It is sometimes necessary and also pleasant to refrain from activity and to be still.

Although we all have activities that must be attended to and most of us fill our days with these we also find pleasant relief in hobbies, crafts and sports that provide us with very different types of activity and entertainment.

However, constant and demanding or restless physical activity, if extreme, can be tiring. So it is in conscious relaxation practice or meditation when the body is still that there is time for restoring energy, as in sleep. It feels so good that we hardly need to be reminded of the need for physical stillness.

Emotional need for stillness is correspondingly important. There are times for emotional expression and interaction with others and times required to let the waters of our feeling nature come to rest.

When the physical body is still this becomes easier to enjoy a pleasant, restful mood.

To be able to establish mental stillness is the most difficult test for us and the struggles we become engaged in are well documented to demonstrate the various ways different people are able to come to some command over their own thoughts. This is the focus of the classical teachings of Patanjali’s Sutras and is the ultimate aim of the Raja Yogi.

It could be described as a battle or a yielding exercise. It certainly is one of subduing the passing thoughts to allow a higher awareness beyond the mind. For those who identify very closely with the mind it is not easy to surrender the mind ego but like most stages in our growing once we have ‘let go’ our thoughts the rewards come to us in higher awareness and states of consciousness. This is not easily described as either thoughts or feelings but best understood as states of pure Being.

In the natural laws as taught through Yoga we graduate to first learn to command the physical part of us, the emotional, then the mental nature until we are focussed more surely in our deeper nature of the soul.

It is during interludes between the many adventures of soul, mind, emotions and body that we are offered rare chances to experience spiritual consciousness. Supernal conscious awareness generally requires a harmonious state or degree of integration of the personality and reduction of all restless activity. In this state it is possible to hear the whisper of intuition, the echoes of nature’s wisdom of the ages and to welcome the guidance of those greater in human stature than our own.

Stillness is the key to greater health, more generous heart, clearer mind, happier soul and towards becoming a wiser human Being.

In meditating we aim for a harmonious flow of thought awareness rather than erratic statements of thoughts and ideas without a common thread. In meditation one’s self consciousness of thought activity changes to a state beyond the process of thinking to a state of higher awareness or Being that is related to a higher type of feeling rather than thinking.  It is usually a little of both.

We learn to build a bridge between the differing realities of the material and subtler or spiritual states of consciousness. In states of relaxation and meditation, these two worlds tend to blend. We have a somewhat similar state that occurs between sleeping and waking. Ultimately they will become one to the extent that they will no longer seem isolated one from the other but will unite to create the integration which has inspired the name of Yoga – union.

Through meditation we learn to manage the mind and its resources and faculties.

We also cultivate the best of our capacities for creative thought and ideas and to discover our innate strength and increase self-respect as well as refreshing our respect and reverence for great nature outside ourselves.

Our consciousness changes and grows with the practice of meditation. We learn to release strain of all kinds, stress due to problems and inner confusion and to expand instead of contracting and resisting life.  This allows us to grow through acceptance of our own soul and its potential to make our own life as fine and good and happy as we wish it.

When meditating we tend to feel ‘in tune’ and anything seems possible.

Some develop a simple formula or procedure that is immediate in attuning them to the state that they desire, whether it is following physical exercise or Asanas, or breathing techniques or the silent repetition of a prayer or familiar saying.

The adventure into the inner worlds of our nature offers constant discoveries that can rival any outer excitement.

These experiences entice us to maintain our meditation practice throughout our lifetime.

We may think that we differ in our understanding of love. But love is a feeling in our hearts that is as true as life itself.

However, our exercise of our love, like the need to exercise our body, is often neglected and we tend to suffer from constriction of our natural feelings as we suffer with limitations of stiff joints and tendons.

It is suggested that just as the physical body needs strength and flexibility, so our heart requires the same ability to adjust and expand.

It is not so easy and nearly impossible to share the personal experiences that have built up the strength of our love. But it is simple enough to share a reminder of the common technique that motivates us all to deliberately stretch our natural affections so that we can expand and grow emotionally. This allows us to embrace a wider sphere of life with our hearts as well as our minds.

