Nirvana Life: Tour of Nirvana and big news!

Nirvana Life: Tour of Nirvana and big news!

Nirvana Life: Tour of Nirvana and big news!

As promised, today’s post offers a captivating tour of our enchanting sanctuary known as “Nirvana.” Nestled within a serene valley, this 23-acre expanse was once a thriving organic CSA farm, complete with picturesque fields, enchanting woods, and a year-round stream that gracefully emerges from a genuine cave. Prepare to be mesmerized by the awe-inspiring views of the neighboring Big Rock mountain.

In 2017, shortly after Avi’s arrival, we embarked on the construction of a remarkable stone patio, lovingly named “Chakra” after the Sanskrit word meaning “wheel.” This sacred space has served as the backdrop for numerous transformative programs, including insightful talks, serene meditation sessions, and invigorating yoga practices. Conveniently located just behind the meditation center, which is currently undergoing construction, the Chakra patio stands as a testament to our commitment to fostering inner peace and well-being.

Coinciding with Avi’s arrival, we welcomed two eager students seeking to learn from him. As their accommodations in the living room of the farmhouse were temporary, we embarked on the construction of a cozy cabin to serve as their sleeping quarters. This “rustic Zen” abode boasts two twin beds, a delightful screened-in porch, and is conveniently situated just beyond the patio.

The property tour will continue next week, but now it’s time for the exciting announcement!

We are thrilled to introduce live on-site programs for those eager to experience the serenity of Nirvana. Detailed information can be found on our website, and if you’re planning to visit, we have partnered with select hotels just a short 10-minute drive away, offering a discounted rate for your overnight stay.

These programs are designed to provide comprehensive guidance, practice sessions, interactive Q&A sessions, and even delightful field trips to picturesque local destinations, such as Black Mountain and Ozone Falls, perfect for meditation and contemplation. If this piques your interest, simply complete the contact form on our website, and we will reach out to you promptly!

Are you ready to meditate?

Are you ready to meditate?

Are you ready to meditate?

Many of us–I’d venture to say most of us–are scurrying through life wishing we had more time for this or that. Once we get “this or that” accomplished, there’s another something else that needs our attention. It’s exhausting. 

You’ve heard it before, but I’m going to say it again: Meditation really is key to slowing down and enjoying life. It’s the only life you’ve got–learn how to enjoy it! Not a lot of time is required to begin meditation, but you do have to begin.

A great way to begin a meditation practice, even if you have kids, is to get up a little early in the morning (or stay up a little later at night) when you can have time to yourself. Set a timer if you need to so you can get back into your normal routine. Give yourself at least 15 minutes to begin with. Get into a comfortable position on a chair or the couch–no need to sit cross-legged on the floor unless that’s comfortable to you–then close your eyes. Keep your hands relaxed on your lap.

After you’ve closed your eyes, take a few slow, deep breaths. Focus your attention on the breaths. After 2 or 3 deep breaths, just breathe normally, but continue to focus on the breath. Your mind will wander–it will! When it does, just bring your focus back to the breath. What you’re trying to do is train the mind to be quiet when you want it to. It gets easier and easier with time and practice.  

After your time is up, open your eyes, reflect on what just happened, then go about your day. During the day, every time you can, bring your focus back to your breath. This will keep you rooted in the present moment and will make your next meditation session easier.

There’s more information on meditation on our website: www.nirvana.foundation. Check it out!

Namaste,

Theresa

What you can do with 20,000 breaths a day

What you can do with 20,000 breaths a day

What you can do with 20,000 breaths a day

Breath. It’s one of those things that you don’t really notice most of the time, sort of like the heart beat, but it’s pretty incredible that we do it, on average, 20,000 times per day!

Breath is our connection to life; one cannot live more than a few minutes without breathing. Breath also plays a major role in our attitudes, emotions, and health.  Have you noticed that when you’re upset or nervous that your breaths are more shallow and faster? On the contrary, when you’re asleep your breaths are slow, deep, and steady. 

Did you know that you actually have some control over your emotions and attitude by controlling your breath; if you’re anxious, breathe deeply and slowly. This will quickly calm your nerves. Likewise, if you’re feeling sleepy, speed up your breaths and breathe deeply. 

