori or Samadhi. When you can make the mind and body quiet, you are attuning yourself—“at-one-ing” yourself—to that state which is always there waiting for you. Through your discipline and effort in meditation you are being cleared and opened up to receive that true essential channel within you.

In other words, you are not doing anything to create that state, but you must do something in order not to disturb the flow of it. You must remove the “interference,” decrease the “static” that constantly bombards us through the senses, and learn to master the ego-thoughts so that they do not enslave you and block your attunement and at-one-ment. That is what we do in the name of Yoga, in the name of prayer and meditation.

By Sri Swami Satchidananda

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Meditating on Om can bring various benefits, including promoting relaxation, concentration, and inner peace. It is said to quiet the mind, soothe the nervous system, and facilitate a deeper sense of spiritual connection. Ultimately, the use of this mantra and meditation on Om is a deeply personal and profound practice that allows individuals to tap into the vast reservoir of inner peace and spiritual awareness.

The post Integral Yoga Guided “Om” Meditation appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

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In the last ten years my work has been made much easier by the progress made in the fields of Neuroscience and Epigenetics. Following a great deal of scientific experimentation, significant evidence has materialized to show how the brain works and how meditation practices can help rewire our thinking process. MRIs taken before meditation and after meditation have clearly shown how the areas of the brain that deal with emotions have become relaxed, and literally light up.

The concept of changing thoughts this way is not new. It has always been taught in the yogic scriptures, which date back more than 3,000 years. Yet the nature of Homo sapiens is to doubt unless empirically proven. The surge forward in science is finally connecting the dots to spirit, and both are joining at the same point.

I have learned that to be spiritual is to know that we are all part of a whole. That all things are sacred, and when we live in harmony with humankind, nature and especially ourselves, we start to know we truly are ‘a divine spark’ and so is everything else. We just vibrate at different frequencies depending on the way we think and live. When we experience this oneness we feel bathed in peace. We realize that truly all life is a stage and we are but actors on it. Once we know that, we can determine how we want to live in the circumstances we are given. We can be bitter and angry if we choose, but what does that do for anyone, especially ourselves? Or, we can decide to accept the situation and make the most of it. Then, not only do we benefit ourselves, but also everyone else. A win/win situation!

And where is God in all of this? The ancient yogic scriptures, called the Vedas, put it this way: “Ekam sat vipraa bahuda Vadanti.” This means, “Truth is one, the wise call it by different names.”

About the Author:

Nalanie Chellaram, C-IAYT began practicing the teachings of her Guru, Sri Swami Satchidananda in 1986 and continued to study the science of Yoga. She is an accredited Teacher Trainer for Integral Yoga and a therapist under the British School of Yoga. She is the Chairwoman of the Integral Yoga Center in Gibraltar where she gives regular satsangs, teacher training and counseling sessions. This Center is a registered Charity serving the community.

The post We Are All Parts of a Whole appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

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There are so many methods of meditation and Trataka meditation is among them. Even though you might have an image in your mind of what meditation is, there are actually so many ways to meditate. You can try out all the different types to see what works best for you. Of course, everyone is different, and no two meditation practices will be completely the same. If you want more out of your meditation practice, here are a few things to know about Trataka meditation.

The practice of Trataka meditation involves focusing on one specific object or focus point rather than an internal idea. Many people use it as a purification or focus technique, especially in the context of yogic meditation. It’s mostly about connecting to the focus within you and working on the feeling of stillness. The translation of the word itself means to look or gaze, so you can take it fairly literally.

Trataka meditation is the practice of gazing at a fixed point or object, and usually, this involves a candle. It doesn’t need to be a candle, but this can work well for many. Trataka meditation isn’t simply just gazing at candles. Even though it is often referred to as candle-gazing meditation that is just a part of it. Even though you can stop there, Trataka meditation can also involve things like breathing exercises and counting. Regardless, it’s all about finding your inner focus through an external focus.

Meditation in general can be extremely beneficial to your mental and physical wellness. If you’re curious about the specific benefits of Trataka meditation, it’s been known to calm your entire system with a sense of warmth and comfort. If you believe in the balancing of chakras, this can be great for the upper chakras.

The origins of Trataka meditation can be traced back to classical Yoga and Tantra philosophies. The use of a single fixed point or small object is often found in traditional (not neo-tantra) Tantric meditation and texts, while the practice is often incorporated into yogic practices as well. The name of Trataka meditation comes from the Sanskrit, and can be a kind of yogic purification. Therefore, it has its place both with yogic and tantric philosophy.

