Meditation

In the early days, thousands of years ago, when yoga was first being developed, the primary practice was meditation, or centering. The poses had not yet been invented. This was a highly cherished, esteemed practice because the ancients had found that by centering they were able to access a new way of knowing and being and thereby become more intuitive. They found that by consciously relaxing into themselves and experiencing their own consciousness with clarity, and by mentally listening inwardly and being as unthinkingly present in the now-moment as possible, they were able to experience the deeper nature of Consciousness.

Meditation, they discovered, was the most direct way of experiencing first-hand the meaning of God and Self. By the way, this was a nonintellectual practice. It was experiential. By experiencing the truth of who they were, they would know the truth of who they were. It wasn't a matter of thinking about it first and coming to intellectual conclusions. The conclusions or truths that arose did so out of personal experience and intuitive revelation.

The all-important revelation was that God and Self are one, that the individual wave is the specific expression of the entire ocean, that you and I are God-identified, God-specific. When one realizes this - when this becomes real for anyone - one acquires an entirely new understanding of himself or herself and the world. When this happens, it's as though you've come out of a haze or mental fog, or have just awakened from a dream and at last see things clearly. It will feel as though you now live in a new and different world because you're seeing all things anew, as though for the first time, with a different understanding. You'll feel different about yourself... more genuine, more authentic, more like the real you - happy. And you'll feel absolutely normal, finally. You'll feel, simply, wide-awake .

It was out of that centered meditative awareness that the poses evolved - or were, shall I say, channeled. They arose spontaneously out of the centered meditative mind. They were inspired, uncalculated actions. The ancients were simply moved to do them as a result of their meditative practice. Then they practiced and taught these to others as a way of finding or returning to that centered meditative state. The asanas were not only valued because they were physically beneficial, but because they were an especially effective way of both facilitating and sustaining the meditative state. The primary practice, however, was and is meditation -  experiencing oneself in stillness.

Now, let's be very clear here. Meditation means listening, and the meditative mind is the "listening-to-Infinite-Mind" mind. The practice of yoga is a way of learning to be in this meditative listening state all the time. It's not only about how flexible your body is, or how many advanced and intricate postures you can do, though all of this is wonderful. It's about you and your specific mind listening to, being guided by, and communing with Infinite Mind, God.

The word yoga means yoke, and yoke means union and joining. Through the practice of yoga, you "join" your specific mind with the Infinite Mind through the act of listening for guidance, and thereby experience your already-existing oneness with the Infinite. In this way there is only one Mind in your awareness -  not your mind and Infinite Mind, but Infinite-Mind-only expressing Itself as you.

The practice of meditation is about consciously establishing a line of communication between your mind and Infinite Mind - a line of communion. The result is ongoing nonverbal communion-communication with the Infinite in the form of spontaneous, intuitive revelation, specific and appropriate to the moment, wherever you find yourself. Through the regular practice of meditation you can learn to communicate with the ocean part of you, the as yet unclaimed part of you, the greater aspect of you that has always been you but that you have not yet recognized as yourself. And because of the undeniable effortless communion you'll experience, you will gradually realize that you are That in specific expression. It's inevitable.

In your attempt to express this verbally, both to yourself and others, you'll probably say something to the effect that "God" is in everything you're seeing, including yourself, and that God is all there is. An inherent oneness becomes obvious.

You'll realize that God is all there is of you and that your identity and existence are God-sourced. You'll especially realize that you did not create yourself. You exist because you were created. And therefore you are the specific Self-Expression of the Infinite Self Presence. You are That, This. You are God, Infinite Mind, Infinite Person, or Consciousness being specifically Itself as you. You are Consciousness being specifically conscious, an angle of awareness within the infinite arena of Awareness. You'll also realize that whatever it is you are, so also is everything else. Everything will begin to seem as though it's made of the same energy, the same cloth.

It's understandable, however, that this may seem preposterous, or at least unreasonable or wrong. Therefore, especially at first, be careful not to just accept or reject this idea. Live with it, test it out, see if it's true; and test it out in meditation. What you'll find is that because it is true, there will always be a part of you that knows it's true. Part of you will never quite give in to the ego sense of self, if not true. Which means you will never be able to believe fully in the limited ego sense of who you are. Part of you knows that the most accurate, humble truth about yourself is that you are the direct expression of Infinite Conscious Being.  Nothing less and nothing other than this.

Therefore, a very deep and knowing part of you will always be urging you to let go of your conditioning and limited beliefs in order to experience yourself as you actually are - in order to be congruent with life as it is. This part of you is always at peace, even when you are busy denying your own reality. It understands that there is absolutely no logical rationale for believing what's not true, and therefore it doesn't believe the suggestion that you are anything other than Consciousness or Divine Mind being specifically conscious. It knows you are the direct expression of the creative Life Principle.

And if this is true, and indeed it is, then that changes everything. It means that things - yourself included - are not what we thought they were and that life doesn't actually work the way we thought it did. We were close, perhaps - just as Newtonian physics was close when it presented a more comprehensive approximation of truth than the theories that preceded it - but close is not enough. And if life works differently from the way we thought, and if life is more incredible than we were previously aware, and if you and I are not who we think we are, then what's really going on? What is Consciousness, really? Who am I, really?