The most important thing to notice about your breath is that it is happening in the present moment. This is a wonderful tool! If your mind is taking you on a rollercoaster ride into the past or the future, simply closing your eyes and watching your breath for a few minutes works miracles to get your mind off the coaster. 

Today’s blogpost features a wonderful guest post on breath work from the folks at RespiratoryCram.com. The article is an in-depth discussion of breathing as well as exercises, tips, and techniques for using your breath in various ways. Enjoy!

                                                            

A List Of The Best Breathing Exercises To Feel Calm, Alive & Relaxed

Origin of Meditation – Why Meditate?

Origin of Meditation – Why Meditate?

Meditation is an ancient science that holds the key to finding the real you and figuring out this mystery called “Life”. Really, there is way more to life than what we’re experiencing.

In this article, Avi explains, in great detail, the mystery of meditation and how it is imperative that we learn how to build our lives around a meditative and mindful lifestyle. It’s not complicated; we’ve just got to be willing to listen and learn.

The Science of Meditation

Meditation marks the beginning of a new quest in man to know himself. Meditation is the science of knowing oneself. It is a systematic way of using our own consciousness, our own awareness, to understand the phenomenon of life that is happening right here and right now. The science is so pure that it does not use any external instruments; it does not use any external objects, and it is not about going somewhere. It is not about the external reality at all.

As far as meditation is concerned, the universe is the individual. If there is space somewhere in the universe, that space is within the individual. If there is air in the universe, it is within the individual. If there is matter, it’s within the individual. If there is gravity, it’s felt by the individual. There is absolutely nothing that exists in the universe that is not experienced by the individual. Light, darkness, solid, liquid, good, bad; everything is experienced and perceived by the individual.

Meditation is the science of knowing what is this perception, and why are we perceiving the world the way we are perceiving it?  Naturally, just like experiencing the benefits of knowledge, when we know more about something, we can use it better. It’s the same with meditation. Meditation gives us the keys to unlock the doors of our minds and bodies.

We have a body and we have a mind, but the mystery of how they function is hidden behind these closed doors. We have to explore our inner space to know how we function; the connection between the simplest of things. What is the connection between my desire and my thoughts? What is the connection between a thought and my body? Who leads who? Who is the master? Who is the servant? What is control? Where do I get control from?

Is Society Sucking the Life out of You

Now, anything you want to accomplish, even in the worldly sense, if you want to attain to any kind of success, any kind of life that you are desiring, you need to direct this mechanism, the mind and the body, in a particular direction. How would you be able to do it when you’re not sure about how it actually functions? Unlike all other systems of knowledge that are simply external, meditation is knowledge one acquires by experience. We know the difference between information, knowledge, and wisdom.

Information is available everywhere.  A 20-year old can read a few books and he can feel that he knows the entire world. When it comes to understanding life, dealing with failures and negative emotions, unless that individual has gone through experiences where he has fallen down and got up, where life has knocked him down several times and he has learned how to pick himself up, he has not developed his emotional strength at all. He simply has intellectual strength which is useful only in times of absolute peace and calm.

Now, when we talk about education, society, politics, religion; none of this is created for the individual. Everything is created to create a straw to suck the juice out of the individual. Everything is a straw. You go to school, you go to college, you go to work, you get into anything that is created by the social system. More than you getting something out of it, your energies are drained from it. Only a few individuals can push through all these experiences and realize very quickly that this whole system is there for selfish purposes.

The moment an individual figures this out, then he would learn how to draw from other individuals. Ninety-nine percent of the population of the world is living in darkness; absolute darkness. We don’t know why we are here, we don’t know what is the purpose of education, we don’t know what is the purpose of our government, we don’t know who is there to help, or who is there to hurt. We are living in total darkness. Meditation is the light that one can use to illuminate, firstly, his life. To understand how somebody else is taking advantage of his mind and body and how somebody else is taking advantage of his ignorance.

Questioning the Education System

If you are being used, the worst thing is to not know it. Just simply live and die in that system where you are used thoroughly and discarded. The second-worst thing is to know it and not do anything about it. What you need to know is that this is the purpose of the system.

