Benefits of Yoga

At the outset, we must understand what we can gain out of this wonderful practice
At the physical level, yoga and its cleansing practices have proven to be extremely
effective for various disorders. To get a sampling of how yoga benefits health
disorders, please visit the Yoga Therapy section.
More importantly, yoga is extremely effective in:

Increasing Flexibility – yoga has positions that act upon the various
joints of the body including those joints that are never really on the ‘radar
screen’ let alone exercised.

Increasing lubrication of the joints, ligaments and tendons – likewise,

the well-researched yoga positions exercise the different tendons and
ligaments of the body.
Surprisingly it has been found that the body which may have been quite
rigid starts experiencing a remarkable flexibility in even those parts which
have not been consciously work upon. Why? It is here that the remarkable
research behind yoga positions proves its mettle. Seemingly unrelated
“non strenuous” yoga positions act upon certain parts of the body in an
interrelated manner. When done together, they work in harmony to create
a situation where flexibility is attained relatively easily.

Massaging of ALL Organs of the Body – Yoga is perhaps the only form
of activity which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body
in a thorough manner, including those – such as the prostate - that hardly
get externally stimulated during our entire lifetime. Yoga acts in a
wholesome manner on the various body parts. This stimulation and
massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease and
providing a forewarning at the first possible instance of a likely onset of
disease or disorder.
One of the far-reaching benefits of yoga is the uncanny sense of
awareness that it develops in the practitioner of an impending health
disorder or infection. This in turn enables the person to take pre-
emptive corrective action

Complete Detoxification – By gently stretching muscles and joints as

well as massaging the various organs, yoga ensures the optimum blood
supply to various parts of the body. This helps in the flushing out of toxins
from every nook and cranny as well as providing nourishment up to the
last point. This leads to benefits such as delayed ageing, energy and a
remarkable zest for life.
 Excellent toning of the muscles – Muscles that have become flaccid,
weak or slothy are stimulated repeatedly to shed excess flab and
flaccidity.

But these enormous physical benefits are just a “side effect” of this powerful
practice. What yoga does is harmonize the mind with the body and this results in
real quantum benefits. It is now an open secret that the will of the mind has enabled
people to achieve extraordinary physical feats, which proves beyond doubtthe mind
and body connection.
Yoga through meditation works remarkably to achieve this harmony and helps the
mind work in sync with the body. How often do we find that we are unable to
perform our activities properly and in a satisfying manner because of the confusions
and conflicts in our mind weigh down heavily upon us? Moreover, stress which in
reality is the #1 killer affecting all parts of our physical, endocrinal and emotional
systems can be corrected through the wonderful yoga practice of meditation.
In fact yoga = meditation, because both work together in achieving the common
goal of unity of mind, body and spirit – a state of eternal bliss.
The meditative practices through yoga help in achieving an emotional balance
through detachment. What it means is that meditation creates conditions, where
you are not affected by the happenings around you. This in turn creates a
remarkable calmness and a positive outlook, which also has tremendous benefits
on the physical health of the body.
These are just some of the tangible benefits that can be achieved through yoga.
Having seen this, it is educative to note why the ancient yogis performed yoga and
the interdependence of yoga and meditation. The ultimate goal of the yogis was
“self realization” or “enlightenment”, a concept, which perhaps is quite esoteric to
you and me.
But what is interesting is that for this they had to meditate for extensive spells of
time – days,weeks and much more. This required tremendous physical fitness,
energy and the capacity to subsist on next to nothing. Yoga positions or asanas
provided them the fullest fitness with the least metabolism or stress and meditation
in turn provided them the strength and will to perform these asanas effectively – a
virtuous cycle of cause and effect. This mutually symbiotic relationship helped them
in their path.
2------------------What yoga can do for you

 The physical benefits: Creates a toned, flexible, and strong body. Improves
respiration, energy, and vitality. Helps to maintain a balanced metabolism.
Promotes cardio and circulatory health. Relieves pain. Helps you look and feel
younger than your age. Improves your athletic performance.

 The mental benefits: Helps you relax and handle stressful situations more
easily. Teaches you how to quiet the mind so you can focus your energy where
 you want it to go - into a difficult yoga pose, on the tennis court or golf course, or
in the office. Encourages positive thoughts and self-acceptance.

 The spiritual benefits: Builds awareness of your body, your feelings, the world
around you, the needs of others. Promotes an interdependence between mind,
body, and spirit. Helps you live the concept of "oneness."   

3-------------------------How Yoga Calms the Mind and Body

 Leta Koontz-Stuyvesant

 What's the difference between a cheerleader and a yogi practicing backbends

and splits? From a distance, the two would appear to be doing the same thing.
But if you looked a bit closer, you might notice that the yogi is breathing more
smoothly, slower, and more evenly. You might even observe that while the
cheerleader is looking around, smiling at everyone, the yogi's face is relaxed and
his or her gaze is focused. While externally the differences between the yogi and
the cheerleader may seem slight, the internal differences are significant.

Leta Koontz-Stuyvesant
those pants...). These thoughts distract and pollute the mind, causing it to
constantly churn and fluctuate.

Most yoga classes in the West focus
exclusively on asana, the physical
postures of yoga. While it's a good thing
to stretch and tone, it's an even better
thing to stretch and tone while slowing
down the breath and incorporating other
yogic meditation techniques. One such
technique is the use of drishti, focusing
the gaze, which helps to quiet the mind.
When the gaze is fixed on a single
point, the mind is less likely to be
distracted by thoughts provided by
visual stimuli (the carpet in here is ugly .
. . I can't believe that guy is wearing

 Yoga is famous for its ability to heal and bring peace of mind. But how does the
practice of yoga accomplish this?

 There are two nervous systems in the human body: sympathetic and
parasympathetic. The sympathetic, commonly known as the "fight or flight"
system, causes the blood pressure to rise, the breath rate to quicken, and stress
hormones to flood into the body. Historically, this occurred to prepare the body
for fighting dangerous animals. But in today's world, we experience this response
while we are sitting in traffic or feeling stressed at the office. When this system is
 overly stimulated, we can experience health consequences such as ulcers,
migraines, and heart disease.

 The parasympathetic nervous system lowers blood pressure and slows the
pace of the breath. When the blood no longer has to rush to the muscles, it is
free to travel to the digestive, reproductive, glandular, and immune systems -
systems made up of organs that are more necessary to long-term survival. The
body now has time to heal the damage accumulated during our daily battles.
Studies have shown that long, deep breathing encourages the actions of the
parasympathetic nervous system and allows relaxation and healing to occur. The
yogi practices breathing meditations called pranayama, which encourage the
actions of the parasympathetic nervous system.