One basic exercise is most comfortable when seated in meditation or when lying quietly.

As often wisely reminded, we must apply the directive to ‘mind our own business’ and so we start with ourselves. Consideration of self affection is not meant in a derogatory sense.  Self respect and liking our own self provides us with a reasonable basis to gradually develop in time an unconditional state of universal love.

Sincere feeling of affection for our bodies, our personality and our deeper being puts us in touch with whole soul with a sense or realization of our soul as our best friend.

After a time it feels natural to stretch out beyond ourselves to we embrace those closest to us in our real feelings of affection – not dutiful or habitual feelings, but with our genuine feelings of love.

Relaxing thought, let our heart remind us of all those loved ones whose images flow through our consciousness. It is very likely that we begin with our own families, extending to others who have once been in our lives and to those who are still in our lives.  Our love for those who have already died can remain clear and real as before and often increases.

Sometimes we are reminded through our sense of gratitude and appreciation, of those who have nurtured or assisted us.

Sometimes affection flows through the constant regard we hold for certain authors and individuals who have been a positive influence upon our lives and our thinking.

Then there are those people to whom we feel soul attuned although not directly in physical contact.

Sometimes we go back in memory to our early life and sometimes are intensely focussed on the present.

We can gravitate to our natural admiration and respect for great and noble people who have lived, or devotion to others who evoke a higher spiritual response of devotion.

We continue to spontaneously extend our feelings rather than our thoughts and enjoy the sense of loving so many or so greatly.

Gradually it becomes easier and easier to expand our hearts to love the whole city, state, country, continent, until we embrace human life as a whole.  And sometimes we recognize that it feels easier to love the whole world impersonally, than to love a single individual. Whatever is a real or spontaneous experience in this exercise is yours and yours alone.

There are times of great difficulty when the heart is not receptive to the idea of expanding your affection to human beings. It is more attractive to be concerned with loving Nature. Then we must find the love that is uppermost in your personality in appreciating the many avenues of Nature’s expression.

Here the same principle applies. We commence with recognition of a sincere love for say, one tree before the flow of many types of trees passes and so we can feel love for all trees without distinction.  From our love for one animal our heart expands in our love for all animals;  from one blue sky to all skies; from one rock or gem to all gemstones; from a love of one natural Element (fire, earth, air, water or ether) to all the five natural elements; from one star to the cosmos.  There is no end to the limitations of our heart’s love until we experience it.

Do try this exercise.  You will find it interesting and will discover new facets in your concept of love – expanding from the minute to the magnificence of the universal.

Be still.

Pour your thought from the head down into the region of the heart.

From thinking love, begin to feel Love and radiate your Love – to things, creatures, to friends and to those in need and to Nature itself.  Love has no limits…

Having emptied our hearts in lovingness…again Be Still ….

To feel the incoming tide of Universal love drawn to replenish us!

Instead of a seemingly complex mental process, the key to meditation is in simplicity. There are two basic concepts that can help us prepare or to may help refresh our current  meditation practice.

EXPANSION

The first is that of release and expansion of consciousness. This is the required of both physical and mental relaxation, and in preparation for meditation.

Once having prepared your comfortable seat and eyes closed, visualize yourself as a spherical body of energy that expands and stretches a little wider with every conscious exhalation of the breath.  It is like a balloon or a bubble, growing wider as you seek to embrace more and more of life, from your centre to the environment around you and further…..

Only through a sense of letting go, of surrendering, of dissolving the tight ego sense of “I” can we ever grow according to the Laws of Nature that determines growth in all spheres.

Some find a simple affirmation helps… such as “I am stretching, slowly opening the windows of my being to allow more life and light to flow through me.”

It is simply a matter of choosing what seems an appropriate concept, phrase or mantra that appeals and to which you can apply a little concentration, visualization and imagination.