What subjects did I study in my school? What were the benefits of these subjects? How much am I using these subjects for my personal happiness? Now, was there even a consideration about my personal happiness and my personal wellbeing, or was it just about trying to fit me into a system? Does this system even look at me like a human being or does it look at me like a resource?

See, the world is still a jungle. It is still a place where the strong feed upon the weak. It is still the same. We have moved from the rawness of physicality to a more intellectual jungle, but even here it’s the same. It’s a strong mind that preys upon the weaker mind. The weaker mind is always an ignorant mind.

Every individual who comes into this world has to first face the demons of these strong minds. They’ve created the system; they’ve already set the path. To question and understand, if that is the path, if that is the way that can lead to my happiness, if that is the path to my personal salvation and liberation, then meditation is not required. We all know; we have taken those paths. All of us have been a part of the system.

How did we lose Meditation?

Most of us have been educated through the formal system and we have worked our entire lives in it. What have we gained at the end of it? In fact, we have become slaves to the system. Society is our making. The systems are our making. Everything exists because this individual is searching for some happiness; this individual is searching for some peace. If this individual is forgotten, then what system are we talking about? What society are we talking about? There’s no meaning in any of this.

In all this, in the entire intellectual endeavor of man, there is no mention of meditation. In the formal education system there is no mention of meditation. It just baffles me. When you think about it, meditation is the only tool that you can give an individual guidance and say, “Here is the key to know yourself.” It’s not one person’s ideology that can transform you. The key that you’re looking for is the ability to explore and experiment with your life.

To say that one book–whether it’s the Bible, or the Gita, or the Koran, is the answer for all your life’s questions is absolutely ridiculous. If you actually analyze those books, they actually talked about something within us and finding a way to it. In fact, those books actually talk about how you should not attach yourself to those teachings. You should learn from it but use your own light. I mean, which religious teacher has not spoken about finding your own light, finding your own source of wisdom?

Buddha himself says, “Don’t follow me, don’t accept everything that I’m saying, unless it falls into your consciousness and unless you can reason it and understand it fully. Don’t believe anything people say, including me.” This was his message, but the Buddhist message is totally different. “Follow everything Buddha says, don’t use your brain, just follow everything.” I’m not condemning religion but I’m just saying that the true purpose of religion has become way too diluted.

This was the same message of Jesus, “You are the light. The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” But the message of Christians is “The Kingdom of Heaven is with Jesus. He’s the Savior.” He lived and died teaching,“You are your Savior.” We are clinging to one idea, that he’s the Savior.

Breaking the Shackles of our Minds

Amidst all of these things, we are completely trapped in our ignorance. We don’t know who we are. To know who we are requires observation, clarity, and clarity of perception. It requires the ability to push away all the unwanted things that are there in our mind, and to see life for what it is. At the end of the day, life is what you make of it. Life is your definition. If you want to spend the rest of your life struggling and suffering, it is your own choosing.

We have given permission for someone to put on the shackles that bind us. Those shackles can have nice beautiful names: Education, society, religion, whatever they might be. When we connect to individuals, it’s a totally different experience. With individuals, we can feel love and compassion. Overall, as a society, everything simply remains an idea.

Look at the way we talk about eradication of poverty. What are you talking about? I mean how do you eradicate poverty? You have to talk about how you are going to transform that one individual’s life. Politicians talk about eradicating poverty, and getting people out of poverty all the time. How would you be able to do it when you don’t give that individual the key? You don’t need to bring anybody out of poverty. You don’t need to bring anybody out of darkness. Just tell them the Truth. That’s all. Meditation is the Truth.

For me personally, it is the Truth. It has been the Truth that has made all the difference. Here is the key: Sitting quiet and watching your breath. Meditation really cannot begin with a very casual purpose. You will never have the intensity or the courage or the willpower to pursue meditation if you don’t really see how much you need it.

If knowledge is power, without meditation we are totally powerless; we have zero power–zero! We are simply living somebody else’s dreams, desires, and ideologies. We are living in the past. If we are to live in the present, then we need to acquire the knowledge: Knowledge of the self, knowledge of the body, and knowledge of the mind. That’s what meditation is. Beyond this, how it works is all a deep process.