 So while the yogi and the cheerleader both gain strength and flexibility from
practicing backbends and splits, the yogi is able to reap additional health rewards
from the addition of pranayama. But even more is happening within the yogi. The
yogi is working to calm the fluctuations of the mind.

 Try this little exercise: take a break from reading this article and spend the next
five minutes concentrating on the breath and nothing else.

 You probably discovered that your mind wants to think about everything but the
breath. Our minds have a tendency to wander, to disconnect from our bodies, to
daydream and fret about the future, to reminisce and stew over the past. Humans
have evolved the ability to automatically breathe even while sleeping. While
breathing does not require conscious awareness, focusing your attention on your
breath will force you to focus on what's happening right now, at this very moment.
Focusing on your breath doesn't allow your conscious mind to drift away, but
encourages it to stay connected in your body and in the now.

 But why shouldn't we allow ourselves to daydream or reminisce, it seems

harmless? Well, frequently when we are reminiscing about the good old times we
begin fear to these events won't occur again. The more time we spend in reverie,
the less open we are to the good things that are happening right now. Often,
even when we are the midst of a good time, we begin to worry about it ending
and start plotting to make it happen again. We miss out on embracing the
moment fully while it is unfolding. And while having goals in life is a good thing,
spending hours daydreaming won't get you any closer to making your dreams
come true. Being lost in fantasy can often lead to disappointment when reality
hits.

 The quality of the breath reflects the quality of the mind. There is a connection
between our mental, emotional, and psychological states and the pace and depth
of our breath. For example, when we are frightened, we take short, quick,
shallow breaths. When we are deeply relaxed or asleep, we take long, deep
breaths.
 While our mental state influences our breathing pattern, we can choose to
change our breathing pattern and thereby change our mental state. When you
relax and slow the pace of the breath, the pace of the mind is similarly calmed
and quieted. Over time, you begin to act and think from a state of peace. The
more time you spend in this place, the more likely you are to act with patience,
understanding, and compassion.

 The breath also helps us to stay connected to the present moment. Staying in the
now frees us. We can move on from past grievances and sorrows and can view
the world as it really is, without false expectations. We learn to accept ourselves
and others as we and they currently are. Being in the moment allows you to be
fully present when you spend time with the people you love.

 Our mood is also affected by how we feel physically. Ever try to be friendly when
you have a stomach ache? Asana helps to keep our muscles, joints, and fascia
strong and flexible. The practice of asana also helps reduce blood pressure,
stimulate the immune and glandular systems, reduce insomnia, and heal the
body in innumerable other ways.

 The simple practices of asana (yoga postures), pranayama (breathing), and

drishti (focusing) lead the yoga practitioner to not only a state of optimal physical
health, but to a state of peace. These practices help to connect you to the
present moment, to others and to your true self.

4---------Tapping the Power of om

 Sherry Roberts

 The crowds at Woodstock I chanted it in hopes the world would give peace a
chance. Paramahansa Yogananda called it "the vibration of the Cosmic Motor."
The great father of yoga, Patanjali, advised using it to overcome the obstacles
and distractions in life — all those stones in the path of enlightenment.

 Aum (or as Westerners like to spell it: om) is a vital part of the science of yoga.
It's a tool, a phenomenon, a mystery. To many people, aum is just a word
chanted in meditation or as a closing prayer in yoga practice. However, translator
and Bhagavad Gita scholar Barbara Stoler Miller notes that "according to the
ancient Indian traditions preserved in the Upanishads, all speech and thought are
derived from one sound aum. It expresses the ultimate reality."

 Aum is considered the all-connecting sound of the universe — one word

interpreted as having three sounds representing creation, preservation, and
destruction. Yoga teacher B.K.S. Iyengar devotes nearly two pages in his book,
Light on Yoga, to the various meanings of aum. "The letter A symbolizes the
 conscious or waking state," Iyengar says, "the letter U the dream state, and the
letter M the dreamless sleep state of the mind and spirit." The entire symbol,
Iyengar says, stands for the"realization of man's divinity within himself."

 Aum became the sacred word hum of the Tibetans, amin of the Moslems, and
amen of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Christians. Amen in Hebrew
means "sure, faithful." 

 Paramahansa Yogananda writes of the aum as the "Word" of the Bible, as the
Holy Spirit. In the Christian Bible, Sat-Tat-Aum is spoken of as the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost. According to Yogananda, all aspiring yogis seek to commune
with aum and understand it. "Audible utterance of aum produces a sense of
sacredness...however, real understanding of aum is obtained only by hearing it
internally and then becoming one with it in all creation."

 Chanting Aum

 Aum is a way of deepening the concentration

of the mind, which leads to realization of the
divine. The mantra aum may be sounded
aloud, whispered, or repeated mentally. The
correct pronunciation of aum is to pronounce
it om so it rhymes with home. In The Yoga
Book, author Steven Sturgess offers a
technique for chanting aum. He suggests
beginning meditation by chanting aum aloud
for ten minutes, then chant aum in a whisper
for the next ten minutes, and then mentally
chant aum for ten minutes. Finally, be still and
meditate on the spiritual eye (the point
between your eyebrows). Surrender into the
vibrations of aum. "Feel your awareness
expanding still further into the field of pure
consciousness, become one with om,"
Sturgess says. 

 Healing with Aum

 The Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920,

offers instructions on its Web site for using the Yogananda's aum healing
technique. Yogananda noted that everything in the universe is composed of
energy and that the apparent differentiation between solids, liquids, gases,
sound, and light is merely a difference in their vibratory rates. He maintained that
by chanting the aum, the divine vibration, we can increase the body's supply of
cosmic energy and even direct it as a healing force to any part of the body, mind,
and soul.  
  It is said that 12,000 recitations of aum remove all sins, while 12,000 recitations
daily for a period of one year bring realization of the Absolute (brahman). If that
seems a little overwhelming, simple try chanting aum in your daily meditation and
let the incredible power of sound and vibration work for you. Aum will bring your
mind to a singular (yet universal) focus. Or use it during your yoga class. My
yoga teacher always closes the class by leading us in three long aum's. I have
come to look forward to those concluding meditative moments of harmonizing
voices — not just because it signals an end to the torture (as practice seems on
some days) but because it leaves us with a feeling of oneness.

