Meditation is very instinctual and natural.

The goal is not to force your mind into something artificial.

It is rather to connect with a natural way of being and expressing this one step further.

If you want to find a greater sense of peace and inner stillness, start with a simple breathing technique.

Follow your natural breathing cycle and observe the air flowing in and out of your body.

Relax.

No tension.

Natural and easy.

It is a pleasurable practice.

You have two ways of approaching such practices:

· The first one is to explore all this by yourself.

· The second one is to consciously connect with a source of inspiration, teacher, master, teaching, tradition, etc.

There are dozens of systems of meditation.

Usually meditation is a set of practices within a much vaster mind set, spirit or energy reality.

Again, you can explore all that as "autodidact" and recreate your own spiritual system or you can simply connect with an existing stream and learn from it.

The second option offers you of course more support and guidance.

If you prefer the first option and go "solo", you will certainly get results and in a way reinvent these techniques in your own unique way.

The long term goal is to expand your awareness and connect with deeper layers of your being and your consciousness.

Once you master this breathing technique, you can ad focus on one of the chakras. Usually the third eye (centre of your forehead) or the heart chakra (middle of the chest) are the easiest and most powerful gateways.

Simply focus on one of these spots.

Once you master the breathing technique and one pointedness on one of your chakras, you can ad a mantra (sacred formula).

The simplest mantra is "Om".

You simply sound it in your third eye or heart.

The "Om" sound expresses the unity of all things.

When you sound this word internally, you invoke your unity with the cosmos.

It is like focusing on your universal identity and inviting this reality in your being.

When you start, the best is to have short meditations (5 minutes).

Don't focus on the discipline aspect of it, rather the flow and pleasure you get from it.

Concentrate for a few minutes and then, let go.

You will notice that if you practice this regularly (once or twice a day over a period of a month), you will connect with a profound sense of peace and harmony.

You will naturally energize your mind and bring clarity to your thoughts and emotions.

Don't try to convince or influence anyone else in these early stages.

Focus on developing the practice for yourself until your master it.

The desire to mediate is like a gentle stream of energy.

It guides you and inspires you in a very subtle way.

If you rationalize too much or engage in philosophical debates about it (especially in these early stages) you might miss the point and loose your focus.

Stay centered on the practice itself. This is the best way to get results and to instruct your mind.

What to expect?

Most of the times, it's nothing spectacular.

You simply notice a slight change in the "color" of your emotions and clarity in your mind.

You feel brighter inside and slightly happier.

These are the "visible" effects of your meditation.

However, deep inside, a more profound transformation is taking place, always.

Even if you are unaware of it, as soon as you start meditating, your mind vibration shifts.

Transformation starts taking place instantly.

What is this transformation?

It is the alignment of your being with a much vaster reality.

You can call it universal consciousness.

It is like synchronizing your life with the vaster stream of manifestation.

This is why it feels like a new connection.

You break through layers of isolation and simply discover a new absolute sense of unity.

It changes your life forever!

Labels: articles, meditation, questions, techniques

What happens in your mind is a reflection of what happens in your life.

If your life is very active, stressful and hectic, naturally this reflects in your mind and creates a flow of ongoing thoughts.

Thoughts are okay, but when they come in the form of endless worries, doubts and fears, you want of course to learn to still the mind and bring some peace in the inner levels.

There are two conflicting directions here:

· The outer reality forces you to be active.

It stimulates you to respond to stress and actually feed it even more by setting up goals, targets and competing in the business world for instance.

These external pressures are very real. For instance, you are trained to compete from a very young age.

That's okay!

It is one of the key driving forces in society and pushes you to perform better in life.

So basically, these external pressures are positive forces because they stimulate you to look deeper in yourself and develop better skills.

This can happen in your professional field, in your love life, or any other aspect of your existence.

So, this is clear: your life is usually very active.

· The second direction is about wanting to find peace.

This is not a “worldly” target.

It has to do with your spiritual development.

When you focus on meditating, you set up yourself on a path of inner discovery and self realization. Sometimes, these goals enter in conflict with external or worldly priorities.

Now, your mind is like a screen: the thoughts and emotions which are projected on it are simply a reflection of what goes on in your life.