Walking the path of Meditation

As you begin to walk the path, as you begin to inquire, start questioning, start learning, start reading, start exploring, and start finding people who can teach you meditation. Don’t worry too much about what meditation is, because when you ask the questions, “What are the benefits of meditation? What is meditation?” your mind is actually waiting for an answer that it doesn’t like so that it can say, “Okay, it will not work for me, I don’t need any benefits.”

People have been talking about meditation since the beginning of time. Somewhere I see a common connection. Every culture has spoken about meditation: “What is this thing, let me give it a try.” Who cares about benefits? May be that word itself comes from some external purpose. For me there is really no benefit. It is about a deeper experience of life. Maybe the purpose of meditation is not to reach somewhere, but to be in meditation; to simply sit quiet, take a break, rest, relax, and experience life. Maybe meditation is just a way of saying, “I am going to stop running and I’m going to experience life at least for that one hour or at least for those couple of hours.”

Again, we should not bring in the mind in terms of, “What is the purpose of meditation? Will it help me to get a job? Will it help me to pay my bills?” You’re asking the wrong questions. Meditation will give you a lot more than just helping you to survive. It will teach you what life is.

As of now, we are crawling on the floor like snails carrying the shells that we call our education, our knowledge. That shell is useful though, it protects us when there is danger. You can just go inside it. Meditation is a process that will help you develop wings. That snail that is crawling on the floor will someday be able to fly. That’s what meditation is. Once you decide to fly, you don’t need that burden. You can let go of all that and move into a totally different way of experiencing.

We are living in a place where we need a lot of protection, so that’s why we have created the mechanism of the mind.  Our mind does not even allow us to rest for five minutes. Our mind is the shell. It says, “You cannot sit naked.” When you sit quiet, the mind makes you feel like you’re naked. You have to constantly be fighting with the mind, and that’s the protection, that’s the shell.

Once you realize that you’re not that snail, you can fly. You have wings. Somehow you have tucked those wings in. To know that you have wings, you need meditation. So, trying to explain to a snail what it is to fly, is stupidity. It’s ridiculous. If I were to tell you that these are the benefits of meditation, the snail would say, “I don’t even need it. I’m already perfectly fine.” If I were to tell that snail, “See, you can jump from that tree to this tree,” the snail will say, “Why? I don’t have to jump. I’ll slowly climb up this tree and then I’ll move to that tree somehow.”

What’s going on in my Mind?

It’s the same way. Unless you meditate you will not know the uses of meditation. Unless you explore your inner life and see the kind of treasures that are hidden within you, will not know the use of them. When you dig deeper and you find a diamond, that is when you will think, “Oh, what can I do with this?” As of now, you’re not missing the diamond. You don’t need it because you’ve created a way of life in which everything is just going about. To know, to even know how deep we are in darkness, we need meditation.

I have tried to explain meditation in as many ways as possible, but really, it’s impossible to explain the benefits of meditation unless you have tasted it. Unless you have gone through it, it is impossible to know. At the most basic level, meditation helps you to understand your thought process. It helps you to gain control over your thoughts.

As of now, your thoughts control you. Meditation reverses that process: That’s the first benefit. Then as you go deeper into it, meditation will help you to understand your emotions, which are the foundation of all your thoughts. By being aware of your emotional states you can have 100% control over how you act: Somebody else cannot make you angry, and somebody else cannot make you frustrated, once you know that it is your own emotions that are responsible for all the chaos and confusion. Once you can get to that level of understanding, then you have much better control over your life, and much better control over your present and future.

Success in Meditation = Success in Life

When you go one layer deeper, you can even reduce the physical pain and stress of the body. You can experience deeper states of bliss. Bliss cannot be explained. Bliss is not happiness. Bliss is a deep state of feeling connected with yourself, with life, and with existence. Only when you experience it will you know. Beyond that, there are a hundred more things that you can experience. They are all things that cannot be put in words. Somewhere, you’ve got to begin.

So, instead of worrying too much about the benefits, just dive in. Believe in yourself that you can understand meditation, that you can figure it out. It might take some time, but don’t give up.