The technique for Trataka meditation is mostly what it sounds like — all you need is a candle and something to light it, and you can get started on your meditation. If you’d like a bit more direction, you can dim the lights throughout the rest of your space so that the candle you’re looking at is brighter and easier to focus on. This can also create a calmer and more relaxed environment if you’re using this as a way to wind down.

First, you need to find a comfortable seated position, light your candle and fix your gaze on the flame. Watch it move around and flicker. Focus all of your mental energy on the flame of the candle. If you want to add additional details to the practice, you can even set an intention when you light the candle if you would like something a bit more abstract to focus on mentally. Conversely, if you want something a bit more concrete, you can try inhaling and exhaling with the movement of the flame. You can set a timer for your meditation or simply go by your own internal clock.

There are so many ways that you can practice meditation, and the technique of gazing at a candle or flame is a great way to explore new possibilities. No matter what your experience is with meditation, you can try this one out and see how it works for you.

About the Author:

Ava Roman has been practicing Yoga regularly since she was a teenager and more recently completed 200-hour teacher training. She chose to take the leap into 200 hours because she wanted to deepen her knowledge and understanding of Yoga’s rich history and deepen her personal practice. She is passionate about sharing the message that all bodies are Yoga bodies since experiencing a lot of personal trauma and weight gain since 2020.

The post The Practice of Trataka Meditation appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

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It is a tradition in Integral Yoga that after daily meditation we repeat Shanti mantras, or peace prayers. These prayers are a beautiful way to end one’s formal meditation sitting and are a spiritual support in that they are affirmations of peace. The Yoga tradition reminds us that our meditation practice is not only of benefit to us individually, but helps us to carry the awareness of our inner peace out into the world. Peace prayers—whatever one’s spiritual practice—can also serve as a way to send out peaceful vibrations and wishes for world peace and happiness for all. Chant along with Swami Satchidananda here.

OM Sarveshām Svastir Bhavatu          Auspiciousness be unto all,

Sarveshām Śāntir Bhavatu                   Perfect peace be unto all,

Sarveshām Pūrṇam Bhavatu                Fullness be unto all,

Sarveshām Maṅgalam Bhavatu           Prosperity be unto all.

Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaha                   Happiness be unto all,

Sarve Santu Nirāmayāḥ                         Perfect health be unto all,

Sarve Bhadrāṇi Paśyantu                      May all see good in everyone,

Mā Kaśchid Duhkha Bhāg Bhavet      May all be free from suffering.

OM Saha Nāvavatu                                   May God protect us,

Saha Nau Bhunaktu                                 Grant us wisdom’s fruit,

Saha Vīryam Karavāvahai                     May we gain energy to know the Truth,

Tejasvi Nāvadhītam Astu                      May our intellects grow clear and bright,

Mā Vidvishāvahai                                     May we cherish no ill feeling toward anyone.

OM Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ                        Om peace, peace, peace.

Lokāh Samastāḥ Sukhino Bhavantu     May the entire universe be filled with peace and joy, love and light.

These Shanti mantras are universal mantras that have their source and inspiration in the ancient sacred texts of India, including the Upanishads and Puranas. They are universal in the sense that they apply to anyone, at any time, without regard to a specific faith, race, or culture. Originally written in the ancient Sanskrit language, they foster the spirit of community, with their wishes of peace and good will to one and all.

You may have heard it said that Sanskrit is a language of vibration. Joseph Campbell often described Sanskrit as the “great spiritual language of the world.” In analyzing Sanskrit—originally a Vedic language dating back to 1700–1200 BCE—linguists identified approximately 54 basic vibrations from which Sanskrit stems. A 2021 article in the science magazine Discover, noted: “When chanted [the Sanskrit mantra] OM vibrates at the frequency of 432Hz— the same vibrational frequency found in all things throughout nature.”

Swami Satchidananda, the founder of Integral Yoga, often spoke of the benefits of this vibrational language, with its use of mantras. He said, “Thousands of years ago spiritual seers were using these sound formulas. Today, modern science, and even medical research, has shown the benefit of sound for various purposes. You can clean jewelry using ultra-sonic sound. Doctors can operate utilizing sound waves. Sanskrit mantras also produce vibrations within the individual’s entire system that are in tune with the divine vibration.”