If you want to quiet these thoughts (these reflections), you want to quiet their source: your life!

Thoughts and emotions are waves on the surface of your mind. They are a simple reflection.

Trying to mask them is like trying to mask the reflection of a mountain on the water.

The best way to quiet your thoughts is to quiet your life and all its activity.

You want to tackle the source, not the reflection.

Meditation gives you clarity on what is truly happening in your life.

If your mind is very active, this means that many aspects of your existence require your attention.

Thoughts and emotions are like elemental forms which reflect this outer activity in your life.

So, what to do?

Suppose that you want to meditate and your mind is very active. You simply can't concentrate.

What can you do about it?

Can you still bring peace in your mind while there is all this activity going on with your physical existence?

In most cases, if you want to succeed with mediation, you need to combine external action with spiritual practice.

Focusing on your inner reality only is not enough.

When your mind is very active, it means that your life is calling for attention.

What kind of attention? Harmonization.

If you face this challenge, it is better to shorten your meditations and find out exactly what you thoughts are telling you.

Where are these thoughts coming from?

What are they saying?

When you listen, you give attention and this naturally quiets the mind.

If the story these thoughts are telling you are none of your concern, then you have to teach your mind something new.

Suppose for instance that you worry a lot about something which is out of your hands.

These thoughts are an invasion of your inner space.

To get rid of unwanted thoughts, you need extra power.

You realize that being able to quiet unwanted thoughts has to do with mind mastery.

The long term goal is to get to work in total partnership with your mind. Your mind is your greatest ally. It is your tool. And you are its master

When you meditate, you use your taming power.

If your mind stays too active, it is either that your taming force is not strong enough or that your technique or approach is not adapted.

Of course there is a third possibility that we discussed in the beginning of this chapter which says that an aspect of your life truly needs attention.

Thoughts and emotions are simply the way your spirit tells you to attend to an aspect of your life.

It tells you that something is being created and that your attention or energy is needed.

The best strategy to deal with this spiritual challenge is not to ignore the thoughts and emotions which come to your mind; it is to listen to them and identify where they come from.

Simply trying to suppress them without listening usually creates an inner conflict which is the situation in which many seekers get trapped.

If this is the situation you are in, you usually try to force yourself into a rigid discipline and don't seem to progress.

If this is your case, try listening instead. You'll be amazed of what happens when you do.

This would definitely be the first step.

More on this topic in other advices

Enjoy!

Labels: articles, challenges, meditation, questions, techniques

The goal of meditation is to synchronize our mind with a vaster source of intelligence. A meditation can be tuned towards peace. It can be tuned towards silence. It can as well be tuned towards rajasic activity (excited mind state).

Different activities? Yes, because there are various types of energy sources. Meditation is a telepathic connection.

Meditation means focusing internally to create this synchronicity, so that a consciousness "bridge" can be created between our mind and a larger field of consciousness.

What is that larger field? There are various fields of consciousness which can play the role of "source". Here is an example: If a spiritual tradition has been using a specific mantra (sound formula) for many centuries, this vibration is embedded in the collective human consciousness. Focusing on that mantra will create a telepathic link with that source and open a field of consciousness to the meditator. This specific field of consciousness is being maintained in the physical level by all the people practicing this very specific mantra.

A mantra is not the only way to connect. Take a Zen tradition for instance. The repetition of movements in the tea ceremony will create an alignment with that specific tradition. In that case, it is not a mantra which is being used, it is a series of gestures as well as "mind focus" which are being applied.

Most human activities have a similar type of goal: invoking beauty and refinement when playing music for instance. Beauty and refinement are projected as an emotional perception in our mind. The music reflects inside ourselves in waves of subtle feelings. A "trained" ear will have the ability to create a vaster diversity of impressions with a classical melody.

This reverberation of the sound in our mind can be seen as a meditation process as well. In a way, the larger definition of meditation encompasses any manifestation of life force in our being. In that case, we can use the terms of "increased awareness" rather than concentration. For many the sound itself is a meditation trigger which brings our mind to a state of trance, inner peace or profound harmony.

So what is the difference between a meditative activity and let's say, a worldly activity? In essence, there is no difference. All activities are a manifestation of life force, always. This life force can be called our spirit. Anything is meditation when looked at with this understanding in mind.

