Most people live their lives outwardly focused. This is natural because your senses were designed to interact with the outer world. You think everything you want, the success, the relationship the happiness, exist outside yourself, and going within can be a scary concept. You may think, ‘I am filled with anger, unworthiness, fear and sadness. If I go within I will encounter all of that and that’s not the most appealing way to spend my time.’ You may have an aversion to exploring who you believe yourself to be. Some feel drawn to Meditation and some feel aversion, even fear, to going within.
The Entire Course On Audio
Learn To Meditate
By: J Pesavento, voiced by Julie Jennings
Introduction
Learn to Meditate
In Meditation you create time to find connection, to find your Self, to start to explore that sense that there is more to life. This is your time. You have given countless hours of attention to your responsibilities and worries. Maybe you have spent time in distraction to avoid experiencing what is within. Meditation is the time to allow the responsibilities, worries, fears and distractions to take their rest.
There is a way to know your Self, to allow a gentle unfolding of inner connection and integration of all the emotional content. When you consistently expand your inner connection and awareness you access more fully your unlimited intelligence and power. Easily and effortlessly, Presence Meditation takes the most natural approach to creating, over time, a stable inner foundation and integrating the unresolved emotional content, especially fear, sadness, anger, un-lovability and worry.
You meditate to be happy, eliminate suffering, purify the body and mind, and become aware of the essential Self. Meditation allows you to dive into the depths of your mind, expanding your state of consciousness. Through Meditation, narrowness and limitations naturally give way to broad vision. Suffering gives way to joy. Through Meditation, you re-discover who you authentically are. Meditation is the royal path to achieve inner happiness and peace. It makes you aware of and reconnects you to your own true nature; joy, abundance, peace and well-being. Meditation raises your vibrational frequency, integrates unresolved emotional content, and releases stress in your system.
There is a popular analogy in India called dyeing the cloth. Cloth is dipped in the dye and then set in the sun to fade, setting a little of the dye permanently. The process is repeated many times, each time dipping the cloth, fading it and setting more dye permanently. Eventually the full strength of the dye is permanent. When you meditate, you go deep inside to experience the Self; absolute bliss consciousness. The mind becomes infused with that expanded, joyful state. That experience leaves a deep impression on the mind and the mind retains some of that state. You go into activity and fade the effects of the experience, but a small amount of that expanded state is retained. By consistent practicing Presence Meditation, by repeated integration of your unresolved emotional content of fear, sadness, anger, guilt and shame, by releasing stress and fatigue and repeated immersion in the essential Self, you raise your vibrational frequency and eventually you live your life in a permanently expanded, joyful, peaceful state. The experience of the expanded state of awareness eliminates suffering and limitations caused by a contracted state.
What Is Meditation
The Journey Inward
Presence Meditation is different from other Meditations because it arises from the most natural and powerful tendencies of the mind. It does not try to control or resist the mind. It does not try to stop or control thoughts. It is a Meditation of allowing, acceptance and grace.
Classically speaking, Meditation is stopping the modifications of the mind; stilling the mind. But it is the nature of the mind to think and it is not beneficial to be in opposition to the nature of the mind. If you create resistance to what is happening then you will experience resistance. Meditation is the opposite of resistance. Meditation is creating a situation, an atmosphere, a natural environment of allowing and acceptance. And that includes allowing your thoughts, your emotions, and what is and what is not, to simply be as they are, in acceptance. It is also taking a journey inside, to know yourself.
Your mind is almost always outwardly focused. As was said, this is because your senses direct the mind outwardly. Presence Meditation naturally and easily reverses this process and directs the mind inward. Presence Meditation is the journey inward, toward the essential Self, the authentic experience of who you are.
What Presence Meditation is NOT
Presence Meditation differs from traditional Meditation practices that use concentration, contemplation and insight.