5-------------Meditation... Towards a Stress Free Life

Meditation: What it is !!!

An ordinary person may consider meditation as a worship or
prayer. But it is not so. Meditation means awareness. Whatever
you do with awareness is meditation. "Watching your breath" is
meditation; listening to the birds is meditation. As long as these
activities are free from any other distraction to the mind, it is
effective meditation.

Meditation is not a technique but a way of life. Meditation means

'a cessation of the thought process' . It describes a state of consciousness, when
the mind is free of scattered thoughts and various patterns . The observer (one who
is doing meditation) realizes that all the activity of the mind is reduced to one.

A Tibetan Lama was being monitored on a brain scan machine by a scientist

wishing to test physiological functions during deep meditation. The scientist said -
"Very good Sir. The machine shows that you are able to go very deep in brain
relaxation, and that validates your meditation". "No", said the Lama, "This (pointing
to his brain) validates the machine!".

These days it is commonly understood to mean some form of spiritual practice

where one sits down with eyes closed and empties the mind to attain inner peace,
relaxation or even an experience of God. Some people use the term as "my
gardening is my meditation" or for jogging or art or music, hence creating confusion
or misunderstanding.

The word meditation, is derived from two Latin words : meditari(to think, to dwell
upon, to exercise the mind) and mederi (to heal). Its Sanskrit derivation 'medha'
means wisdom.

Many years ago meditation was considered something just not meant for modern
people, but now it has become very popular with all types of people. Published
scientific and medical evidence has proved its benefits, but it still needs to be much
understood.

Traditionally, the classical yoga texts, describe that to attain true states of
meditation one must go through several stages. After the necessary preparation of
personal and social code, physical position, breath control, and relaxation come the
more advanced stages of concentration, contemplation, and then ultimately
absorption. But that does not mean that one must perfect any one stage before
moving onto the next. The Integral yoga approach is simultaneous application of a
little of all stages together.

Commonly today, people can mean any one of these stages when they refer to the
term meditation. Some schools only teach concentration techniques, some
relaxation, and others teach free form contemplative activities like just sitting and
awaiting absorption. Some call it meditation without giving credence to yoga for fear
of being branded 'eastern'. But yoga is not something eastern or western as it is
universal in its approach and application.

With regular practice of a balanced series of techniques, the energy of the body
and mind can be liberated and the quality of consciousness can be expanded. This
is not a subjective claim but is now being investigated by the scientists and being
shown by an empirical fact.

6---------------Understanding the meditation process

Meditation can be described as a continued, unbroken awareness of the mind in its
raw state. It involves the overcoming of distractions and dissipated energies into a
blissful awareness.

Let us look at it this way - at any point of time we are consumed with countless
thoughts and emotional baggage at the conscious and subconscious level. This
prevents us from experiences true, uninhibited bliss. Bliss will result from an
expanded awareness of the happenings without any attachments and bondages
whatsoever.

Meditation is a process which equips us with tools to experience this bliss. It shows
us the path to live everyday life using these tools.

People who meditate realize that they experience a beautiful inner space as they
disengage from the outside world and go deep into themselves. They get detached
from their ego and the emotional bondage to experience this feeling. But as soon as
they come out of it, they return to their 'personality shapes'. These shapes are
accompanied by learned patterns of behavior and thinking about who they are and
what they can or cannot achieve.

We must strive to relate these two states - the higher meditative state and the daily
 conscious state. At any point of time, we should be aware of our 'higher state'.
Meditation is mind management and helps us do that.

What meditation does: Meditation helps us overcome our manifold desires and
distractions. It does so NOT by curbing desires - which will always be there - but by
rendering them inconsequential in front of an unbroken and larger desire of
existence. The more we can hold onto the memory of the meditation practice, the
easier it is to pull yourself back from the endless desires.

Meditation teaches us to be a 'witness'. While we are meditating, we are detached

and enjoying the moment. But the moment we finish, we lose it and return to our
distracted state. So, we need to develop a meditative lifestyle. This lifestyle will help
us observe and understand why we oscillate between the calm meditative state and
our daily state of mind. We then understand what patterns of our lifestyle disturb our
calm, blissful state.

Important prerequisite for meditation: For successful meditation, we must be

'grounded'. Grounding is that anchor that helps us to be stable in the meditative
process. Normally, grounding can be anchoring to your breath or your body
movement while in the meditative state. It can happen that as you proceed in
meditation, you reach a stage of unknown where you have no confidence to proceed
further. At such a time, grounding is of great help as it provides a memory of where
you are and what you are doing. It provides a stability to rest upon as energies start
to change while proceeding in meditation.

How to use meditation: In meditation, we should develop the capacity to use our
energy to manipulate our mind and how we feel. We should be able to understand
what is going on at our deeper levels. Only when we understand the issues can we
tackle them and take them out as a distraction to our calm being.

In 'Antar Mouna' there are stages to do this. In stage 1 we witness the sensory
information. In stage 2, we witness the spontaneous thoughts. In stage 3, we create
thoughts that need to be tackled. Stage 4 deals with grappling with unconscious
forces as they arise.

As you see, meditation is a time to work upon ourselves, to tackle issues that prevent
us from being in a perpetual meditative state - one thatis without fear, anxiety,
insecurity and desire.

Once we develop a meditative state we can see the strongest of emotions for what
they are and deal with them in a calm confident manner

7--------There are a number of meditation techniques for effective meditation.

Different cultures have different mediation techniques, but one thing is certain -
meditation is universal. The different techniques are suited to different personality types.
While some techniques are concentrative, involving focusing, other techniques are
expansive such as 'Vipassana' meditation which allows for the free flow of thoughts and
their observation.

Presented below are some of the common meditation methods. Only a brief insight is
provided and meditation should be learnt under the guidance of a Guru.

Mantra Meditation :Mantra, literally meaning 'revealed sound', means a

sound or combination of sounds which develop spontaneously. In mantra
meditation, specific sounds are repeated (japa) to achieve a meditative state
Read More...
Steady gaze (Trataka):Trataka ( to gaze steadily) has been followed by most
religious systems including Christianity and Sufism. In Trataka, a steady gaze
is performed on an object. While, it strictly comes under the category of a
yoga cleansing technique, effective trataka practice takes one to the shores of
meditation. Read More...
Chakra Meditation:Chakras means "wheel" and represent the major nerve
plexi which branch off the spinal cord to serve the major organs of the body.
Chakras represent a different level of energy manifestation and
consciousness development. There are 7 Chakras. Read More...
Vipassana Meditation: Read More...
Raj Yoga Meditation: Read More...
Zazen: Read More...
Nada yoga: Read More...