Create your own and as with all affirmations, begin with “I am…”

ELEVATION

Elevation of consciousness requires a little aspiration towards a higher aim.  It is an upward growth impulse that can be applied in various spheres of our lives. We may aspire to total wellness and harmony in our psychological nature seeking to reflect the finest qualities of our balanced, loving and caring nature. Mentally we may seek to grow to intellectual heights. Or we may seek greater wisdom and spiritual understanding of our immortal soul. Beyond this we may seek closer contact or identification with the greatest of human beings.

We require an upward goal, vision or example that can help us anchor the abstract and help uplift our awareness and aspiration to whatever is the source of our personal spiritual inspiration.

Although we may choose to think of someone who represents to us a human expression of what we aspire to in life, it is better to freely focus upon universal principles and seek to become our own hero or heroine and to become what we aspire to be.

Then visualization can be applied appropriately. One example is the use of the mountain top as our symbolic reference. As we sit quietly and breathe evenly, there is a sense of progress as in our imagination we climb little by little from the plain to the summit above.

When enjoying a pleasant experience we have felt spontaneously in the course of our meditation minutes, it will then feel natural enough to formulate a simple affirmation that reflects how we feel.

We are free to use any method or technique that works for us in consciously approaching spiritual awareness but all exercises are to help us identify ourselves with our soul, the inner spiritual part of our nature and beyond to a greater sense of the universal consciousness in which we all live and move and have our being.

We all have times when we are happy to make decisions and feel very confident about ourselves and about our lives.  At other times we suffer from indecision or concern about the path we are taking in our lives or careers and would like to be able to refer to someone we highly regard, who will offer some wisdom in response to our queries or problems.

For many reasons, this is not always easy to do. One of the most common reasons is that we wish to be assured of utter confidentiality and impartiality. Another may be that we do not want anyone else to perceive our seeming inability to cope, or to appear weak. So somehow we seem to manage to find a way around most of the material problems that beset us.

However, when we find ourselves at a crossroads in our life and it is important for us and possibly for our family and loved ones, that full and proper consideration should be given before making a decision or change, we are seeking greater wisdom and communication with a superior intelligence that would allow us to feel ‘right’ about our decision, then many of us resort to prayer.

When seeking answers which are concerned with the non material, and involve deeper issues about life or resolution of the perplexities of thought which can overwhelm many of us at times, we would love to have on hand a spiritual guide who has experienced what we are going through, and who has understanding.  It is a natural desire to feel the need for a spiritual teacher and many find that referring to the figurehead of their religion is sufficient. Others like to trust their own higher or soul psyche and benefit by their own inward guidance or intuition.

The way of self reliance offers many benefits, but demands immediate effort to create a psychological attitude that provides us with a basis for direct experiences in consciousness. Often the simplest technique in this discipline is to begin meditation. It requires only that we are seated comfortably with erect spine if possible, eyes closed, remain still, regulate the breath and patiently attune to a single peaceful thought, to appreciate the results. Only when the thoughts become still can we allow our deeper intelligence and intuition to guide us.

This practice prepares us to be receptive and to benefit from a greater wisdom source than our own – from our spiritual Guru.

At this sacred time we are reminded of the essential message of the Christian celebration of Easter – that is ‘sacrifice.’

There may be many ideas and associations relating to the scriptures and to the idea of sacrifice that can be translated on either a personal level or as a spiritual generality when focussed upon the universal symbolism that Nature demonstrates so vividly for us on this planet in the miracle of growth.

In all growth there is observed the yielding of one thing for another life continuance whether this is seen in a material sense as in the crumbling of a rock to make soil or in the shedding of a snakeskin, or on a human level, the maternal sacrifices for a child or the warrior who gives his life for what he holds dear.  Within the whole process we see that life is given for something else to evolve.

The giving of life of Jesus was such that the full potential of the human spirit of the Christ may be known to us, reflects a magnitude of extreme sacrifice motivated by love.  It is to this ideal that we aspire.

