Advanced Yoga Practices Plus Main Lessons - Expanded and Interactive
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Lesson
18 - Finding the Time for Meditation
(Audio)
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Addition 18.1 - Meditating Right
Before Bed Time
(Audio)
Addition 18.2 -
Making Meditation a Habit Like Brushing Teeth
(Audio)
Addition 18.3 - Symptoms of Meditating Right after a Big Meal
and Right before Sleep
(Audio)
Nov 28, 2003
Q: Meditation is very relaxing and I want to keep it
up, but doing it twice a day will be hard for me. I travel a lot and have a wife
and kids who I love to spend time with when I'm home. Time for meditation is
short. What is your advice?
A: We who have families, responsibilities, busy lives,
have an advantage when it comes to utilizing meditation, assuming we are able to
make the time to do it. This is because the evolution of enlightenment depends
on regular interaction between consciousness and worldly living. How can the
true nature of the world be known if we are not in it, stabilizing the blissful
silence we experience in meditation in our daily activities?
The trick is to make the time to do our two meditations each day so the benefits
will be there. This "making the time" is a test of our desire, our devotion to
the possibilities in us. It is a test that we all face every day - to do the
things we want to do that require some discipline. Honestly, it is not a matter
of how much time we have or do not have. It is a matter of deciding what is
important to us, and doing what is necessary.
No one can tell you what is most important to you. Only you can know. It is
entirely in your hands, always your choice. But you have an inner voice, you
know. Something inside calls you to experience more, always to more. The seed
wants to grow into a strong tree with beautiful, fragrant flowers blooming out
all over. It must. We are all called by that evolutionary current inside us.
Whatever else may be going on in our lives, the current will be there. It is not
just for us, it is for everyone, and we do everyone a great service by deciding
to cultivate it, first by favoring the rise of the desire, and then with
practices that naturally bring out the peace and bliss residing within us.
Given that a choice is made to pursue meditation, it boils down to practical
considerations. How to make the time? It is pretty mundane really. How do we
find time to brush our teeth, bathe, eat right, wash the dishes, pay the bills
and take out the trash? These are things we do because we know they must be
done. We do them because we know that if we do not, life becomes a mess, a
shambles, and we feel rotten. We could get along without doing any of these
things for a while, but eventually it would catch up with us. People who have
been regularly practicing meditation for some time develop a similar attitude
about it. They know it has to be taken care of, or the desired result will not
be there, and life will not be all it can be. They come to the same conclusion
about meditation that they have about brushing teeth, bathing and taking out the
trash. So they just make meditation a habit.
What about circumstances arising that make doing normal meditation seem
impossible? You are on an airplane at 5:00 PM with an hour to go to get home.
It's a no-brainer. Meditate on the plane. What about the noise, the banking of
the plane, the turbulence? None of it matters. In meditation, you treat it all
the same as other diversions from the mantra. Easily come back to the mantra
when you realize you are off into thoughts, noise, movements of the body or
surroundings, or whatever. It is not difficult to meditate in planes, trains,
automobiles (not while driving!), waiting rooms, just about anywhere you are not
required to be interacting with others for a while. Of course, at home in your
regular meditation spot is best. But when in a pinch at the appointed time, if
there is the opportunity, take it.
If it is impossible to meditate at the regular time, consider doing it at
another time during the day, earlier or later. Don't make a habit of meditating
right before bed though. It is better than not meditating at all, but it is much
better to go into activity after meditation. The purification process and
integration of consciousness in the nervous system is best accomplished during
activity rather than in sleep. In fact, meditating right before bed might keep
you awake for a while. Try it sometime and see what happens.
Suppose you get home from work and find that you have to go out to dinner with
friends in half an hour. This is meditation time, and normally you would leave
more time before having to go out. But this time it didn't work out. What do you
do? Sit and meditate for five minutes, ten minutes, or fifteen minutes -
whatever you can swing.
Take the time you have to meditate and use it as best
you can, allowing time to rest adequately after meditation and still make your
date. There are a hundred ways to squeeze in a meditation, if you really want
to. Don't make squeezing it in a daily habit though. If you plan ahead you will
be on the mark with your practice most of the time. When something goes haywire,
you can still take a few dives into your pure bliss consciousness. It aids in
the continued cultivation of your meditation habit, and gives you an infusion of
peace and bliss. Every little bit of meditation is a big step forward.
Your success will be in the wanting, and in doing the best you can to act on
that every day. If you do, it will certainly enhance your full and active life.
It is one of the best things you can do for your family. In the long run it will
work an invisible magic in all of their lives, and the outer results will be
very evident.
The guru is in you.
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Note: For detailed instructions on deep meditation, see the
Deep Meditation Online Book.
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