Words From The Master: 24 Feb 2008

Towards Meditative Living

(continuation from earlier post)

In this book you will find a collection of both types of meditation techniques:

Sit-down techniques, which you practise for a fixed period of time, a fixed number of times a day.

Anytime-anywhere techniques, which you can practise just like that – anytime, anywhere! When you are driving to work, ironing your clothes, even walking from your bedroom to the kitchen – you can practise these techniques.

If you like, you can choose a couple of sit-down techniques and one anytime-anywhere technique for every ten days. Don’t try out too many techniques simultaneously; you won’t be doing justice to any of them. Anytime-anywhere techniques are the first step towards turning all of life into meditation.


A word of caution

When you first start practising meditation, you will find a lot of unusual changes in your body and mental state. Be prepared for the unexpected. Remember, meditation is a cleansing process. You are throwing out the suppressions and blockages of a lifetime, you are flooding your body with energy that it isn’t used to. You will be jumping around, whirling, screaming, doing things which you haven’t done in a long long time! Your system needs time to cope.

Initially, you may experience a lot of heat in the body, headaches, a tingling feeling in your fingers and toes. All this is just caused by the sudden onrush on energy. Some of you may also suffer from pain, sleeplessness, even depression. These things are temporary. Continue with the meditation and they will disappear.

If you are suffering from a serious medical condition, or if a technique is persistently giving you trouble, consult your doctor or drop the technique.

But don’t let all these anxieties stop you from trying out any technique!

Simply go ahead and immerse yourself in meditation.

You will see that your life is transformed before your eyes.

(to be continued.)
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This excerpt has been taken from the book: "Meditation is for You" -- an introduction to the science and art of meditation