Often we hear people talking about the unrest in the world, violent clashes between religions, cultures, countries, and individuals and how they feel helpless. We may ask ourselves, “What can I do? I’m just one person. I can’t change the world.” The truth is that each of us can contribute to world peace. Each person changes the world when they are able to bring more peace to it through their own peaceful vibrations and prayers.

The very foundation of Yoga is the understanding that a sincere thought—a one-pointed thought or prayer—is able to travel all over the world carrying power. Thought-power, prayer, and peaceful vibrations are more powerful than imagined. Even a few people sending out powerful, peaceful thoughts can change the world.

The more we can attune ourselves to the vibrations of these peace chants, the more we can tap into the inner stillness that is at the heart of every being. Whether we utilize these Shanti mantras, or any other prayers for peace, the most important ingredient in prayer is that it comes from the heart; that is what is most important.

So, use this or any other prayers, or your own words to pray for peace for everybody. In this way, we cultivate feelings of compassion, of unity with all, enabling us to release the illusion of separateness and foster community. For, in truth, we are all one.

~Offered in honor of the International Day of Peace, September 21

The post Carrying Inner Peace Out into the World appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

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Independence implies a freedom from being controlled or unduly influenced by an outside source. Spiritual independence suggests the freedom to live in harmony with the spiritual truth at the heart of our being. It implies freedom from depending on any outside source for our happiness, which becomes more and more possible as we begin to experience the profound and unchanging peace within.

Most of us experience daily ups and downs as the situations and events in our lives unfold. When things go our way, we feel pleased and cheerful; when they don’t, we may be disappointed and frustrated. This tells us that we have unintentionally tied—and thus bound—our happiness to the changing world of thoughts, feelings, relationships, external objects, name and fame, and so on.

It’s not surprising that the predominant beliefs of our culture have influenced the way we understand ourselves and our relationship to the world around us. All our lives, we’ve been fed the message that happiness lies in pursuing and holding onto, as well as avoiding, certain things. The teachings of Yoga help us understand that the more we depend on our reputation, bank account, achievements, or the admiration of others as the source of our peace of mind, the more elusive it becomes.

When we find ourselves feeling anxious or angry, it can be an eye-opening exercise to question ourselves, “What is it that I am wanting but not getting that is preventing me from being at peace with this moment?” Or we could ask, “Who is upset and who is aware of it?” If I am aware that I am upset, I can center myself in that awareness or Beingness that is the real I, and is always peaceful, balanced, and lacking nothing.

Working with the breath can assist us in this type of inquiry. Pause and ask: “Do I have to be upset or can I take some deep breaths and reconnect to the center of balance even as I pursue my efforts?” In such moments, it can be beneficial to challenge ourselves to find at least a foothold of contentment and remember that is our birthright.

If we are in touch with who we truly are, with a felt inner sense of contentment, our relationship to anything that we might acquire or achieve is dramatically different. We can still enjoy things that we accomplish or experience, but our happiness is not contingent on those things. We can still enjoy eating something, winning a game, and pursuing a career or a relationship, but we can also enjoy the process since we are not relying on the outcome.

Yoga teaches us that we all experience this spiritual independence when we are able to quiet our minds and its movements: all the worrying, obsessing, and mindlessness that often occupies them. Beneath the surface waves of the mind lies an ocean of peace, a deep sense of contentment and connection with all of life. Imagine going about your day with that feeling in the forefront of your mind. Over time, that sense of peace will permeate all your experiences.

Stilling the mind this way is no easy task, but even a little success through some form of regular meditative practice will give us a taste of that natural joy that is ever-present at the heart of our being. Better still, a whole lifestyle based on the teachings of Integral Yoga creates a comprehensive approach that addresses all the levels of our being, and provides fertile ground for growth.

This means adopting sacred standards, such as the Yama and Niyama of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, as our guidelines for living. It means practicing asana, pranayama and meditation to calm and focus the mind. It means letting go of preferences that don’t really serve us and attuning to the inner wisdom that is always in service to the highest good of everyone, including ourselves. It includes an effort to disentangle our sense of self from the ways we have defined ourselves—witnessing the stories of the mind rather than being imprisoned by them. And, it embraces serving others with selfless love and care, without attachment to the result.

As our practice deepens, we experience moments free from past conditioning and begin to see ourselves and our relationship to the world in a fresh way. We begin to feel our connection to each other and all of nature. Over time, such a dedicated life will gradually restructure even the subconscious mind so that we are no longer compelled by old beliefs and fears, and are free to approach life with a sense of deep belonging, inner contentment, and wonder. This is true independence—the birthright that we are all meant to experience.