Some activities though might have a greater "physical" or "practical" focus and it is not always easy to realize the element of magic in a practical action. Magic is always there though! The "miracle" of life is always present, in every one of our movements.

We can say that as we live, we bring our spirit into manifestation. Life is always magical!

The realms of the invisible are vast. We are far from having discovered their true extension at this stage. We know there are some "intelligent entities" like for instance the "collective unconscious" defined by psychoanalysts. Where is that field of consciousness located? How does it function? How does it evolve? All these questions have never been clearly answered from a modern perspective. Still this concept was already discovered many years ago.

If reason is not guiding us here, intuition is. Intuition is a magical tool, which gives us glimpses of imperceptible knowledge. Waking up in the middle of the night with a sudden "funny" idea is certainly not an input from our reasoning mind. The birth process of that idea gives us precisely a clue of what happens when meditating.

Meditation is a way of tuning our mind. The reality or consciousness we are tuning into is simply a vaster field, a vaster reality than our own. What is this vaster field of consciousness? Is it human? superhuman? personified? Is it a simple static invisible network or energies? Is it existing only on this planet? only in human beings? Can animals connect with it? Many questions can be asked.

I might have vague feelings, impressions about these questions. I feel though that these answers are only my own beliefs, related with my own experiences. I feel it is up to anyone to find their own answers by experience. I don't think that right now we can describe all that with one single truth. I believe no rational words can at this stage describe or explain the vastness of what we are touching here.

Any belief or knowledge of the invisible is at this stage based on experience. This experience is different for everyone. I believe that it is better to leave all the doors open rather than trying to rationalize our understanding of who we are deep inside.

I don't think that what we call "Truth" can be put in simple words. Words are the way our mental abilities interpret reality. Beyond words, we simply find something vaster which we could call "the vision of Reality". Beyond the filter of human perception is something even vaster which can't be limited to any human definition.

This is the context in which we use words. It is good to remember that words possess only a limited power when describing reality. We talk about words but in fact it is the same for any form of human perception. The human mind is a filter which usually only perceives glimpses or parts of reality at a time.

The way to grow in that is by experimenting, trying, exploring. Infinite sources of knowledge, wisdom and introspective approaches are already available in many traditions around the world. These traditions offer valuable glimpses of knowledge as well as techniques and approaches. Analyzing with the "head" is usually not enough. Reason and fact analysis are by far not the best tools in this exploration. Our intuitive senses are much more powerful here. They can be greatly refined by practice, expanded awareness, inner gaze, etc.

Labels: articles, meditation, questions, techniques

The concentration process of meditation builds up energy.

Concentrating on the third eye for instance creates a link with an invisible network of energies which by mimetic behavior create a flow of energy between the spirit and the mind.

Meditation can as well be seen as a form of training. A training for the mind in which the life force is being strengthened.

Where does that energy input come from?

Here are a few concepts:

Energy comes from Shamballa or another invisible vast energy body.

Energy is being taken from other parts of the peronal mind and brought to the area of concentration.

Energy is being generated by an inner dynamic process. The body, mind and spirit becomes a dynamo.

Energy is being generated by connecting with an invisible network of energies.

Let's take the example of body training. When we use a muscle, there is a natural concentration of life force being brought to that muscle. If the exercise is repeated, the muscle will grow, expand, be cleared, etc.

Meditation is a concentration of energy being given to the etheric body. This is where the key is.

If it was just a thought, it would be kept within the mind circulation and stay a mental or emotional process.

But meditation is something more than that. This concentration of energy brings life in an area of the person where life is not usually coming.

The usual daily circulation of mental processes simply creates a frame in the mental and emotional body which does not naturally bring fresh energy to the chakras.

Why do we focus on the etheric body? Because this is a space or a part of our being which incredibly expands as we rise to new spiritual dimensions.

The etheric body is usually poorly energized in a human being.

When meditation occurs (specially in the form of concentration...), a certain area of the etheric body will be energized. If the focus is on the third eye for instance, energy will be concentrated in that area.

The whole point is to train the abilities of that specific chakra.

So, what is a chakra?