In Meditation practices that use concentration you attempt to forcefully stop the mind from thinking. You attempt to hold the mind at a still point or on a particular thought or emotion. The mind does not naturally want to be chained and forced to do anything. Presence Meditation allows the mind to be as it is, without resistance. It is easy and effortless. In fact, the more you are in a state of allowing and acceptance with your Meditation practice, with your thoughts and with your emotions, the less resistance you create and the more profound your experience.
In contemplation or insight Meditation you direct your attention within and introduce a thought or idea. You explore the thought or emotion and allow your inner wisdom to bring forth a deeper understanding of that which you are contemplating. In Presence Meditation you are not analyzing or figuring out or understanding the thoughts in your mind. You are not meditating on or exploring the thoughts. You are simply allowing them to be as they are. You are creating a neutral attitude and approach.
Other Meditation practices ask that you simply become aware of awareness or ask you to let your attention rest in the space between two thoughts. For most people these are difficult because your mind is constantly thinking and the thoughts don’t allow you the space and peace to have these experiences.
What sets Presence Meditation apart is that it is an easeful practice, even though it can have a profoundly positive effect on your mind and emotions. Its effectiveness arises from raising your vibrational frequency, energetically resolving dissonant impressions within you, and the state of deep rest that it provides. Presence Meditation is profoundly natural and easeful and aligns you with who you fully are, your authentic essential Self. It supports all aspects of your body, mind, emotions and consciousness.
The Space for Meditation and Preparation
The Journey Inward
Feel what outer environment feels good, expansive and uplifting to you and will support your Meditation practice. It is supportive vibrationally to meditate in a beautiful, clean space free of dirt and clutter; the same place every time and one that has been set aside for Meditation. The meditative energy, the vibration, builds up there and that energy supports your practice. You can wash before meditating. You can stretch or do hatha yoga (yoga postures). You can wear special clothes that are used just for Meditation. You can use a Meditation shawl and an asana (Meditation cloth) to sit on. Again, the vibrational energy accumulates and builds in them. You can light a candle or burn incense; whatever supports your practice, whatever raises the vibrational frequency outwardly in your environment.
Posture
The Journey Inward
When you sit for Meditation, your posture is important. The body is the instrument that supports your practice. If the body is uncomfortable then the body will cause unrest in the mind. The body and the mind are directly related and affect each other directly. In your body, energy flows through channels. To facilitate a smooth flow of energy, you may want to sit on a cushion on the floor and take a supportive crossed legged posture. In order to maintain a comfortable and steady position with the pelvis and spine properly aligned, you may need some extra height under your pelvis. If the lower back is rounded or the knees are higher than the tops of the thighs, sit higher by adding a blanket or a cushion. You can rotate the thighs inward to open up the hips and create a natural curve in the lower back. Allow the sitting bones to be drawn toward the floor as the spine naturally lifts up through the crown of the head. Because the main energy channel in the body is along the spine, it is important to keep the spine comfortable and naturally elongated. Place the hands comfortably in the lap or on the thighs, palms facing up. Allow the rib cage to lift, the shoulders to gently roll back, the chest to expand, and the back to broaden. Let the throat and neck soften. Let the chin move very slightly toward the throat. Allow the head to be balanced evenly and lightly on top of the spine. You may want to meditate in a chair, but the same principles apply. Be comfortable, not rigid. If you are sitting in a chair, keep both feet on the ground, shoulder width apart, and keep the spine elongated. During Meditation, generally try to maintain a settled posture, but it is OK to move a little and adjust your posture. If you are not comfortable, the body will not allow the mind to settle down. You may wish to meditate laying down.
Generally you meditate with your eyes closed but if you feel you will fall asleep it is OK to meditate with the eyes slightly open and unfocused.
Intention
The Journey Inward
Through a proper upright posture, you have set a good foundation for your Meditation. But before you begin anything, it is good to set an intention. Intention draws energy and creates a direction and power for what you are about to begin. You can simply have an intention to meditate, grateful to yourself for your commitment. Maybe your intention is to be less reactive with your children or partner. Maybe it’s to be more relaxed and at ease, less fearful. Or maybe it’s an intention like, “I meditate so that this Meditation brings enlightenment to me and all beings”.