About the Author:

Swami Ramananda is the president of the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco and a greatly respected master teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for more than 35 years. He offers practical methods for integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life. He leads beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level Yoga Teacher Training programs in San Francisco and a variety of programs in many locations in the United States, Europe, and South America. Swami Ramananda trains Yoga teachers to carry Yoga into corporate, hospital, and medical settings and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many places. He is a founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes Yoga teachers as professionals.

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A meditation teacher of mine once quoted a Burmese teacher as saying “When everything that can go is gone, what’s left is the truth.” That sentence resonated with me. I heard it maybe 20 years ago and I still reference it and repeat it a lot. And I think that’s because we know there’s already a truth in us, with us, as us—it’s probably the one thing we really do know.

This innate knowing may have gotten veiled, it may seem so removed that we have to project it outward onto a deity or a more spiritually-refined person, instead of being able to also experience this within, instead of being everyone’s own known truth, but it’s still in there. Our spiritual teachers tell us this: The kingdom of heaven is within. The Guru is inside. Be a light unto yourselves. Know your Self.

However, this is something that we forget a lot of the time. We get lost and then we have the ego to deal with as well. Decades ago, the Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Chogyam Trungpa, coined a phrase “spiritual materialism.” His book, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, shows how to work with an ego that can co-opt anything for its own use. Spiritual materialism is about acquiring something.

We probably all have had, at some point, a fantasy version about the payoff of spiritual life where we’ll become better versions of ourselves and consequently have better lives. Or, we’ll enjoy the blissful states and maybe have psychic gifts or we’ll be great teachers and have the respect of the world. Or maybe we’ll just settle down to an ever-present, undisturbed state of composure. We think about our spiritual growth in terms of personal gain. We even believe that we’ll achieve these things the way we do in the material world, that at some point our good deeds will tally up or our hard won powers of concentration will carry the day, as if we’re competing at the Olympics. That’s spiritual materialism and it’s easy to understand how we can be taken in by that approach because that’s the way the world we live in views things.

Why would we do something in the material world unless there was something in it for us? But what if the fruit of practice really is the letting go? What if chasing happiness is illusory, but letting go of unhappiness, and its causes, opens the door for something real—what if what is left is the truth and the truth sets us free?

This is what we get a glimpse of in a meditation when we’ve calmed down enough so that we don’t grasp at everything that comes into our minds. We’re there, aware of what’s coming and going in our experience, but our fascination with phenomena is no longer in the forefront. Instead there’s some calm, some peace, and a treasure right there inside of us to be carefully attended to.

I heard someone say once that they were afraid that if their mind stopped thinking, they would die of fear or of shock. That may seem like an extreme idea, but I think it’s maybe closer to how we function than we know. It’s an example of how counter-intuitive it is for us to let go of using the mind to try and create a fixed reality—a safe, static world— where we supposedly know what’s what. It’s why we hold onto our stories, our suffering, our thoughts, and associations; it’s why we cling to what keeps us in bondage, like some kind of a life raft. We think that our constructed reality is keeping us safe.

Ajahn Sucitto, a teacher in the Thai Forest tradition, says that when the constructed world falls away we won’t be left hanging in an abyss. He says that in spiritual practice, falseness doesn’t drop away unless there’s already something there to step into, which is why we cultivate virtuous qualities so that they will be there. This is the point of the path of purification which, in that particular tradition, includes cultivating the virtues of generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, lovingkindness, and equanimity.

This teaching troubled me at first. It seemed, on some level, a little fishy. We’re going to cultivate habits by replacing one habit with another? Even if it’s a healthy habit, that still didn’t sound like freedom. Ultimately, in my idealized view of enlightenment, conditioning would cease and every moment would be new.

Probably all of us who aren’t totally enlightened have our own ideas of what enlightenment might be like. But, whatever our imaginations may offer, there is a practical reason why the virtuous, wholesome qualities, aren’t just another potential trap of conditioning. And that’s because the virtues aren’t sticky. There’s not much for the ego to cling to when it comes to, say, goodness, because it’s ultimately impersonal. If we look at the qualities that are unwholesome, they are all about individuality, they have an identity, a personal self, stuck to each and every expression. We may get very confused about our individual manifestations of ill will, our desires, our dullness, anxiety, or doubt, but we aren’t going to be particularly attached to, or thrown by, our individual experiences or expressions of kindness, generosity, wisdom, or equanimity.