Chakras are etheric organs. They are our sensatory organs on the etheric level. They are as well connected with both our physical body and our mind body.

Most of what impacts on the chakras will create and emotional or mental reaction. Even though the chakra itself is an etheric organ, most of what happens in a chakra reflects on emotions and thoughts.

The situation is the same as with physical senses. A beautiful smell creates joy, pleasure. These are emotions. The vision of an architecture will generate series of thoughts, ideas about the way space is used, the material's qualities, or the esthetic balance.



Why isn't all that common knowledge?

The etheric body is simply not the main focus of human evolution right now. It could be in the future though. Take for instance the awakening of medical science and anatomy. Knowledge of anatomy became common only recently (a few hundred years ago!!). Before that, all our organs were functioning. We simply did not know much about them. The awakening of a new stream of curiosity, linked with technological advances allowed this incredible breakthrough.

At this stage, many people already heard terms like "aura" or "etheric substance", but somehow, the tools to systematically explore what is behind these terms are not yet fully available. In that field, what is known is based on beliefs or inner experience rather than scientific proof.

When focusing on our etheric reality, we actually focus on the next step of human evolution. It does not mean that the rest of our physical reality disappears, it means that we learn to be active in both realities at the same time.

Take a child for instance. The first thoughts in his mind can feel like an incredible opening. As children, we learn to structure our thinking abilities. We learn logical patterns. We develop our emotional potentials. The awakening of our etheric potential could follow a similar path of evolution.

It's only when we secure our activity on the physical level that we are ready to evolve into this new etheric dimension. We are talking here about the human race, not individuals.

An individual can focus its development on spiritual awareness, expansion of consciousness. We can do that before "completing" our full mental or emotional potential.

As a human race, things are different. The physical base of society needs to be fully secured before doors start opening more widely on the etheric level.

The physical based activity of human life can be seen as a training ground. During that time, ways to function together, respect each other space, develop healthy boundaries and respect of all human life form are being developed in human consciousness. The collective consciousness is being built in a way which allows humankind to flourish healthily and in accordance with evolution lines.

With the opening of the etheric awareness comes greater responsibility. Imagine again a baby crawling on the carpet. In the moment they learn how to stand up, a new set of boundaries have to be set up so that the "Chinese vase" on the shelf does not become a thousand pieces "Chinese puzzle".

This education process is what humankind is going through. We are learning by experience about the good or bad consequences of our behaviors. We perfect ourselves, step by step, aiming for some form of stability and harmony.

The vision of what is beyond these physical limits can be quite challenging. If we were confronted all at once with the reality of what is behind the scene, it could simply be too much. So, we get a few glimpses at a time. The window of our consciousness periodically perceives some greater vision.

New mental models are being built which express the perception of this inner reality.

Meditation is this narrow window into these inner worlds. It allows us to integrate the vision of what we can be. At this stage, we can see meditation as a training tool, as a strengthening of our inner potentials.

Labels: articles, meditation, questions, techniques

Imagine that you want to energize your body:

You can go to the gym one day, to the swimming pool the following day and do some light jogging the third day.

Every sport will energize your body.

The same goes for meditation.

You are free!

What matters is that you feel excited by what you do.

Excitement is what motivates you.

If you repeat a practice in a systematic way without truly feeling thrilled, you might miss the point altogether.

The goal is to gain total freedom.

If you walk a path one day, it does not mean that you need to walk the same path for the next twenty years of your life.

Your mind is naturally calling for change and diversity.
It can be more exciting to immerse yourself in different streams rather than sticking to a single one.

Your instinct is your guiding force.

If you don’t know what you want or what to do, simply go with the flow of what feels the most natural.

If I was giving you some new techniques, I would usually tell you to try this technique for a week and then shift to the next one.

If you feel like you are “digging” deeper every day into a practice and truly feel thrilled by mastering a technique, you can of course stick with one practice for as long as you want.

It is essential that your mind stays awake and alert.

Free yourself from anything which limits you in any way.

The goal is not the discipline itself.

The goal is usually an increase in life force and energy, expansion of awareness, self realization and much more.

You can see that some of these experiences can sometimes be achieved instantly with any technique without any form of discipline or perseverance.

