Meditation

Meditation

Some articles on meditation I have written:

• Introduction to Meditation
• Basic Steps for Learning Meditation
• How to Control your Thoughts
• Seven Steps to Inner Peace
• Things I Have Learnt From meditation

In the Oxford Sri Chinmoy Centre we offer a free meditation course about three times a year. It was a little nerve racking at first but now I enjoy the experience. I often have good meditation whilst meditating with a large group. Also when I'm giving the class it encourages me to concentrate even more than when I'm on my own. I also enjoy meeting and sharing experiences with new seekers who are interested in meditation .

I am a teacher by trade (I teach Economics - very different to teaching meditation!) however when giving meditation classes I don't like to talk too much. I think people get the real benefit from the classes when they are able to practice meditation for themselves. Also I soon run out of things to say, partly because meditation is not something that requires complex understanding, in essence it is quite a simple exercise.

To learn how to meditate there are various things that are important.

I try to follow these myself (with varying degrees of success)

1. Quieten The Mind

The goal of meditation is to go beyond the mind. Meditation cannot be done by thinking. On our path we meditate by concentrating on the spiritual heart.

2. Concentration

In whatever we do,we will be more succesful if we can concentrate fully on the task in hand. This means being single pointed. When we meditate we need to switch off from everything else and put all our attention onto the meditation.

3. Place to Meditate

Find a quiet place and quiet time. I have a small corner of my room specially set aside for meditation. You can set up a table with a picture of something that inspires you, candles, flowers. If you meditate in the same place every day it builds up a meditative atmosphere.

4. Aspiration

Aspiration to meditate. If we are hungry then we are eat. It is the same with meditation if we are dissatisfied with our worldly life and would like to discover the inner peace within ourselves then we will be motivated to meditate every day. This aspiration or inner cry is perhaps more important than learning many techniques.

5. Perseverance and Patience

In the beginning we cannot expect results overnight, each time we meditate we are adding to our capacity's even if we don't have great experiences then we need to persevere. If we practise sincerely we will progress.

6. Cultivate Happiness

It is important to bear in mind the goal of meditation is to uplift our consciousness and have a more positive outlook about life and about ourselves. When we meditate well we will have a positive outlook on life.