8-----------Meditation (Dhyana)
By Shyam Mehta
Meditation (Dhyana in Sanskrit) is a specific term in yoga philosophy. It is different from
the term meditation used by most people. The latter really means keeping the brain
peaceful.

Yoga meditation is the penultimate stage in a progression of stages towards the final
state of yoga, namely Samadhi or yogic trance. Unless given to you by God,
achievement of the different stages of yoga is progressively more difficult and an ability
to meditate needs many decades of quiet dedicated yoga practice, spread over several
lifetimes.

For Dhyana to happen, Kundalini needs to have risen along the spine and reached the
Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head. Then you sit and practice keeping the four
lobes of the brain peaceful. In other words, Dhyana is similar to ordinary meditation, but
not just the thinking faculty is at rest, and it is only to be attempted after Kundalini has
risen.

Kundalini rises for a person who is established in ethics (yama), who practices the triple
components of yoga (tapas, svadhyaya and Ishvara Pranidhana) and where sexual
activity has been such that bursts of energy from orgasm have been released into the
brain. There are two approaches to having Kundalini rise: the traditional yoga path
starting with asanas and progressing to pranayama, pratyahara and dharana. The other
approach is not just to practice the eight-fold path but also to perform Ishvara
Pranidhana, surrender to God.

Man is part of nature and nature's driving energy is Kundalini. Yoga practice and sex in
combination change Kundalini from being a potential energy from which all other
energies in the body draw their power, to being an active energy to be utilized in your
quest for vision of and contact with God in the form of divine energy in the Sahasrara
chakra. It is in Dhyana that one begins to realize that direct vision of and contact with
God is possible.

OM

8--------------The Way Of The Yogi: Where Does Stress Come From?

Have you ever wondered why you sometimes wake up and sail through your day
without any sense of stress, frustration or angst - while on another day stress and
angst seem to be the themes of your existence? Is it in the water? Are we just the
victim of random events that propel us without choice into unhappiness and stress?
Do we have a choice in the matter?

Seekers, including the ancient yogis, have asked this question for thousands of
years. Why do some events bother me while others do not? Why is it that the same
event on one day seems to pass without a thought, when on another day it seems to
become the very source of my entire life's suffering? And, most importantly, what, if
anything, can I do about this?

Where does stress come from?

Most of us perceive stress and anxiety as coming from an outside source. You are
stuck in traffic going 20 miles an hour on the freeway, and all you can think about is
how the traffic is driving us crazy. Outside source to blame for our internal state. You
step on the scale and it tells you your weight is five pounds more than 2 days before-
your mood plummets. Outside source to blame for internal state. Your daughter
announces that she will be moving back in with you indefinitely. You have budgeted
the entire year to a penny-for yourself alone-and can finally afford that course you
have been longing to take. Well, not anymore. Outside source to blame for internal
state. We all have criteria for what we think will make us happy. For some of us, it is
losing weight, finding the perfect partner, gaining the approval of our peers, or having
lots of money. But there is a hidden subtext to our criteria for happiness that is often
the root of the very suffering we are trying to avoid. Implicit in the desire to have
money is the fear of being poor. Implicit in the desire to have a partner is the need to
not be alone. Implicit in the desire to be thin is the implication that if I'm fat, I am not
allowed to be happy.

By becoming attached to the idea that life needs to be a certain way in order for me
to be happy, I sow the seeds of my own potential unhappiness. If having money
means being happy, not having money means being unhappy. If I equate a partner
with happiness, then being alone means being unhappy.

We are all programmed with a random set of criteria-conscious or unconscious

mostly programmed by our past experiences, our culture, family-and even past lives-
which determines the unconscious "rules" by which I decide whether I can allow
myself to be happy and stress-free or not. If my "rules" are fulfilled - if I weigh 125, I
am within the parameters of being allowed to feel happy - so I do. But if my "rules for
happiness," which I myself have set, are not met, if I should get on a scale and see
the number 130, I will not allow myself to be happy.

Do you see how this works? It is each of us-not-life that determines our level of
happiness. How our life circumstances measure up to our criteria determines our
level of happiness. In essence, each of us decides whether we can be happy or not.
No life circumstance, no person, no event determines our level of happiness - we
decide for ourselves.

This does not mean that we cannot have preferences. The trap is becoming so
attached to our preferences that we cannot let go and allow life to show up as it will.
Life has no allegiance to my criteria or me. It will show up how it shows up - like the
rain does. The events of life have moved in their own rhythms and ways long before I
was born and will continue long after I die.

Things happen. They are not personal. But we take them personally. We take the
impersonal events of life-events that are much like the rain - and personalize them.
We say, "God, if you love me you will not make it rain today." Then, if it rains, we
decide we are mad at God. How is that? God is in every moment as it is unfolding
now. How can I put any criteria on how God should show up? And who am I to
decide God loves me if one thing happens and that God hates me if something else
happens? This is all pure fabrication - another example of how we set up criteria for
how life is to show up and then suffer when our criteria go unmet.
Rain will rain when it rains. It will happen when the meteorological conditions are
present. We are the ones who put conditions on the rain and say, "If it rains, I will be
unhappy." Okay, now I am unhappy - it rained. Whose fault is that? Is it the rain's
fault or is it my fault? It's mine. I am the one who decided that reality should be
different than it is.

The Reality Management Program

Yogis saw that our "rules" about how life needs to be in order for us to be happy are
the root of all suffering. From the point of view of yoga, we have two choices. Choice
number one is what I call the Reality Management Program. We spend our life
energy trying to get all the people around us to fit our criteria do, say, act, just how
we want so that we can feel happy. We train people around us-our close friends and
our loved ones. We let them know, verbally or non-verbally, how they need to act in
order to get our love. We do it at work as well. We put our entire sense of self into the
success we achieve. We try to make reality fit our idea of success-more money,
better title, recognition. People spend their whole lives just working on getting reality
to fit this picture of "success" so that they can be happy.

Realizing that the Reality Management Program is an uncertain strategy for lasting
happiness is something that each of us has to recognize for ourselves. After many
years, lifetimes even, of struggling to find contentment in this way, some fortunate
people start to realize that for the amount of energy they are putting into the Reality
Management Program, it is not producing lasting happiness. It is a dead end. Only
when the individual realizes this, can the spiritual journey begin.