Breathing
The Journey Inward
Because there is a direct relationship between the body and mind, it is good to begin your practice by taking a few slow, deep breaths. This means you slowly inhale all the way, filling both the top and bottom of the lungs. Fill the lungs fully. Then exhale slowly. Do this with mindfulness, allowing your attention to rest on the practice of breathing deeply. The deep breaths will calm the body, and in turn, calm the mind. After a few deep breaths, you can return the breath to normal. In Meditation you should allow the breath to be natural. Allow the rhythm of the breath to be at whatever speed it wishes to take. It will change as you experience different levels of awareness, from gross to subtle. While you are meditating it is important to allow the breath to be spontaneous and natural. You should not try to control the breathing. The mind and the breath work in conjunction with each other, so you should let the breath come and go as it wishes, in a natural manner. It is especially beneficial if you are meditating after a busy day and the mind is very active to give it a short period to settle down and take a few deep breaths before meditating.
Meditating: What naturally powers Meditation
The Journey Inward
What is the power, the motor force of Presence Meditation?
It is the nature of the mind to be drawn to fields of greater joy and happiness.
Your essential nature is joy, even if that is not your day to day experience. Beyond all the turbulence of the mind, your essential Self is silent and peaceful. Within you lies great energy and power. Because you may have lived your life disconnected to this inner nature you may not have experienced this part of yourself, but joy, peace, silence and power are within you.
If you burn a piece of wood, you get a certain amount of energy. If you go to the atomic level, a more subtle level of existence, you will certainly get exponentially greater power. In science, you can see that as you approach finer, subtler levels of existence and reality, you encounter more power and energy.
You have different levels also; a body, a mind, emotions, and consciousness itself. Each level is more subtle, less solid, less material. Each progressive, deeper level has more power, greater expansiveness. As you approach the level of consciousness, your essential Self, you experience increasing levels of energy, power, peace and stillness. The mind is naturally drawn to increasing fields of expanding awareness, power, peace, joy and silence when it is in an environment of allowing and non-resistance.
For example, maybe you have experienced trying to work and then hearing beautiful music. Your mind is drawn naturally to the music because it is a field of greater joy, greater happiness, and greater bliss. The mind naturally wants to listen to the beautiful music. Your essential Self is joy, peace and well-being, and you have a natural tendency to want to experience that. The mind will go to this field of absolute bliss consciousness naturally because it is the greatest field of happiness. Bliss is the main aspect of consciousness.
Presence Meditation is allowing your mind to rest in the vibrational, unspoken sound value of a mantra and naturally be drawn with ease and allowing, to finer, more powerful, more expanded levels of experience within. It is the natural tendency of the mind to seek fields of greater happiness and that is the power and motor force of Presence Meditation. So if your mind naturally goes to fields of greater joy and happiness then your role is to create the most supportive environment to allow this process to take place and that lies with your approach.
Approach: Natural, Easeful and Allowing
The Journey Inward
When you are beginning to do something your approach is very important. It is supportive to enter Meditation with the approach of nongrasping and non-resistance. Most people’s tendency is to want to control what is happening, to create a result, to have it look and feel a certain way. The tendency is to grasp for your Meditation to be quiet and thought free and to resist strong thoughts and emotions. By entering Meditation with an attitude of allowing you free yourself from the preconception of how Meditation should be. If you enter Meditation with a desire for a thought free experience and push against thoughts or feelings that arise, resistance increases. If you grasp at what you do not have; a clam mind, and push against what you have; thoughts and feelings, you create resistance and inhibit the natural tendency of the mind to go within. Approach Meditation with allowing ‘what is’.