We best honour and acknowledge such a wondrous capacity by exercising the principle within our own lives. It is only our imagination can only bring us a measure of understanding by stirring our own capacity to give in some way so that what we love or value most may be preserved or its life or fate advanced.

Easter time in the natural season of the southern hemisphere is a quiet, introvert withdrawal of energies during autumn as in the northern hemisphere the accent is upon the resurrection or joy of the spirit released in spring.

We are encouraged to meditate upon  both aspects of Easter – upon what we value most and would consider giving even our own life for its advance or welfare and also to attempt to identify with the ideal loving and joyful human being that we are all growing toward as our ideal and personified  in the Christ.

Meditation when focused upon flowers can give us some beautiful and surprising experiences.

As we think of the thought and inspiration that is required in our human creation of anything we can seek for the mysterious original idea in Nature that manifests in the exquisite colours, variety and beauty of flowers.

Through meditation we can sometimes get a hint of that Universal Thought that initiated the design, the perfume and the uniqueness of each of the natural species of flowers that we enjoy on our planet.

We can also become more aware of the human work and involvement in  helping to create the hybrids and mixed varieties. These demonstrate the human skills of the horticulturalists responsible for providing us with an even greater range of delights beyond those of our immediate locality and now accessible in our markets as well as in nurseries for cultivation in our gardens.

Beginning with your favourite flower, after contemplating its obvious visual beauty, form and colour, extend your imagination to try to conceive of a quality or thought that could have initiated such a creation, just as you would wish to have insight into the mind of a great artist’s work or painting.

The exciting part is to allow your own intuition to guide you into a gentle, flowing meditation that allows you to be open and relaxed enough to receive a response without any conscious preconception. Just be receptive and take a little time to experience what follows.

Although there are guidelines, material is scarce and possibly no longer in publication. It is better to embark on this meditation for yourself but should you find the need for assistance and the idea appeals, you could enquire through the Aurobindo Ashram, India.

We will all know the soothing effect of wandering around our own garden, tending or watering.  It tends to put us in a natural meditative mood of appreciation of plant life in general and perhaps allows us a little sense of pride in the results of our personal horticultural efforts.

All meditative states of consciousness commence with a stimulus or focus. If we have a material focus such as a beautiful flower we will be inclined to expand our thoughts and emotions and also elevate them as we look at the intricate handiwork of nature and drink in its beauty.

We will do much the same when we contemplate any beautiful painting or object in a gallery or museum that displays the skill and the beauty of human creativity.

However, when we are viewing the grandeur, the expanses of Nature’s handiwork outside these restricted environments something is added to our consciousness. Whether we call it a greater appreciation, or realize the scope and grander scale of landscapes and complexities, or viewing it evokes an emotional response such as awe or even worship, we are entering a different state. From the comfort of the smaller sphere we are entering the explosive realization of the majesty of life that creates and maintains limitless life and beautiful forms on our planet.  We cannot help but stretch our hearts and minds in an effort to embrace the reality.  If we will allow it, this will invite immensely satisfying spiritual or soul experiences beyond the mundane to freshen our senses and mental perceptions.

The grander the landscape, the vaster the horizons, the more majestically we perceive Nature as a whole. As a scientist gazing for hours into the worlds of the minute dimensions would react to the sudden focus upon the most imposing examples of the magnitude of natural creations such as Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon outside, so we find our ‘muscles’ of consciousness undergo movement and changes when we switch from our little personal world to contemplate the realities of the universe beyond. In some measure this will tend to happen with all meditations to a greater or lesser degree.

Our expansions and contractions of consciousness are always likely to be exercised according to our personal interests, tasks and responsibilities. But it is generally in states or moods of stress that we suffer from contraction and feel tight, limited and insecure. We need then to relax, to stretch and to feel aware of the wonderful vastness of life as a whole, and feel safe.

When the mind is peaceful there is no room for negative thoughts.

Depression melts away when our mental waves and restless thought is stilled.

We learn to take pleasure in making no conscious effort.

We find that we enjoy periods of just Being.

And find that it is Good.