If you focus on the discipline aspect of what you do, you will usually miss the point and rigidify your mind.

At the same time, technique can be important and you develop it by training a given skill.

Here is another example:

Imagine cooking the same meal over and over again.

Your taste will get bored, right?

Why limit your experience when you can actually diversify your approach and touch on many different streams.

When you have to make a choice, trust your instinct and go for what you want.

Don’t let anyone limit you within a rigid mind set.

Free yourself from any form of alienation.

If you still can’t decide between shifting techniques or not, ask yourself these simple questions:

· Is my choice going to isolate me or free me?

· Does this create an expansion or a limitation of my consciousness?

· Will I feel energized or drained?

· What is the option I feel the most excited about?

Your mind can get bored.

Emotional satisfaction is a big part of any spiritual step.

There is no need to limit your senses or the satisfaction you get from practicing anything spiritual.

Today’s society is already packed with limiting mind sets.

No need to ad to the burden.

Go with the flow and choose for what gives you the highest level of satisfaction, pleasure, energy and excitement.

If any technique or choice limits the flow of life force in your being, than shift directions and always connect with what energizes you and frees you.

It is the best way to keep you spiritual evolution, awake, alive and exciting.

Labels: articles, challenges, choices, meditation, techniques, yoga

The best is to start with small steps.

Rather than aiming for one hour yoga a day, start with just one minute inner gaze, that's all.

You wake up in the morning and as you lay down still, practice your favorite meditation technique (for instance, breathing or using a simple mantra).

Practice this technique for one week.

Don't aim for more.

Be happy with this one minute a day.

When you start meditating or practicing yoga, your mind set is reoriented or repolarized.

As soon as you focus on it, transformation starts taking place.

Your take a mental decision to focus on a one hour technique but if you feel resistance to do it, it is the sign that it's already far too much.

Take a small step you can afford without major effort.

Keep it simple, light and fun.

You might get the impression that one minute a day is not enough but that's not true.

Your practice is like a stream of water.

A one minute a day can be all you need to get you started.

Imagine that you water a tree in your garden. No matter how much water you give it, it won't grow faster than a certain pace.

Same goes for a yoga or meditation practice.

In the original stages, you are breaking the “shell” and even a very small stimulation like a one minute practice will have the desired effect.

The goal is not the practice in itself.

The goal is to allow your mind and body to naturally shift form one state to another.

When you practice yoga or meditation, you are stimulating a new flow of life force in your being and activating change.

Change requires energy.

It happens even with a one minute practice.

Every time you focus on a technique, you are invoking energy and this energy needs to be digested and integrated in your system.

Take a tiny step (one minute focus) and once you feel comfortable with that step (within a week or two), slightly increase your practice.

You can do this by:

• Having another minute of focus during the day.
• Adding another technique just after the one you practiced.
• Slightly stretching your technique from one minute to two.

Focus on the natural flow of your practice rather than the discipline aspect.

What matters is not the amount of time you spend on it, it is the fact that you go with the flow and listen to your body and full being.

The long term goal is to find a pace you can maintain on the long term without major effort.

If you practices are fed mainly by will power, you’ll only be able to sustain them for a few moths before running out of motivation.

On the other hand if you connect with a very natural flow and approach which does not require a major will power input on your side, you’ll simply go with the flow and easily reach your target.

Take a very small step and you will find it quite natural to simply go with the flow.

Trust your instinct rather than a "mental model" of what you think you should achieve.

Too high expectations or ambitions can make you very unhappy and frustrated.

On the other hand, going with the flow and integrating naturally techniques and empowering habits within your daily routine will take you exactly where you want to be: greater happiness, vitality, inner brightness and clarity.

Good luck and enjoy!

Labels: articles, challenges, meditation, motivation, yoga

If you fall asleep, it is usually the sign that you body needs sleep.

You actually need a nap.

So, feel free to give it to yourself.

It can as well be the sign that the way you approach your practice is not dynamic or exciting enough.

Meditation is not a lethargic activity where you enter into some form of passive apathy state.

If this tends to happen, shift your practices to short dynamic sessions.

Focus on 5 minute practices rather than hour long meditations.

Energize your body with some dynamic breathing techniques or dynamic moves before you meditate.