Presence Meditation happens spontaneously, through the natural tendency of the mind to seek fields of greater happiness. It is not driven by effort. Presence Meditation is effortless and natural. You will read these words many times; natural, easy, effortless, letting go, allowing, accepting, non-grasping. These words contain the key to understanding ‘How to Practice Presence Meditation’. Meditation happens through the mind’s nature to seek joy, expansion, well-being, peace and silence. This is the power that draws you within where greater power and joy reside. There exists within you a natural tendency and desire to become still, happy and peaceful. When you create a natural state of ease and allowing, the mind will effortlessly be drawn to that expanded state of awareness within. The nature of the mind, the natural tendency to experience happiness, draws you to this state of the essential Self. Because this attraction, this power, is part of your nature, it is completely natural. This tendency and attraction is the motor force of Presence Meditation.
Because you have been trained that it is necessary to work hard to achieve something, you may feel you have to struggle and push through to get to your goal. In Presence Meditation it is different. The intrinsic nature of the mind allows Presence Meditation to happen effortlessly. Hard control is not required or helpful. People say that when they ‘let go’ in Meditation, they go deep. Many people have talked about how they were struggling and didn’t feel like they were getting anywhere and then they decided to allow the Meditation to ‘meditate them’. Suddenly they experienced falling into a deep Meditation. So it is the natural tendency of the mind to seek happiness that draws the mind to subtler and subtler levels of awareness. It is the nature of the mind, when in a state of allowing and ease, to lead you within, to the experience of your essential Self, a field of joy, power, expansion, peace and well-being.
This is a Meditation centered not on doing, but on being and allowing.
The Vehicle to Go Within
The Journey Inward
If it is usual for the mind to be outwardly focused and that is your habit, then how do you reverse that process and refocus the mind within, in a state of allowing? To take a journey within you need a vehicle. You need something to rest your attention, your awareness on. And that vehicle needs to be connected to the final destination on your journey.
If the object or goal of Meditation is to go within, to experience finer, more powerful and expanded levels of yourself, to experience the stillness and expanded state of the essential Self, then in Meditation you need a vehicle to take your attention from the body to the mind to the emotions and finally to consciousness, the Self. In Presence Meditation you take the mantra as your vehicle, and follow it to finer and finer levels and eventually to its source.
Presence Meditation uses the most natural vehicle; the mantra ‘So Ham’. (pronounced So Hum). So Ham is the natural mantra of the incoming and outgoing breath. ‘So’ is the incoming breath and ‘Ham’ is the outgoing breath. In Presence Meditation you do not need to attach the mantra to the breath, or do anything except follow the easeful, effortless instructions of mantra repetition.
The So Ham mantra arises from your essential life force, your prana, your nature to expand, create and evolve. Prana, the nature of your essential Self, first manifests as a subtle, powerful, creative, joyful vibration or impulse and manifests more and more concretely, in a denser and more material form, eventually expressing as the breath in physical form. This process is going from the subtle, finer level to the more material level. In Meditation you reverse this process and follow the mantra from the more concrete, material level to the finer, less concrete, most subtle level. You gradually go from the grosser material form of the mantra to the experience of your essential nature as prana, your life force, and experience the essential Self, your pure consciousness – Presence.
In Meditation you reverse your normally outwardly focused sensory experience and turn your awareness inward. The mantra is the vehicle that you are following back to its subtlest impulse and then experiencing its source. All thoughts and experiences carry a vibration and the mantra holds the most life supporting natural vibration because it is your essential nature and life force expressing as the mantra. It is infused with the power of the essential Self. You are drawn to the source of the mantra, your pure essential Self, by the natural tendency of the mind to seek an increasing field of happiness; by grace in the mind. When the mind comes closer to the Self, it experiences increasing degrees of joy, power, peace and well-being.
If it is the natural tendency of the mind to go to fields of greater bliss, then the process must be natural, and for this to happen naturally, this process must also be without effort or strain. Adding effort will bring the mind to the surface, more material, dense, concrete level of experience.