If you succeed in meditation, you succeed in everything. If you fail in meditation, then life is an absolute uncertainty. It will always be uncertain. Meditation is the last struggle. The only struggle. If you are able to struggle and understand what meditation is, from different perspectives, from different angles, to use your mind, your creativity, and your wisdom; if you’re able to get the hang of it and you get one drop of the actual taste of meditation, you will know for sure that this is what you need.

You need that one glimpse, that one absolute understanding, that, “Yes, meditation is relaxing me, it’s relaxing my mind.” You have to be very scientific in understanding it. You cannot be prejudiced. You cannot be partial. When you are very honest you can clearly see how it is benefiting you. Then, nobody has to tell you how to meditate or what are the benefits. You just keep on figuring out different ways of transforming every experience of life into meditation. What you are looking for is a moment of decision, a moment of commitment, a moment of courage, to say, “I want to give this a try.”

Once you experience what meditation offers you, then you will know the benefits. You will know there’s so much more to meditation than just what I’m seeking from it. What meditation offers you is much beyond, and it’s something that you cannot even ask for. You don’t even know that what you’re asking for is coming from your mind. What meditation gives you comes from existence. To even know what to ask existence you’ve got to be in a certain state. That’s why you need meditation.

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Quick Pleasure or Lasting Bliss?

Quick Pleasure or Lasting Bliss?

“The purpose is to transcend pain and suffering.”

What is meditation? What is the message of Jesus? What is the message of Buddha? Their message is that there is a zone within us; a zone where there is peace and tremendous joy. When you touch this joy, you know that it’s internal and you know that it’s real. In this zone, the pain of the body goes away; the pain of the mind goes away, and you experience existence in its most natural state.

While you’re having sex, or when you drink alcohol, use drugs, or take part in whatever it is that you do to escape, you are basically connecting with that zone. That’s when the peace comes. You don’t smoke to be happy, you smoke to forget the pain of the body, or you drink alcohol to forget the pain of the body. Now for me, any “sudden jerk” in trying to connect with that zone–that inner zone–without a systematic process is just like smoking and drinking and having sex.  It’s like walking into someone’s house and seeing them drinking and being blissful, being happy, and then walking into someone else’s house and they are crazily jumping and dancing and speaking in different tongues. It’s the same thing. They’re experiencing some kind of joy, but once they step out of that experience they can’t carry forward that experience, so they feel depressed and sad.

This is where systematic practice is required to help you understand what mindfulness is, what meditation is, and how to gradually get into it. Life is a very long phenomenon; it’s not like you just live for 10 days. It only takes a few years to get to the point of experiencing this bliss. All we need is to develop the narrative. We need to develop the conversations. People should start talking about the scientific way of exploring the inner life and they should get into the practice of naturally touching those internal zones. In all my years of meditation I have never done anything crazy. I’ve never danced, no drama, never have psyched myself up. Once in a while I used to connect and feel all this is good, but then I quickly stepped away from this knowing that those feelings weren’t the “real thing”–They were not permanent. 

For me, I wanted to be in this zone permanently. I didn’t want to just start something accidentally. I wanted to be able to find that zone again. If you approach meditation gradually you might not experience tremendous energy and crazy things happening all of a sudden, but gradually you will experience it and enjoy it. It’s a better idea to experience gradual enlightenment because you need to know the path, you need to know how you got to that zone so that you can go back to it at will. 

Ultimately, what is the purpose? The purpose is to transcend pain and suffering. Do you want to go beyond pain and suffering for one moment and fall back into it? I mean it’s like this: Do you want to go beyond your pain and suffering completely and experience tremendous blessing one moment and then fall back into the body consciousness where the pain is still there, or do you want to gradually reduce the pain of the body, and gradually reduce the pain of the mind by connecting with that zone again and again, by going deeper into meditation? The pain of the mind reduces by understanding it, by watching the thoughts. In that understanding you grow. This is why I say the best meditation   without any doubt comes from the middle path.

When you touch the inner zone through external means such as sex or alcohol, it’s only momentary, and as soon as “the high” is gone, you’re right back to where you were, only feeling worse, because you’re not experiencing that bliss anymore.  The middle path is simply integrating quiet, meditative time into each and every day. Be mindful throughout the day, and watch your thoughts. There won’t be any “sudden light”, but the light will gradually get brighter and brighter until every day of life is full of bliss and you can live from that inner zone without external stimulation.