If Reality Management doesn't work, why do all of us do it?

Take a look at some of the criteria that regularly operate in your life. The ones that
you say, "If only _ then, I would be happy." Now imagine that you have that thing that
you so yearn for. Imagine how you would feel. Happy? Content? My guess is that, for
a moment at least, you would experience a state of "not wanting anything more." A
state of contentment in which, for that moment at least, you feel complete. Nothing
needs to be different than it is and you can completely be at rest. I would call this
state the state of Being in which we experience-everything is okay, nothing needs to
be different completion or wholeness.

I suggest that the reason we all stick so fervently to Reality Management is that in our
own convoluted way, we are searching for the state of Being. We are searching for
the experience of completeness, of not wanting anything more, of integration. We are
searching for that which is the purpose and meaning of yoga-wholeness-could we but
realize it.

With the Reality Management Plan, we are depending on outside circumstances to

create an inner state. Since outside circumstances have a life of their own, this is a
gamble. With choice number two, the Way of the Yogi, we begin with the assumption
that the state of being we are looking for is already present. It is not a state that can
be added to or found by achieving anything outside since it already is here.

Choice number two, the Way of the Yogi, comes down to this.

Be free from the need for anything to show up differently than it is in order to be
happy.

If anything you do has a subtext of "in order to," you are in reality management. In the
Way of the Yogi, we sincerely devote our lives to letting go of any conditions we have
about how life needs to show up. We practice relaxing into the moment no matter
what is taking place. When we face situations that we normally would react to, we
catch ourselves and say, "Can I relax with this?" "What about this?" It is not about
perfection, it is like a game. Watch what catches you can pull you back into reality
management. By and by you will notice that just by putting your attention on this
intention you will be able to relax with more and more things happening in your life.

How does the physical practice of Hatha Yoga tie into this? The physical practice of
yoga is useful in two ways. First, the practice is intended to put demands on the body
and mind in laboratory conditions so that we can see our habitual tendency to try to
manage reality. We try to escape from the discomfort, physical, mental or emotional
in the pose in much the same way we do in life. As we learn to better allow for all
sensations, emotions, thoughts to be present without needing to comment, fix, judge,
rationalize, or change the experience in any way, we are in practice for life
circumstances where we are called on to do the same. Second, as we progressively
learn to bypass the tendencies of the mind to manage reality, we drop into the state
of being that is always present. In the absence of striving to achieve anything or
make anything happen we experience the Being that we are. Yoga becomes the
practice ground for learning to live from choice number two-the Way of the Yogi

9----------------What is a Guru?

Namadeva's guru is Sadguru Sant Keshavadas (1934- 1997) and he follows lineage
holder Guru Rama Mata, Sant Keshavadas' widow. Through his guru and over the
last 35 years Namadeva has spent time with and/or been blessed by Swami
Satchidananda, Swami Vishnu Devananda, Swami Chidananda, Jagadguru
Jayandra Saraswati and Jagadguru Vijayendra Saraswati (Kanchi Math), Jagadguru
of Pejowar (Uddipi) Math, Paramahansa Muktananda, Swami Bala Gangadarnath,
Yogi Bhajan, Yogi Amrit Desai, Buddhist teacher Ashoka Priya Darshan, Dr. Leon
Wright, The Dalai Lama, the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Kalu Rimpoche, Sakya Jetsun
Chiney Luding, Pir Vilayat Kahn, and many others.
First, a guru is not a state of consciousness, it is a job. There are all kinds of gurus
from musicians and storytellers to those who never speak a word. What they have in
common is the appointed authority to do their job: helping the ego-mind-personality
merge with the divinity within. The soul, self, jiva, atma - whatever you want to call it -
is immortal. There was never a time it did not exist. There will never be a time it will
not be. The ego-mind-personality is not immortal. It ceases to be at the time of death,
while an essence of what it has learned and accumulated of spiritual value goes
forward into the next life, even if that life does not take place for five hundred or a
thousand years.

But the ego-mind-personality can become immortal if it so chooses. Of course, this

choice involves a clear decision, commitment, discipline, and Grace. Once the
decision is made, a succession of teachers begin to appear, helping, teaching and
leading the aspirant. The only ongoing quality that matters is sincerity. One can make
mistakes, take wrong turns, and make short-term inefficient choices, but if all are
done within the framework of sincerity, the aspirant continues to get help. In the
process of preparing the ego-mind-personality to merge with the soul within, negative
qualities are sanded away at the rate the aspirant can stand. Rescue, within the
bounds of karma, often is afforded to struggling individuals. Eventually, one will meet
a true guru.

Shake any bush, today, and out tumble gurus of all sorts. They are mostly "wanna-
bes," "think-they-ares," "wish-they-weres," "never-will-bes," and would-be spiritual
leaders who have decided that this is their calling. Some of them are sincere. Some
are not. A true guru is not self-appointed. They are selected and trained for the job by
those who are true gurus, sadgurus, jagadgurus and genuine celestial enlightened
ones who come here from time to time. There are very few true gurus.

A genuine guru has spiritual authority. They can consciously take on the karma of
anyone they meet. Although they have this ability, they use it selectively. If the taking
on of karma serves the greater dharma, or spiritual advancement of the species,
country or other group deemed important, the guru will take the karma of that
individual. Sometimes the karma can be worked off without harming the guru and
sometimes not. But the guru always knows both the reason and the outcome for
taking another's karma.

A true guru has spiritual gifts to give, and they give them - sometimes lavishly - to
students, disciples and complete strangers. A true guru will know the appropriateness
of the gift and can "see" how it will be applied. That's not to say that all possible
outcomes from application of the gift are known. Although a sadguru has this ability
to know all possible outcomes, the true guru does not. Still, a clear direction is
apparent to the guru which points strongly to how the gift will be employed. This is
how the appropriateness of the gift is determined. Sometimes a new color, signifying
a new gift, is added to the aura. Orange, for instance, might be given, and with it a
definite body of knowledge. Suddenly, many things become clear for no apparent
reason. This new knowledge ends up changing everything about the life of the
person who receives it. Old relationships may end and new ones begin. New goals
and ways of reaching them appear in the mind. All this from one new color/gift. All the
while, increasing the ability of the ego-mind-personality to eventually merge with the
soul or self is the overriding objective.

