A Natural Approach to Meditation
by Swami Shantananda and Maitreya Larios
natural-approach-to-meditation1
natural-approach-to-meditation2
natural-approach-to-meditation3
natural-approach-to-meditation4
natural-approach-to-meditation5
natural-approach-to-meditation6
natural-approach-to-meditation7
natural-approach-to-meditation8
natural-approach-to-meditation9
natural-approach-to-meditation10
The line that stood out for me was: "Each time we touch the light of the Self, which is always shining, we cultivate a new disposition in our mind."
I work as a record clerk for the State Department of Public Safety, and my current duty involves entering "arrest dispositions" into the public record. For that reason, seeing the word disposition here on the website really caught my attention. For me, it powerfully reflected the thrust of the exposition—how we can always apply the practice of turning within, toward the Self, in the midst of our daily activity.
I have been practicing cultivating an attitude of selfless service in my job. This has been challenging, since the work doesn’t easily make my heart sing. Yet I find as I consciously offer it to my Self, I do feel very good about my work.
I am encouraged by this line to see each "arrest disposition" that I encounter in my work as an opportunity to cultivate a new divine disposition in my mind.
I work as a record clerk for the State Department of Public Safety, and my current duty involves entering "arrest dispositions" into the public record. For that reason, seeing the word disposition here on the website really caught my attention. For me, it powerfully reflected the thrust of the exposition—how we can always apply the practice of turning within, toward the Self, in the midst of our daily activity.
I have been practicing cultivating an attitude of selfless service in my job. This has been challenging, since the work doesn’t easily make my heart sing. Yet I find as I consciously offer it to my Self, I do feel very good about my work.
I am encouraged by this line to see each "arrest disposition" that I encounter in my work as an opportunity to cultivate a new divine disposition in my mind.
New Mexico, USA
It’s amazing when you feel in tune with the Guru’s shakti, and today was one of those days when Gurumayi’s love was so tangible all around me and my family. We were having brunch with another family who practices Siddha Yoga and talking about Gurumayi’s Message for 2015, "Turn Inward Meditate Easefully." We talked about our own personal practice of the Message.
Each one of us shared our own unique approach to meditation, yet all of our approaches involved integrating a form of meditation that fit into our busy daily lives as we raise our children. We remarked how natural it felt to approach our meditation in this way and shared insights and inspirations that have come to us through our practice.
Then, this amazing exposition is posted just hours later, validating our entire conversation. Guru’s grace and shakti are so present and alive in all that we do and all that we are.
Thank you!
Each one of us shared our own unique approach to meditation, yet all of our approaches involved integrating a form of meditation that fit into our busy daily lives as we raise our children. We remarked how natural it felt to approach our meditation in this way and shared insights and inspirations that have come to us through our practice.
Then, this amazing exposition is posted just hours later, validating our entire conversation. Guru’s grace and shakti are so present and alive in all that we do and all that we are.
Thank you!
California, USA
When I look into Baba’s eyes in the photo on my puja, I receive the experience of timeless love. It was there before my birth. It is there right now in this very moment, and it will always be there, beyond time. This has become my conviction.
I am eternally thankful to you, Gurumayi!
I am eternally thankful to you, Gurumayi!
Dombivli, India
Thank you Swami ji and Maitreya for your clear exposition!
A few days ago, I was walking in the countryside when I entered a small wood and began to become absorbed in its wild and serene atmosphere. Soon, the sound of a brook flowing nearby captivated my attention. As I immersed myself in the sound, I discovered the beauty of a silence behind the sound. I was drawn into a feeling of harmony and contentment and experienced a deep fullness where the sense of time dissolved.
With my eyes wide open, and my attention turned inward, the state of meditation had happened naturally.
I have noticed that in my morning meditations, when I sit quietly on my mat, the sound of my breath leads like a brook to that same sense of fullness and stillness.
A few days ago, I was walking in the countryside when I entered a small wood and began to become absorbed in its wild and serene atmosphere. Soon, the sound of a brook flowing nearby captivated my attention. As I immersed myself in the sound, I discovered the beauty of a silence behind the sound. I was drawn into a feeling of harmony and contentment and experienced a deep fullness where the sense of time dissolved.
With my eyes wide open, and my attention turned inward, the state of meditation had happened naturally.
I have noticed that in my morning meditations, when I sit quietly on my mat, the sound of my breath leads like a brook to that same sense of fullness and stillness.