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Meditation is like a Diet for your Mind

Meditation is like a Diet for your Mind

When I meet people here and there and the conversation always turns to meditation (usually prompted by “what have you been doing lately?”), I’m often asked questions like “What is meditation? What do you do while you’re sitting? What do you think about while you’re meditating?” 

It’s kind of hard to explain meditation, because we’ve not been exposed to such inward spiritual things in our society, and most of the time “being quiet” is imposed as a sort of punishment.

The best way I can think of to explain it is by using the term “Self Control”. We’ve heard that term all our lives. What does it mean? Well, it means to resist temptations of the body, like eating too many chocolate cookies, drinking too much alcohol, or mental self control, by not doing things we know aren’t right such as spreading malicious gossip or perpetuating negative thought processes when they arise.

So, there IS something other than our minds and our bodies–it’s our SELF. It’s the force that is directing our minds and bodies when we have “self” control. The only way we can have self control is to be in the present moment. There’s no way to control your sugar cravings tomorrow or yesterday–it’s only good for right now. Think about it, and it really makes a lot of sense.

Meditation is simply a diet for your mind. You sit still for a while and don’t think about anything. Yep, nothing-nada-zilch. If (when) your mind starts off on a thought spree, reel it back it, just like you’d slam the fridge door shut right before you grab the ice cream.

As in dieting, it takes time to see the effects of meditation. You don’t lose weight right after eating a healthy meal, but if you keep eating healthy over a period of time, you’ll definitely see the results in the mirror. You won’t feel results after one meditation, but if you persist, just like in dieting, you will experience results like less stress, more creativity, and just an overall happier outlook on life.Come on people, it’s time to put our minds on a diet!

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How to Add Meditation to Your Day

How to Add Meditation to Your Day

We make time for things we want to do

So, are you ready to start meditating but unsure how to work it into your busy schedule?

I’ve been there–corporate job, two kids, husband, daily commute–sometimes insanely long (1-1/2 hours one way) and most of the time we were building a house and probably living in a camper to boot.  Exercise routines were always part of my daily activities, but meditation wasn’t a part of my life during those years, and it is clear to me now that it sure would have helped! 

Fast forward to today. Retired from corporate life now, but still as busy or busier than ever with the Inner-Revolution, but my mind is set that meditation is a priority in my daily schedule.  Four hours a day are dedicated to sitting quietly, watching my thoughts.  If I had a job, I’d still meditate for four hours a day.  We make time for things we want to do, right?  You’ve just got to tell yourself that meditation is something you want to incorporate into your life and make time for.  Where did I find the time? 

I’ve always been an 8 hours of sleep per night kind of gal.  Any less than that and I wasn’t much fun to be around the next day.  Turns out that meditation is a sort of conscious rest, so it substitutes for some of your sleep–really!  It works.  I now sleep for 5-1/2 hours at night and feel great.  That means that I picked up a whopping 2-1/2 hours for meditating just from cutting down on sleep time. 

At the time I began meditating I had already given up tv.  People were more surprised that I gave up tv than when I got a divorce–go figure!  Although I didn’t watch tv, Facebook, the black hole of Pinterest, and YouTube had replaced channel surfing (YouTube does have tons of good educational material though). I picked up another hour or so just giving up spending too much time each day piddling around on unnecessary social media. There’s probably some other time waster you can recognize in your daily routine; be honest with yourself!

You don’t have to meditate for four hours either.  If you’re just wanting to learn how to deal with stress, anger, or relax more, 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night will work wonders.  To do this, all you’ve got to do is get up 30 minutes early and stay up 30 minutes later–pretty much a no-brainer.  If you want to meditate more, you’ll have to adjust your schedule.  Consistency is the key. 

I get up at 5:00 am and meditate from 5-6, then I meditate from 8-9. (During the summer I get up at 4:00 and sit from 4-6 so I can spend more time outside :-)) I then sit for an hour after lunch, and again from 9-10. This schedule could easily be adapted to a work schedule by getting up 2 hours earlier (it is possible, just takes getting used to) rather than the 8-9 session, and juggling the mid-day session. It could even be broken up into 2-30 minute sessions. 