A true guru can change the direction of the life paths of those he/she meets with
relative ease. A word, a glance, a thought can change the course of a life as easily as
one switches the path of a train from one track to another by pulling a lever. The self
of the individual is accessed and a new set of instructions, or a new instruction, is
issued that changes the conditions one will meet in life. Or the true guru may make a
tiny change in the set of foundation assumptions (or knowledge) the ego-mind
personality uses to make decisions. Often only one tiny change can completely alter
the nature of the decision making process. If one has a near-death experience and
survives, for instance, the fear of death is usually completely eradicated. The
elimination of fear from the ongoing decision-making process affects everything. A
true guru is compassionate. He/she has usually "been there." The experiences of
many lives have been integrated so that probable choices and decisions resulting
from certain circumstances are clearly seen.

Understanding not only mentally but almost viscerally what a particular aspirant is
going through, the true guru may search intensely for an acceptable way to help
deserving ones whose karma may militate strongly against such help. Compassion is
active, not passive.

A true guru knows his/her limits - the limits of how they can help or how they can
speed things along. The boundaries are always in sight and usually observed. True
gurus are humble. They are not impressed with themselves. They know too much for
that. But they also know that all knowledge is approximate, that everything is
temporary, even time itself. They know that Truth or God is vast and that no one has
an exclusive corner on "the truth." They know that great forces and beings have
made it possible for them to evolve to where they are. They know that perceiving the
Great Illusion of this reality does not diminish the pain felt by people living in this
world. So they help, with gratitude for what they have received and what they are
empowered to do in service of others.

Such a true guru is aware of the conscious, active, hugely advanced forces and
beings operating in our reality. Sometimes those forces and beings come to the aid of
the true guru and sometimes not. But at all times there are very, very advanced
beings on the planet who monitor things. They sometimes hide in plain sight as a
jagadguru, and sometimes they keep well below the spiritual radar for their own
purposes. But they are here, and the true guru knows his or her limitations in the
grand scheme of things.

A spiritual teacher, even one who has reached the place of an advanced adept, is not
a guru until and unless the appointment for the job arrives. For many advanced
adepts, the appointment to become a true guru never arrives. Yet they teach -
tirelessly, endlessly, selflessly, joyfully. They have lessons to teach about spirituality;
about life; about separation of the real from the unreal; about the rhythms of
existence, both individual and cosmic; about the subtle habits of the lower mind that
seeks to evade the light where it must surrender its bad habits; about the misuse of
charming personalities that merely seek gratification however it might be obtained.
The genuine spiritual teacher is a treasure beyond compare, for each has put their
shoulder to the wheel of humanity's progress, each within his or her specific area of
special interest or attainment. And the Grace of The Supreme flows through each in
wonderful and different ways.

But they are not gurus. They cannot change the course of your life in an instant. They
cannot take a terrible condition away from you and assume the burden themselves
by a mere thought. They cannot determine your appropriateness to receive a spiritual
gift, see how it will be applied, and then give it to you. It is a commonly accepted truth
in mystic and spiritual pursuits that what we all seek is within. Scriptures from many
religions say it. Enlightened ones say it. True gurus, sadgurus, jagadgurus and maha
siddhas all say it. But appointment to the job of being a guru comes usually from an
external source. It can be a being in the flesh who, determining that one's nature is
appropriate to the job, appoints a person through some transfer of authority. It can be
a great being who comes in a dream and empowers an adept or spiritual teacher. On
rare occasions, a force of some kind will seize an individual and so alter their energy,
spiritual ability and perceptions, that the condition of the job is conveyed by cosmic
initiation. But in all cases, the abilities and responsibilities of the true guru remain.

Finally, a true guru has been embraced by love and realizes with every facet of his or
her being that love is both the method and the destination. It is means and end.
There is no way to achieve a state of love other than by loving. For God or Truth
speaks to the heart. The mind cannot contain or apprehend Truth or God in its
entirety. Truth is the ocean while the mind is like a teacup. And you cannot hold the
ocean in a teacup. It is true that you can pour the contents of the teacup into the
ocean and it becomes one with the ocean. But then the meditation ends and the ego-
mind-personality - even the divine ones - are back in the body. Automatically,
limitations of understanding take place because of the confines of the teacup.

It is astonishing that some of the towering great minds of the East including such
persons as Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madvacharya, The Buddha, and
others do not agree on the finer points of what is Truth, what is Reality, what is the
nature of the Self, and so on. They see different shafts of the same light, but none
have the capacity to see it all. The first Sadguru, Dattatreya, was once asked to
comment on the differences between Dwaita (dualism) and Advaita (Non-dualism),
between Saguna Realization with a form involved (as in Rama or Krishna, etc.), or
Nirguna Realization without any form involved. He looked kindly at the questioner
and said, "If you are still concerned with such things, you still have a ways to go."
Most teachers and gurus agree that love will take you all the way to the goal of
human existence. True gurus have a unique set of skills and tools to help the finite
part of us merge in the infinite part of us. They have been specially sent on
assignment to help us, in our identification with our ego-mind-personality, to move as
expeditiously as possible into a state of being where we understand immortality
because we have achieved it.