Be curious. Want to know. It's to your advantage to be intelligent and aware, not ignorant, and to know who you are and how life works - since everything is predicated on this. There is no reason to be hesitant, no sense in not investigating the truth of this claim. And don't be so sure you've already got it figured out, one way or the other. This may or may not be true, you may or may not be Consciousness being specifically conscious, but find out. Don't just accept it or reject it. See what it means. Look again. Experience yourself anew - directly. Consciously experience what it means to be conscious. We deserve to know the truth. We owe it to ourselves to prove it one way or the other, once and for all, and no longer to live out the suffering caused by inaccurate conceptions of who we are and how life works.

The only way you'll prove it to yourself is by experiencing yourself. This is the only way to discover what's true, the only way you'll become convinced. At the moment, though, we think it's egotistical to think we are fundamentally perfect expressions of a divine Life Principle. But, really, it's the ego (the limited sense of self, our conditioning) that is saying that it's "bad" to feel good inside about who we are - that it's selfish, arrogant, or egotistical, and that we've done so many cruel things in life that we don't deserve to experience the relief that comes from letting go of guilt, self-condemnation, and inner self-flagellation. Therefore, be willing temporarily to set aside the ego's admonition that this is a waste of time, that you are what you think yourself to be, and be open to a new experience.

Consider the possibility that you may be believing untruths about yourself, convictions that are causing you and others to suffer needlessly, and then consciously go inward and experience yourself. Allow yourself to experience the truth of your reality - your inherent creative goodness, and acknowledge your right to know the truth about yourself. And if doing that makes you feel absolutely fabulous for no apparent reason, then so be it. You'll find yourself feeling good about who you are because of what you are.

It's important to know this, or at least to suspect or consider it. The only reason we feel bad about who we are is because we engage in indiscriminate, inaccurate, inner self-criticism, and we therefore live in a fearful and defensive manner. We don't know any better. We believe what's not true and behave accordingly - not intentionally or maliciously, but ignorantly. We think self-appreciation is egotistical, but really it's just the reverse. It's egotistical not to feel good, not to be appreciative of the creative energy or Consciousness we are.

It is, in fact, exceedingly important to think well of yourself and to experience genuine Self-appreciation; and this happens spontaneously when you experience your undistorted truth. This is the source or well-spring of health, vitality, and aliveness, but you cannot force yourself to feel this way. You cannot make yourself feel good about yourself if you don't. You'll never quite believe it. But you can begin to loosen your grip on what you believe is true. You can introduce a little doubt and curiosity - just in case things are different from what you've thought. You can deliberately ease up on how convinced you are about yourself and everything else and temporarily suspend what you think you know in order to look again and experience yourself directly - and perhaps have a new experience. This will reveal the creative goodness in you because that is what's there.

It is not arrogant or egotistical to feel good inside. You had nothing to do with it. It's simply the honest response to clearly perceived Reality. It is arrogant, however, and egotistical (in fact, this is the definition of ego) to think that you are responsible for who you are and that you created yourself. To think this way is to think you can usurp the power of God. That's ego. On the other hand, it is the zenith of humility to recognize the Allness of God. When this becomes the obvious truth, your experience of yourself and the world will change radically.

The practice of meditation involves spending quality time alone every day with the discipline of centered sitting, and then to the very best of your ability carrying that meditative and centered listening mind with you all day long. And then doing it again the next day ... and the next - so that a momentum is established. It's about 1) experiencing the truth of who you are, and 2) mentally listening inwardly for the wisdom and guidance of Infinite Mind, God - both in special times alone as well as all day long in the midst of daily life for as many moments as you can.

In this way you become the specific opening where the influx of wisdom and guidance from Infinite Mind can flow into human consciousness. By allowing and desiring yourself to be more open and being increasingly receptive and welcoming, and by consciously "joining with" the Infinite - from which you were never apart - you give permission for Life to flow through you unimpeded. You become less defended against letting it in or out, you become less blocked. And you thereby learn voluntarily to release your conditioned ego responses and instead become receptive to promptings from within. Your physical health will improve as you let the flow flow. You'll experience more vitality. Your mental outlook, as well, will become naturally optimistic, and a powerful, soothing calm will gently enfold you because you're beginning to see all things as they really are - infinite and divine. Life won't look so scary anymore.

When you first start experiencing the meditative mind, it may feel as though there is a you and a something else, as though you are experiencing something other and infinitely larger than yourself - like a wave experiencing the ocean, or a particle of air experiencing vast space. Many have referred to this as experiencing the "otherness." This is understandable. You're moving out of a limited or small sense of self. As you do this it will seem as though you - the wave - are joining with something other than you - the ocean; and yet, at the same time, it will also feel as though it is absolutely all you - that you are experiencing absolutely nothing external to you. The wave, for example, is not actually experiencing anything other than itself when it experiences the ocean, nor is the particle when it experiences vast space, and yet it is experiencing something infinitely larger than how it has thought about itself until now. Your small and limited sense of self will give way to a new and expanded Self-sense.

It is essential, however, that you somehow manage to let go or suspend what you now believe to be true about yourself, for at least a few moments, in order to have a new experience. You must clean the mirror a little in order to get a clearer picture of yourself. It's not necessary that you actually become different or change yourself in any fundamental way. You simply need to stop believing what you've always thought was true so that you're in a position to understand things in a new way.

Do this with meditation. The way to clean the mirror, achieve certainty, and access guidance from this seemingly "bigger-than-you" Consciousness, Mind, or Presence, God, is by centering and mental inner listening. Therefore, establish a daily twenty-minute meditation practice. Twice a day is even better. And as the days, weeks, and months go by, notice what's happening. You will not actually experience, or hear anything other than yourself when you practice, but you will awaken to a whole new enlarged sense of who you are and how to be one that contains tremendous fulfillment.

The Practice