Why do I sit four hours?  Because there is a part of me that will live forever. It’s the “me” part–that spark of aliveness. I want to get to know this part of me and I want to know what life is really like.  Avi teaches that life is totally different from what we know it as, and that if you sit and watch your thoughts enough, you will have a definite physical experience of realizing the Truth about who you really are and about life that cannot be questioned or denied. That’s what Jesus called being “born again”. That’s what Buddha was teaching. That’s what Avi is talking about. That’s what I’m seeking.

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Beginner’s Guide to Meditation

Beginner’s Guide to Meditation

“Meditation exists within us–we’ve just got to find it”

Meditation is probably the simplest of daily routines we can pick up that can tremendously increase our physical and mental wellbeing. At the most basic level, meditation is a process of consciously watching our thoughts, emotions, feelings and desires, to understand them better. This is why sitting quiet is a very important component of meditation.

Although meditation is one of the most ancient sciences, it is more relevant today than ever before. Our lifestyles have become so mechanistic and stressful that finding a way to relax our minds and bodies is very important. Meditation helps us to reduce our stress levels significantly and handle our emotions better.

Stress is a direct consequence of uncontrolled thought process. When certain thoughts take over us fully and we are not able to find our inner silence, stress is a natural consequence. Meditation works directly to overcome stress by helping us to understand our thought processes better. The more we understand our thought process, the easier it becomes to be in control of it.

Meditation has absolutely nothing to do with sitting cross-legged, chanting some mantras or holding your breath for extended periods.  Your hands don’t have to be in any particular position. Meditation is a very natural process of sitting in a comfortable posture and allowing your mind and body to relax. Relaxation is the key to meditation. We can choose any posture that is comfortable for our meditation: You can sit on a chair or go underwater, it simply doesn’t matter; although it might be a little difficult to stay relaxed under water!

Pick a comfortable posture, but not so comfortable that it puts you to sleep. A posture that can help you to relax and at the same time stay alert is the best posture. You can lighten up the mood with some pleasant instrumental music. Assigning a designated place for meditation will work wonders in setting your biological clock to remember your daily meditations. The place itself will remind you of your meditation.

Choose a quiet place and set an alarm for the duration of your choice. To begin with, at least fifteen to thirty minutes is a good meditation duration. Sit comfortable, close your eyes, begin to watch your breath. Keep your focus on the breath flowing in and out, and watch your breath throughout the practice. With every breath, try to relax your mind and body a little more. It is amazing how much we can relax if we consciously try. That’s it, that is all meditation is – sitting quiet and keeping your focus on the breath. Meditation is within us–we’ve just got to find it!

The magic of meditation is actually not in the technique, it is in what happens to your mind while you are practicing a technique. The constantly noisy and chaotic mind will begin to settle down after few days of regular practice of meditation. This will significantly improve your clarity of perception, your ability to stay relaxed, and your ability to handle difficult life situations.

Meditation has a positive impact in many dimensions of our lives:

  • Helps us to understand ourselves better
  • Increases our self confidence
  • Helps us to stay calm and relaxed during certain stressful situations
  • Increases our ability to recollect things, which drastically improves our memory
  • Helps us to function in a more conscious way, avoiding unnecessary daily repetitions and mistakes.

There is no wrong way to meditate.  As long as you are sitting quietly, not falling asleep, and watching your thoughts, you are meditating and you will see results.  Additionally, meditation has absolutely nothing to do with religion; it is purely a scientific process. Science is all about observation and understanding what is happening around us. Similarly, meditation is all about observing and understanding what is happening within us. If external science has created such wonders, just imagine what this inner science can do for your life.

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Sit Down and be Quiet

Sit Down and be Quiet

How many times have you heard that in your life?  How many times have you told someone else those words?  It’s funny how the first 2-3 years of a child’s life we are teaching them to stand up and walk, and to talk.  The next 15 years are spent telling them to sit down and be quiet.  What a contradiction! If there was one piece of advice that could be considered the most important piece of advice for someone, it would have to be “sit down and be quiet”. 