Rodez, France
Thank you so much for this powerful elucidation of Gurumayi’s Message! All year, I have held the intention to cultivate a very practical approach to implementing the Message in my moment-to-moment life.
And now the experience of Gurumayi’s Message is beginning to come to me naturally during my daily life—when I’m with my children, when I’m talking with others, when I’m shopping in the grocery store. I am so grateful to experience the joy of the Self, not only when I sit for formal meditation, but throughout my day.
I feel such gratitude to have a living Guru who makes the timeless, ancient teachings and wisdom of yoga relevant and alive for each and every one of us in our modern-day lives.
And now the experience of Gurumayi’s Message is beginning to come to me naturally during my daily life—when I’m with my children, when I’m talking with others, when I’m shopping in the grocery store. I am so grateful to experience the joy of the Self, not only when I sit for formal meditation, but throughout my day.
I feel such gratitude to have a living Guru who makes the timeless, ancient teachings and wisdom of yoga relevant and alive for each and every one of us in our modern-day lives.
California, USA
Thank you for this insightful exposition. It further illuminates my understanding of Gurumayi’s Message for 2015. I am so grateful to receive the understanding of how I can naturally experience timelessness in every moment through cultivating a discipline of turning within. And I’m so grateful to learn that this can become a way of being in the midst of daily life.
When I read this exposition, I was filled with enthusiasm and confidence that yes, this is something within my reach. I just need to make the effort again and again to lead my mind back to the awareness of my own inner Self.
When I read this exposition, I was filled with enthusiasm and confidence that yes, this is something within my reach. I just need to make the effort again and again to lead my mind back to the awareness of my own inner Self.
Pune, India
This exposition is so clear and powerful. I am feeling so happy to realize that I can practice Gurumayi’s Message not only when I sit for meditation, but also when I am waiting with my young son for his school bus, when I am cooking food, when I am waiting for my husband to come home, or when I am doing household chores. This exposition has broadened my understanding of how I can apply this year’s Message. I am so grateful!
Thane, India
In reading the line “the musician pays attention to each note, making sure the sound is clear and pure,” I uncovered new meaning within Gurumayi’s Message for 2015.
As a musician, I thought of the moments when the sound I had produced truly moved me—when I could hear and feel the grace of my highest intentions within it. In remembering what it took to achieve that state in music—the transcendence of internal boundaries—I saw how Gurumayi’s Message speaks to that same thing in meditation.
The best music must come naturally, in an unstrained manner, and from within. That requires gentle, yet precise and unerring focus. When I apply this musical awareness to meditation, I find, with great joy, that my meditations bring me closer to the heart than ever before.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for your Message for 2015.
As a musician, I thought of the moments when the sound I had produced truly moved me—when I could hear and feel the grace of my highest intentions within it. In remembering what it took to achieve that state in music—the transcendence of internal boundaries—I saw how Gurumayi’s Message speaks to that same thing in meditation.
The best music must come naturally, in an unstrained manner, and from within. That requires gentle, yet precise and unerring focus. When I apply this musical awareness to meditation, I find, with great joy, that my meditations bring me closer to the heart than ever before.
Thank you, Gurumayi, for your Message for 2015.
Massachusetts, USA
This exposition on Gurumayi’s Message for 2015 is so clear and straightforward, and so deep and full. I want to dive into its riches and sing my appreciation for all that I am finding here.
All year I have been studying Gurumayi’s Message, peeling back fresh layers of meaning to understand it even more, while stepping ever further in, to know it as experience. And Gurumayi has given such abundant support to help me do just that throughout the year. Now, this exposition feels as if I’ve been invited to step it up another notch—like the graduate course—right into a steady, natural, innate, timely, and timeless capacity to stay right with the Self.
These teachings could guide me for a year, more like a life, and I am glad they’ve come when they’ve come now. I’m ready. Thank you!
All year I have been studying Gurumayi’s Message, peeling back fresh layers of meaning to understand it even more, while stepping ever further in, to know it as experience. And Gurumayi has given such abundant support to help me do just that throughout the year. Now, this exposition feels as if I’ve been invited to step it up another notch—like the graduate course—right into a steady, natural, innate, timely, and timeless capacity to stay right with the Self.
These teachings could guide me for a year, more like a life, and I am glad they’ve come when they’ve come now. I’m ready. Thank you!
Massachusetts, USA