Practicing Presence Meditation
The Journey Inward
Always begin Meditation with 30 seconds of simply relaxing into yourself, creating the atmosphere of allowing and letting go. This allows the mind to lessen its outward focus and begin to rest within. It disengages the mind from its process of sense induced thought creation.
After 30 seconds in silence allow the mind to rest on the mantra So Ham. If, during this 30 seconds of silence, the awareness goes to the mantra naturally, then go with that and begin to gently repeat the mantra. If it does not begin on its own, then after this short silence, you can gently, silently, move the awareness to the mantra.
Meditation is letting go, effortlessly allowing your natural tendency to seek happiness to lead you to the Self, pure awareness, by allowing your attention to effortlessly rest in connection to the mantra. Rest your attention on the mantra easily and with no effort. This form of relaxed attentiveness is called effortless effort. When you practice Presence Meditation you use effortless effort. It is an effortless practice. Effort will tend to bring the mind toward its surface and focus outwardly.
In Presence Meditation, just easily and without effort rest your awareness on the mantra. You should not focus in a hard or excessively clear manner. Usually at the beginning of Meditation, the mantra seems distinctly clear and solid. But as you enter Meditation, it can become softer and less distinct. As you experience subtler levels of the mantra it can change to an impulse, a gentle vibration. As your awareness experiences subtler levels of the mantra, the physical breath will become shallower. Eventually the breath will become extremely shallow naturally as you enter the finer, subtler fields of experience within.
The experience you have of resting attention on the mantra can change; the mantra repetition can slow down or speed up. The mantra can feel clearer or fainter, or more like pure energy, more like an impulse or vibration. In Meditation you go from the gross to the subtle, from the material to the purely vibrational and energetic. Allow it to naturally change. Also allow it to disappear as you transcend the mantra and enter the experience of the Self, pure consciousness, Presence, without thought. Because the mantra is the vibration of pure consciousness, Presence, it naturally will draw the awareness to that bliss and silence, if allowed to go there. If you hold the mind at the surface level by focusing on the mantra in a hard or excessively clear manner, then it will be impossible to enter the subtler levels of experience or go beyond the mantra. Letting go and allowing is necessary in Meditation. Resting your attention on the mantra should happen easily and naturally. This allows Meditation to happen spontaneously through grace and your natural tendency to experience your true nature.
Practicing Presence Meditation: Thoughts and Acceptance
The Journey Inward
Thoughts are simply an activity in the mind. It is the nature of the mind to think. If you resist thoughts in Meditation then you are creating resistance which is the opposite of allowing. Accepting and allowing thoughts is a necessary component of Presence Meditation. It is allowing that creates the environment that permits the mind to experience subtler levels of the mantra and leads it toward the experience of the essential Self and it is allowing and accepting thoughts that permits you to continue to go more deeply within. When thoughts or images arise in your mind during Meditation, it is important to maintain a neutral attitude toward them. You should assume the stance that all thoughts are nothing but different forms of consciousness, of awareness, and simply an activity in your mind. This neutral, non-judgmental stance is important in Presence Meditation. Watch the thoughts and allow them to pass by without becoming involved in them, without analyzing them. Some thoughts may be beautiful, some painful, some interesting, some aggravating, but the response to them all is the same; neutral, allowing, accepting, without judging.
Soon after you begin to easily rest your attention on the mantra, thoughts arise in your mind and you discover you no longer have your attention on the mantra. You mind is off thinking about something else. This is natural and part of Presence Meditation. When you become aware that your attention is no longer on the mantra, gently and effortless allow the awareness, your attention, to rest again upon the mantra. Easily return to the mantra.