10--------Best way to meditate & Physiological effects

Meditation is the most powerful tool available to us when it comes to developing

spiritually and psychically. For this reason meditation is used extensively in all kinds of
psychic development courses.
A quote by Yogananda (A pioneer of Yoga in the West). "Meditation, or consciousness
focused upon itself, is the ultimate revealer of who you really are, and what you truly
are. You can discover an inner guidance within yourself, and that inner guidance will
guide you to the destination you need to go. You have already been guided to many
things which are opening you to be aware, but the greatest tool for self knowledge is
meditation".
What is Meditation. During our day our minds are constantly active in the process of
thinking. There is a constant sensory input that comes from living our lives. Whether we
are watching television, reading or even having a conversation, with everything that we
do we are constantly engaging in inner thought. We are so used to doing this that we
are not usually fully aware of all of the thought activity that is going on. This constant
churning of the mind can make our thoughts clouded thereby making it harder for us to
concentrate or focus on a single thing.
Meditation allows us to calm the mind and reduce the activity and inner conversation
that we have with ourselves. This helps to clear the mind and allows us to become more
focused. We experience a sense of inner peace and relaxation and our minds will feel
refreshed.
"When the sea is rough, sediment is churned up and the water becomes murky, but
when the wind dies down the mud gradually settles the water becomes clear."
(www.aboutmeditation.org)
Why Meditate. The main reason for meditation in psychic development is to make the
mind as calm and quiet as possible thus allowing us to better connect to the spirit world
and our higher self's. The higher self is our existence in the higher dimensions or the
spirit world, otherwise known as our soul.
We all have a connection to our soul but the strength of that connection is weakened by
the continual chatter of our conscious thoughts. The connection becomes stronger
when our conscious mind closes down when we are asleep. This is why our dreams are
important, however it is often difficult to remember our dreams and even when we do it
can be difficult to understand the messages within them.
When we meditate we can calm the mind and strengthen the connection to the higher
realms and become closer to spirit but because we are still awake we can remember
and understand what we find there. This makes meditation the most powerful tool in
understanding our self's, our lives and the reasons why we are here and what we need
to learn. Through meditation we strengthen our intuition and the knowledge of our
higher self's will come through.
Meditation Techniques. Meditation involves concentrating on something, to focus the
attention of the mind and thus help prevent the random thoughts and chatter that is
usually going on. This may be something that is looked at like a candle flame or a
picture but it is often something that is listened too. This can include a single repetitive
sound like our own breath or repeating a mantra to reach a state of deep relaxation
where the mind will become open and lucid.
More specific results can be gained by listening to a guided visualisation, where we use
our imagination to visualise ourselves in a particular place or situation according to what
we hear. This is usually followed by a period of silence which creates a space where our
higher self can come through and information can be passed into our conscious mind.
The point of the visualisation before this is to take our mind to a specific place so that
we can gain specific information.
There are also guided visualisations that are used to work with the various energies that
are contained within us.
Some meditation techniques will allow your mind to reach various states of
consciousness and may take you to higher realms and dimensions.
Best Way to Meditate.
For the best results you should set aside a particular spot that will be used every time
you meditate. It should be a quiet place where there are no distractions.
You should be comfortable to a point where you able to be still for a long time but not so
comfortable that you are likely to fall asleep. Many people find that the best way to do
this is to sit up straight on a chair.
If possible you should meditate before a meal rather than just after eating.
Ideally the best time of day to meditate is early in the morning. Although meditation is
beneficial to us whatever time of day we choose. It is said that early morning meditation
is more effective as our mind is still relatively quiet after sleep and before the hustle and
bustle of the day has begun. However it is much more important that you have plenty of
time in which to meditate. If you are worried about how long you are spending and
thinking about where you need to be or what you need to get done then you will not be
able to relax properly.

Physiological Effects. Meditation is said to reduce stress as well as

lowering blood pressure and pulse rate and decreasing metabolic rate. In
other words it not only calms the mind, but also calms the body as well

11---Physiological Effects of Transcendental Meditation

Robert Keith Wallace 1
1
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Center for the Health Sciences, Los
Angeles, California 90024

Oxygen consumption, heart rate, skin resistance, and electroenceph-alograph

measurements were recorded before, during, and after subjects practiced a technique
called transcendental meditation. There were significant changes between the control
period and the meditation period in all measurements. During meditation, oxygen
consumption and heart rate decreased, skin resistance increased, and the
electroencephalogram showed specific changes in certain frequencies. These results
seem to distinguish the state produced by transcendental meditation from commonly
encountered states of consciousness and suggest that it may have practical
applications.

12--------Meditation Changes Your Brain Cells

It may seem intuitive that our mind's activity would affect our brain's biology, but now
new research is supporting that assumption. It reveals that meditation and other
techniques affect brain fitness at the level of your genes--turning genes on or off that
are associated with free radicals, inflammation, and cell aging, which affect cell and
tissue damage. They have also been shown to affect our body's "fight or flight"
response to stressors.

In fact, according to an article by Michelle Andrews in the May 4, 2009 issue of the
Baltimore Sun ("How to beat stress and angst through meditation"), one study on
individuals who were meditation novices showed changes in brain and behavior after
two weeks of daily 30-minute meditation sessions.

While it can't eliminate all of your problems, Richard Davidson, director of the Waisman
Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
says, "It can transform the emotional brain in ways that promote higher levels of
resilience (and) less vulnerability and affect the body in ways that can improve health."

There are many different kinds of meditation, and many places and people available to
train you in meditation. But here is a simple one from Principles of Brain Management
by Ilchi Lee that you can try right now:

 Sit comfortably, making your back as straight as you can. Relax your body
completely. At first, just focus on the rhythm of your breath in your chest; just
relax and follow your natural pattern. (You can also do this lying on your back.)
  Focus on each part of the body, letting go of all tension in that area. With every
exhalation, try to release more and more tension from your body. Thoroughly
release all tension from your face, shoulders, arms, back, abdomen, and feet.

 When your chest relaxes, gently begin to breathe more deeply into the abdomen,
until you feel increased warmth there.

 Notice any emotions or thoughts that you have. Visualize them as part of the
tension in your body. You may see it as a dark cloud within you.

 As you breathe in, imagine that a bright light is piercing through that darkness,
the way sunlight cuts through a cloud.

 As you exhale, toxic vapors from the clouds are expelled from your body.

 Smile gently with each exhalation, allowing the light to overcome the darkness.
Continue until all of the darkness has evaporated from your body and mind.

How do you feel now? Keeping this feeling requires consistent practice. As Davidson
says, "This is mental exercise. If one wants (benefits) to continue, you have to
continue." So try and practice this every day for long-term results.

13-----------Tips on How to Meditate

Meditation is a mental exercise by which one attempts to go beyond the conditioned

'thinking' mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. One can meditate in a
number of ways.

The basis of meditation is to focus and quiet one's mind. With time you will find that you
can meditate anywhere anytime, reaching the inner peace no matter what is going
around you. But first you need to calm your mind.

• Make time to meditate: keep aside enough time in your daily routine for your
meditation. Meditation shows results if you do it regularly and consistently rather than
sporadically.

• Find or create a soothing quiet environment: It's essential when you are staring out to
avoid any obstacles for attention. Turn off your television sets, radios, phones or any
other noisy appliances. If you want to play music, make sure it is calm, repetitive and
gentle, so it does not break your attention. Meditating outside maybe conducive but you
have to be careful that it is not near the roads or near a source of loud noise.

• Sit on level ground: Sit on a cushion if the ground is uncomfortable. There is absolutely
no need to twist your legs in the lotus position or any other unusual postures. The only
thing that you need to pay attention is that you need to keep you back straight as this
will help in breathing later on.