You can as well practice outdoor which is very uplifting.

If you are indoor, make sure the room is not overheated.

Open the windows and get some fresh air.

The simplest thing to do though is to get more sleep.

If you are hungry, listen to your body and give it some food.

If you are sleepy, take a moment to relax and let go.

Trying to suppress or fight with these basic needs can give you a short term "victory" (with use of will power) but on the long term, listening to your body and natural needs works better.

No need to suppress, no need to block or lock yourself in some form of rigid discipline.

Follow the natural currents and rhythms of your nature.

It works better.

You can work hand in hand with your instinctual nature and body needs rather than against them.

The moment you do, you will discover a new sense of easiness in your practices and approaches.

Labels: articles, challenges, falling asleep, meditation, techniques

If negative thoughts and frustration happen when you try to meditate, it's usually the sign that you are touching on some inner resistance.

It is natural to face this type of "limits".

The energy you invite when meditating is transformative.

This means that it changes mind sets and patterns in you.

When this happens, there is a conflict between two streams of energy.

The first one is the energy you invoke trying to break through and free you.

The second one is the existing one. It represents the patterns which are already established in you.

If you jump in cold water, it gives a shock to your system, right?

This shock is the result of a "clash" between two temperatures: your body temperature and the water temperature.

Same happens with a meditation technique.

The moment you invoke a fresh energy, it finds its way into your mind until it meets a resistance zone.

These resistances are simply your existing mind patterns.

Some of these mind patterns are old and no longer needed.

For instance if you have an old negative memory about a past event, it is a mind set which is no longer needed.

Now, part of you naturally holds to it.

It is not a conscious decision: memories are naturally sustained in your mind by what you can call preserving forces.

When a fresh energy comes in and naturally targets this old pattern (it happens naturally, organically. It is not a conscious decision on your side), a natural clash of energy happens.

It is a clash between an old mind set and a new source of energy.

Imagine: it is like lava under a volcano trying to break through.

This lava faces rock resistance and opens new channels of energy within the volcano.

The conflict between the lava and the existing rock formation is exactly what you experience on a mind level.

When this happens, you don't have to repress your anger or frustration.

Stand up and do some martial art techniques like punches or kicks with "Kiais!".

You have an excess of fire and you can use this fire to help the new energy break through.

You can for instance do some light jogging, go in nature and get rid of the excess of energy.

You can as well use it to do some power training or even join a kick boxing class.

What matters is that this anger or frustration is actually a good sign.

It is the result of a fresh energy breaking free in your system.

Your emotional reaction is the expression of fresh energies breaking through.

In the same type of situation, some people will actually feel laughter coming in rather than anger.

You can give it a try: next time you feel angry or frustrated, try transmuting this emotion into laughter.

The effect is the same: breakthrough of energy.

If you don't resist this emotion, you will notice that it naturally finds its way out.

If this happens again to the point where you are truly boiling internally, shift activity, stand up and practice some of theses martial art techniques.

Use this excess of energy to break open new doors in your system.

Labels: articles, challenges, meditation, techniques

Let’s take the example of yoga.

Yoga is still in the process of finding its roots in the west.

If you look at Judo, this martial art has been popular in the west for much longer.

Maybe 50 years ago, when you would practice Judo, you would tend to marginalize yourself.

Nowadays, practicing judo or any martial art has become main stream.

It still did not reach the popularity of "western" sports like basketball or football, but there are millions of martial arts adepts around the world and many of these martial arts did receive the "Olympic games seal".

Yoga goes through the same growth process.

20 years ago, there might have been 1 out of a 1000 persons who had tried yoga in the west. 20 years later, it might be 1 out of 10 or 20.

In a way, yoga is not yet 100% main stream.

It is however getting there and becoming more and more "trendy".

If you want to feel totally connected with your environment, you need to link with main stream cultural trends.

For instance, if you are a teenager, this means connecting with the R & B or Hip Hop culture.

Check out what is truly attracting crowds in your city or country.

Now, if you like yoga and want to feel connected at the same time, you can link with a larger community.

There are dozens of online forums on this topic.

You can participate to events, workshops, trainings.

You can link with like minded people more actively.