If we want to get to the truth, if we’re trying to touch, reach, or uncover the true Self, then it does seem that we have to go inward. Ultimately, what is any sane person going to let in? Not the unwholesome; nobody will trust that. But, we will open to what we sense as innately wholesome—to the qualities that are trustworthy.

In meditation, when I see my mind fixing on something, chasing yet another train of distracted, inessential thought, I’ll often bring myself  back by saying “Not really who I am.” I remind myself that whatever my mind wants to chase is not what I’m going for here. I’m going for the truth and that thought, that passing idea, sensation, feeling, mental state, is not really who I am. Can I let it go?

There’s a lot to let go of in spiritual practice, a lot to see through. But I’m heartened by the fact that after decades of practice I understand a sentence that used to puzzle me: “The fruit of practice is letting go.” Our practices are like seeds that take root, they grow, they have blossoms, and then, finally they give fruit. The fruit of practice is the truth and it is what’s left when everything that can go is gone.

About the Author:

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A common scenario I see is people who started a meditation practice, found it beneficial, and then for whatever reason they stop. When they try to return to a daily practice, they hit resistance. They ask: I know I feel great when I meditate, but why can’t I get myself to do it? When we commit to a meditation practice, old layers of self shed, and we become something new. We enter an unknown world which causes us shift and change in sometimes unexpected and surprising ways.

There’s a part of us, sometimes called the critter brain, which craves continuity. This part of the ego will keep us stuck in painful patterns because they are familiar. To the critter brain, all that matters is survival. When faced with anything new and unknown, it will always choose the perceived safety of our current state of being. Even if we are completely miserable, the ego will throw up roadblocks to stop us from exploring the unknown.

We could try to use our will power to force ourselves to sit, but sooner or later, this method ends in failure. In order to truly overcome resistance, we need to accommodate our ego’s need for security. Initially this is about addressing the critter brain’s concerns. Eventually, we discover the Presence that is always here, beyond the turbulent waves of our mind and the world. In order to develop that awareness, we first must move past the struggle. We can make this process easier and commit to meditation by asking ourselves some questions:

Is your meditation area and seat comfortable?

If your meditation seat is not comfortable, and especially if you experience increased pain when you sit, your brain will protect the body and distract you from sitting. In a similar way, if your meditation looks more like a storage area than a sacred space, your ego will want to organize. It will look for ways to tame all the items surrounding you. If you don’t have a place to put these things and you’re not ready to let them go, the ego will react. Every time you think about sitting, there will be a low level of anxiety, so naturally it will find other things that it can control for you to focus on instead.

Start by claiming a dedicated meditation area

This might be a corner in a room. Clean it thoroughly and use this space for only meditation. Place a few objects that remind you of your divine nature in the room. Next select a comfortable seat.Some people like sitting on a cushion, while others need more elevation with a chair or folded futon. Experiment with different options, sitting up with your back as straight as possible, until you find the support your body needs. You should be able to sit in a relaxed alert position, without your feet or legs falling asleep.

Is life too busy to fit in time for meditation?

It can be challenging to add a new habit to your life. A good strategy to build a daily practice is by connecting meditation to something you already do every day. Think about your routines and add 5 to 15 minutes of meditation to one of them, like sitting before you brush your teeth or after you get out of the shower. By adding meditation to an already established routine, it will feel like a natural extension instead of something forced.

When you sit, are uncomfortable feelings or thoughts arising?

As we sit on the meditation cushion, we recognize thoughts are passing phenomena. We ignore them and return to our focal point. But if a repressed thought pattern or emotion surfaces, our psyche will try to protect us by stopping us from engaging in the activity that triggers it, in this case meditation. If this happens, carve out some time to contemplate and process what you are experiencing. This might look like sitting with a cup of tea and exploring those thoughts and feelings as you gaze out the window. Others find it helpful to write about them in a private journal. As you contemplate, you are not trying to figure anything out; rather you are looking at what is happening within your mind. By taking the time to see the pattern clearly, a natural release will occur. Your ego will feel safe, and you’ll be able to continue sitting in meditation each day.

About the Author:

Turiya Jenna Sundell is an applied mindfulness and meditation teacher at www.DharmaCenter.com. She guides students as they deepen their journey of awakening and also writes a weekly blog. (This article reprinted from LA Yoga magazine.)

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