Because of the body’s direct relationship to the mind, when the mind settles down as a result of going within, the body settles down. As you begin to go within, as you approach the Self, you experience an increased vibrational frequency, and as the body settles down, you receive deep rest. These create purification and integration of impressions in your subtle nervous system. These impressions are mainly unresolved emotional content within that are energetically impressed in the nervous system. The purification and integration of impressions is a subtle energetic activity. The energetic activity creates a corresponding mental activity; thoughts. So the thoughts you experience in Meditation indicate that integration and purification have already taken place. The thoughts are a sign that something good has already happened. This is past tense; something has already happened, so continuing to focus on the thoughts will not achieve better results. Thoughts in Meditation can indicate that impurities have been released and integration has occurred. This is a good thing, but again remember that the thoughts are an effect. The cause is the purification and integration caused by higher vibrational frequency and deep rest. You should not get caught up in the effect. When thoughts arise in Meditation, let them pass by like clouds passing in the sky. Be neutral, non-judgmental and accepting.
When you realize your attention has shifted from the mantra to a thought, easily, effortlessly bring the attention back to the mantra. The object or goal of your Meditation is the inward journey – toward the essential Self, so effortlessly go back to resting your attention on the mantra and allow any thoughts to float away. The thoughts are an indicator that your Meditation is progressing well. If thoughts are especially strong and it is not easy to go back to the mantra, allow the mind to just witness the thoughts or feelings without getting involved with them. This will diminish their strength and allow you to return to the mantra easily. Meditation is a time of letting go and going within and not the time to think about your problems or opportunities. It is important to always remember that Meditation should not be forced. The mind is, by nature, difficult to chain. You are not attempting to unnaturally stop the thoughts. In your Meditation practice, you are spontaneously following the mantra to its source. Meditation is an ease filled practice. Resting your attention on the mantra is gentle and effortless. Thoughts arise in Meditation effortlessly and returning to the mantra is effortless. Being drawn deep inside to the experience of the Self is also effortless.
In Meditation, whenever a thought arises, depending on its strength, it brings your awareness a little more toward the surface of the mind. This is because your attention is no longer going inward but becomes outwardly focused on a thought. This is the outward momentum of Meditation. As you rest in the mantra, the power of the mantra and the attraction toward inner joy of the Self bring your awareness toward the state of stillness, consciousness, the Self. This is the inward momentum of Meditation. This alternation in your awareness between mantra and thoughts, between the gross and subtle, between the inward and outward momentum is part of the practice of Meditation. It is best not to judge the success of your Meditation by the fact that you had many or few thoughts. Many thoughts can indicate much integration and purification has occurred and few thoughts can allow a clearer experience of the Self. Both are great Meditation.
Mantra
The Journey Inward
The mantra, in its subtlest, finest form is an impulse of energy, a vibration. This vibration, in sound form, is So Ham. (pronounced So Hum). So Ham is the natural vibration which occurs spontaneously at the subtlest level of creation with each incoming and outgoing breath. So Ham is the mantra of the Self. So occurs on every in breath and Ham occurs on every out breath.
In Meditation the mantra serves as the vehicle. You easily, effortlessly, silently repeat the mantra So Ham. You allow it to be as it wishes to be. So if it speeds up or slows down, if it becomes fainter or clearer, if it disappears altogether, allow it. When you become aware that you are no longer repeating the mantra, when you are off thinking, gently, softly, easily re-introduce the mantra.
The natural mantra emerges from the Self as a vibration, a subtle pulsation of energy, and moves into conscious awareness as So Ham. When you repeat the mantra easily, the tendency is for your awareness to be drawn to the field of greater happiness, greater expansion, which is the source of the mantra. If you hold the mantra firmly, concretely, if you add effort or control, if you create an expectation of the way it should be, then that will not allow you to experience it’s subtler and subtler, more expansive levels. Effortlessly repeating the mantra allows you to be drawn to the source of the mantra naturally; the Self, Presence.
As the mantra becomes quieter, more subtle, less distinct, closer to its source, it may feel like you are experiencing it as a vibration, a subtle pulsation of energy, and the words dissolve into an impulse. You are experiencing the initial vibration of the mantra. The mantra may disappear into silence. When awareness moves beyond the vibration of the mantra, beyond the impulse, you are left in a transcendent state of the Self – Presence.