There are always places where you can connect.

You simply need to give it more focus.

The next step is to break through spiritually and connect with deeper spiritual realizations.

When you practice yoga, the goal is to break through layers of awareness and connect with a totally unified source of energy in yourself.

You can feel isolated as long as you did not yet fully break through.

If you were in The Himalayas by yourself, in the mountains for a few months, you would step by step realize that there is no such thing as isolation.

You can create this sense of inner unity where you are right now.

You are connected all the time, even when you can't perceive it.

The long term goal of yoga is to recreate this sense of unity with all life on this planet.

The moment you feel this, all sense of isolation drops and you do feel connected.

If you want to develop this sense of total inner unification with all life, you need to trust your instinct and connect with a source of inspiration and get some techniques.

With some focus and awareness, you eventually get there.

Labels: articles, challenges, meditation, yoga

This question is really crucial as it unveils underlying dynamics behind any form of spiritual practice.

The world of money and business is aimed at gaining more material satisfaction and power.

When you work, you use your conquering power to grow materially and gain more wealth.

The primary goal for working is to make money.

If you take this motivation away in the world, who would still work long hours in businesses and organization?

You would shift your activity to a more creative field if you can or simply relax in what you do and still do it. That's possible.

When you practice yoga, your targets are totally different.

Sure you can focus on the long term vision of having your own yoga studio but the primary goal of yoga and any form of spiritual discipline is not material wealth; it is self realization, inner growth, health, vitality, awareness, love, joy, spiritual power, etc.

These are your targets.

The moment you focus on yoga, you naturally transfer part of your energy and ambition to non material goals. This is why your level of material ambition can drop.

Another element has to do with the fact that yoga is a "soft" approach.

The primary goal is to develop a higher sense of clarity and inner harmony.

This goal is synonymous with spiritual development.

This was and still is the original purpose of yoga.

With this "soft" connotation behind yoga, you tend as well to drop your level of conquering power and ambition.

This is why the "power yoga" stream was born.

It is aimed at "compensating" this softness and give yoga a new "power" connotation.

This connotation seems to fit better with the needs of modern life, driven by ambition, business or career goals.

When you start practicing yoga, you literally tend to shift your life's main targets and focus to developing inner values and skills rather than material wealth.

Now, this is the traditional story behind yoga.

The way you can practice it in the west and in modern times is by unifying all streams.

You can have it all, simply in a different balance.

Every aspect of your being needs to be fed and if you notice a gap somewhere (for instance an ambition gap) and you have the need to fill that gap, then give extra attention to your career or more material goals.

All aspects of your life can be nurtured.

If you feel a gap somewhere, simply focus on actions and activities which do give you what is missing.

Labels: articles, challenges, meditation, yoga

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More on sanskrit and mantras

Sanskrit - Home

Sanskrit language

Sanskrit calligraphy

Devanagiri (Sanskrit alphabet)

Calligraphies and translations

Is Sanskrit a better language than English for spiritual development? - ARTICLE

How mantras work - Video - 9 min

How to use Sanskrit in your daily life - Video - 8 min

Mantric Power - Energy highways - MP3 - 18 min

Labels: mantras, meditation, spiritual development, spiritual power

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Labels: mantras, meditation, mind, spiritual development, spiritual power

Forget about discipline and manuals.

Take what is right there in front of you and enjoy these simple 5 min meditation kicks! -

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To your Yoga!

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Labels: kriya, meditation, pranayama, techniques, yoga

Yes! You can still meditate!

Here are some ideas:

Use short meditations (a few minutes) in which you learn to concentrate even within this noisy environment.

This is a powerful mind training method with which you will progress very fast!

Focus on an active inner meditation technique.

You can as well train in dynamic meditation techniques where you stand up and practice active breathing, movements, stretches, martial art or hatha yoga oriented techniques.

Not all meditation needs to lead to inner peace.

Sometimes, you better head for greater power and ability to focus in any situation.

Before falling asleep in the evening, practice more peace oriented meditations when there is silence in the house.

Use the same peace techniques when you are awake at night or early morning before getting up.
You can practice these ones still while laying down.

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To your spiritual power!

vitalcoach

Labels: articles, meditation, techniques