• You can also sit on a chair and meditate but make sure your back is straight. Your feet
need to rest solidly on the ground.

• Any position is permissible as long as your back is straight. You can meditate lying
down also, but be careful that you are not so relaxed that you fall asleep. In warm
weather try watching the clouds.

• Keep your eyes half closed , if it is too distracting then close your eyes or you can
concentrate on an object such as a candle flame.

• Breathe slowly and deeply from you abdomen rather than your chest. You should feel
your stomach rise and fall and your chest should relatively be still. Healthy stress
relieving breathing may be done by inhaling to the count of three, exhaling to the count
of six. Repeat this over 15 to 20 minutes. This expels the used air and more completely
oxygenates and purifies your blood, this helps in lowering the heart rate and blood
pressure. Many blood pressure patients have dropped their blood pressure as much as
50 points, allowing them to decrease or do away with the need for medication. This
breathing exercise should be done on a regular exercise.

Calm your mind: Once you have trained your mind to focus on one thing at a time the
next step is to focus on nothing at all, essentially clearing your mind. This requires
tremendous discipline but is the pinnacle of meditation. After focusing on a single thing,
you can either cast it away or look at it impartially letting it come and go, without labeling
it as good or bad. Do the same thing to any thought that comes to your mind until
silence perseveres.

14-------------3 Powerful Secrets of Mystic Awakening!

In your process of mystic awakening, it's important to have a simple process that you
can always fall back on. These are the primary ingredients for powerful meditation.
These deceptively simple secrets are also the beginning of the power to change
anything in your life!

1-Awareness: Pick your focus of meditation. You can do this in a relaxed, seated
situation, or you can do it in your day to day life. When your mind drifts from your focus,
gently return it, and smile deep within yourself.

While walking around, you might focus on your breath, the feeling of your feet
contacting the ground, the things you see as you are walking, or the things you hear.
Gently bring your awareness back to your object of focus again and again.
While sitting, you can pick any sensation (or all sensations at once) in the body. You
can also choose internal or external sounds. You can even focus on internal or external
images (if you like to meditate with your eyes open) during your formal practice.
Whatever your object of focus, be sure to gently return your awareness to it anytime it
drifts.

2-Acceptance: Say "yes" on a deep level. Whatever comes up, allow it to be. Relax,
mentally and physically. Accept yourself (everything within you) fully... then offer your
acceptance to others. When you deeply accept yourself, your peace, acceptance and
allowing will naturally flow into others.

For the practice examples listed earlier, be sure to remember you 'gently' return your
awareness. Remember to let go of judgment. It's not good or bad. It simply is.

3-Awakening: Recognize that beliefs are only models of reality. I know we like to get
attached to our favorites (don't we!), but they are only there as a map or a model. If a
more useful map or model comes along, then we should replace the old one.

Take your thoughts a little more lightly... after all, they're only thoughts. Whatever you
deeply believe in, see if you can imagine the opposite as a serious belief... see if you
can step into it... how many opposites can you come up with? Begin to relax in and
around your belief systems... begin to release your seriousness. An ideal time to play
with your resistance and attachment around belief systems is when you reach a deep,
peaceful place in meditation through your practice of awareness and acceptance.

Take some time to integrate these principles into your formal meditation, or into your
daily life. Mysticism is nothing more than endless courage when looking within. Courage
may be nothing more than accepting what is, and continuing down the path, regardless.

Your current experience level doesn't matter. When you bring these powerful secrets of
mysticism into your daily meditation practice, insight and bliss will become common
experiences for you!

15---5 Tips to Prepare an Environment For Meditation and Mystic Exploration

What you hold within yourself will determine how you perceive the world. Yet what you
surround yourself with can also help you to transform that which is within!

Simply put, mysticism is about inner exploration... or looking, hearing, and feeling within
the self while accepting the self completely. It is just using the simplest of senses to
examine the contents of your mind and body without judgment. But when and where do
you get started?

I encourage you to be willing and able to meditate and look a little bit deeper into your
experience at any moment of any day, but it is also powerful to have a regular practice,
and to prepare an environment for mystic exploration.
These tips will help you quite a bit, but the most important thing is that you set aside the
time, and set up the environment. So once you've decided when and for how long you
will meditate... how specifically should you prepare your environment?

1. Find someplace quiet: this kind of goes without saying. As you get better and better,
you may find the external noise actually helps you to find internal silence... but to begin
with, find someplace quiet and comfortable.

2. Make time for meditation/avoid interruptions: setting aside a specific time will not
only help you to establish a habit, it will also lead to more powerful experiences during
your session. It is important that you enjoy your meditation with no interruption, so take
the phone off the hook, turn off the cell, let everybody know you need a few minutes (10
minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, however long you like), and whatever else needs to be
done to ensure your ability to find a peaceful place.

3. Decorate your space as appropriate: this is a matter of personal taste... a Buddhist

might like a statue of the Buddha or some incense, a Christian practitioner might prefer
a cross, or a rosary. Again, this is just to flavor the environment and focus your mind.
You might like to add flowers or a plant. You might also find that plain, empty white
walls suit the purposes of quieting your mind... find what works for you in your silent
space.

4. Wear comfortable clothing: you want your clothing to be pleasant to wear, and
ideally, a little bit loose. The more pleasing your clothes are to your skin, the less of a
distraction they will be. Be sure to keep plenty of room around the waist to
accommodate deep breathing (elastic waistbands are good). I personally like cotton...
but some people swear by silk. Find the clothing that will best facilitate your relaxation
and wear it.

5. Take a bath/shower beforehand: If it is possible, it's good to take a quick shower or

bath before you practice. The cleansing effect of bathing and showering goes deeper
than the skin. Most people will emerge from a shower and feel clean, relaxed, and
refreshed... this is an excellent way to begin your meditation.

These all work, and they all work together. If you can't manage all of these, then some
is better than none. Do as much as you can, and you will find, through consistency, that
you can always do a little bit more.

Keep in mind, practice is the most important thing. If you can only manage a couple of
minute of meditation, in whatever environment you find yourself, this is still a good start.

As you make more time for it, you can adapt your environment as you see fit. The more
time you take to create an environment for the growth and self understanding you
desire, the more the deepest levels of your mind will begin to mirror that growth,
understanding, and change! And as you start to truly understand the effect you have on
your environment, and the effect your environment has on you, then you will really begin
to appreciate the power of meditation and the path of the mystic!