So you may experience the mantra clearly, as a vibration or pulsation, or it may disappear. When you become aware you no longer have your attention on the mantra, allow your awareness to again move back to effortless mantra repetition.
Ending Meditation
The Journey Inward
Generally you meditate for a specific amount of time. When that time is over take several minutes to come completely out of Meditation and always come out slowly. Keep your eyes closed for some time and move slowly, rubbing your hands together, taking a few deep breathes, or stretching slowly. Allow your attention to come back to the body or the room. Your nervous system has just experienced very deep rest, a very subtle state and a higher vibrational frequency. Even if you think you have not had a ‘good’ or ‘deep’ Meditation because you felt restless or had many thoughts, scientific studies indicate that the level of physiological rest is deeper than deep sleep. Coming out of Meditation too quickly could cause strain in the nervous system. As with every aspect of Presence Meditation, come out of Meditation easily.
Blessing
The Journey Inward
When you begin your Meditation practice, you set the foundation for your practice by creating the most auspicious space, taking a beneficial posture, and creating a good intention. This is a good beginning. In Meditation you practice effortlessly, allowing the power of the mantra and your essential nature to take you deep within to experience the Self. You take the approach of allowing, accepting and non-grasping. This is a good middle. A good end is created through offering your blessings. This can take the form of gratefulness for quiet time, remembering you have a place to meditate and food to eat, or family you care for. Or this can be wanting to share what inspires you as a blessing to others. Or it can be a broader vision through offering the fruits of your spiritual practice to the enlightenment of yourself and the world. This beneficially seals your practice and brings your expanded state into activity. Offering blessings deepens your understanding of giving and receiving and expands gratitude.
Frequently Asked Question
The Journey Inward
Meditating Alone and With Others
Most times you will be meditating alone and that is great. It frees you from distractions and sounds. Meditating with other people can create a very strong energy that can help you go deeper. The accumulation of energy grows strongly when many people meditate together. That too is great.
Pets
Generally meditating with pets can be distracting if your pet is active. It can also be comforting if your pet is resting nearby. Your goal in Meditation is to experience the state knowing your essential Self. Ask if this supports you.
The Best Time to Meditate
Consistency is important. A regular practice each day is the most beneficial. Regularity is an important factor. The most auspicious time to meditate is between 3 am and 6 am. Some people find that meditating once a day in the morning is best. Others find that meditating twice a day, before breakfast and before dinner is best. The most important thing is to be regular and even if you have to meditate before bed time, it’s better than not being regular. The analogy of dyeing the cloth applies here.
Meditation is deep rest and it is beneficial to meditate and balance that with activity after. So Meditation is recommended before breakfast and/or before dinner. Nature functions best in regular cycles of rest and activity.
It is beneficial to meditate before a meal. Digestion is a physical activity and generally that causes the mind to be active and the body to be active.
How Long Should I Meditate
Each person has a different nervous system. An hour of Meditation can seem great to one person, but can seem like an eternity to another. In your first Meditation see how you feel after 4-5 minutes. Does that feel like a lot? If it does then start with 3 minutes. If you are comfortable, meditate for 10, 15 or 20 minutes. This is very personal and is perfect no matter the length. Gradually increase the length by adding a few minutes each week until you have reached 15 to 20 minutes if that is comfortable. Some people meditate once a day, preferably in the morning. Some are able to meditate twice a day. Much integration and purification occur in Meditation. Normally this purification stops as we enter activity. Meditating an excessively long time can cause purification to continue in activity, causing irritability and strong emotions to surface. If you feel that is happening, cut back the time a little until a good balance is achieved. An experienced Meditation teacher can help determine the proper length of Meditation for each person. A good rule of thumb is that it should feel good, easeful and comfortable.
Courses
The Realization of Enlightenment
Talks and courses designed to support you in living an awakened life, provide clarity around the nature of God and Self, and present a full understanding of enlightenment.
All courses offered at no cost.