The modern world has gotten crazy.  Constant external stimulation from the news media, social media, keeping our cell phones with us continuously …. When do we have time to just sit quiet and relax?  Avi’s blog post “What is Mysticism?” is a wonderful start to figuring out how to be quiet and to learn how to appreciate what we can’t see in life.  Quiet is where the magic is. 

We are all familiar with three dimensions:  a point, a line, and space.  Well, when we are still and quiet we can experience the fourth dimension.  That’s where all the stuff is that fills the space in between the dots and lines and shapes in our shallow three-dimensional world.  Stuff like memories, love, the “self”… things that can’t be smelled, touched, measured or even seen. This dimension is what we are missing in our lives today and people just won’t even slow down long enough to notice. There are a couple of videos on the Inner-Revolution YouTube channel concerning the fourth dimension; definitely worth checking out!  (Link below, but finish reading the post ?

“Sit down and be quiet” is really another definition for meditation, but that word scares a lot of people too.  Meditation isn’t anything fancy; it’s just sitting quietly to relax your body and to start training your mind to be still as well.  We are covered up in thoughts every minute of every day of our lives so we don’t even realize it as something abnormal, but it is.  The natural state of a human mind is quiet; to be useful when needed, and quiet when not.  A good way to describe our minds would be like a continuously running chainsaw that you could pick up and use when you needed it, but otherwise it’s still running.  Once you get a taste of “quiet mind” you’ll be trying to find the “off” switch on that saw every chance you get. 

“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop” is another saying I was plagued with as a child.  I can see the good intentions, but to torture a child with the belief that the devil is gonna get you if you’re not thinking about something all the time sure has its drawbacks. An idle mind is a wonderful thing!  Sure, we have to carry on our daily responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean that we have to keep our minds full-to-overflowing all the time. 

Sit down and be quiet.  Let the magic happen.

P.S. Here’s the link to the YouTube video on “Exploring the 4th Dimension – Memory” . https://youtu.be/n0Ec46EDRC4

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Body and Meditation

Body and Meditation

“What you are experiencing is not a body, but a boundary”

During meditation today, use your own body as your distraction. That means the space where you will move around during meditation is your own body. So, start with the breath. Just observe the breath. Be in that tiny zone of the breath. When you feel it is becoming difficult to be with the breath or your mind is trying to drift somewhere else, then move across your body; experience the sensations of your body. For a moment reflect on your legs—just the sensations of your legs—then slowly move up your body. Come back to the breath. Sometimes just reflect on your face: Okay. This is where I am sitting. This is my face.  Move around a little; feel the tiny sensations on your skin. You will experience a lot when you observe. Come back to the breath again. Use your body sensations as your distraction and your breath as your anchor.

Don’t move out into imagination, thinking or listening; just feel the body. The body is amazing, and the more you observe it, the more you realize that what you are experiencing is not a body, but a boundary. The body is a boundary between the inner and the outer. It is the boundary of sensations, and there is nothing else to the body apart from this boundary of sensations. This is why pain is the only way we experience our bodies. If you take away pain, physical pain, then we cannot experience our bodies at all.

Every sensation is pain, although what we have recognized as pain is a certain level of intensity. When somebody touches you gently, it is perceived by you as simply a touch. When somebody hits you with force, then it is pain. It is the same thing. When a mosquito just sits on you, it is just a small sensation, but when a mosquito bites you, then you recognize the sensation as pain. Pain is nothing but an intensified sensation, and the body is one field of pain. That pain is what you are trying to transcend through meditation. There is nothing else you need to realize more than your body is just a bundle of pain, sensations, and is external to you. Your body does not belong to you.

This is a beautiful way to meditate. It gives you enough space to move around, and you will also be able to see what you are trying to go beyond. When you think, Oh I want to experience enlightenment, I want to experience transcendence, you’re not sure what it is that you want to go beyond. Still, life is exquisite. There are gardens, sunshine, and beautiful things all around; life is a rich tapestry of colors and beauty. So why do you need to transcend all of this? You will know the reason why when you start observing your body. Life is beautiful all around you, but your body is painful. Your body is a constant pain, even now. Just close your eyes and reflect on your body. You will see how much pain there is. Just observe it: back pain, joint pain, skin problems, sinus issues…

This is a beautiful meditation. Be with the body for a few moments and then come back to the breath. Repeat.

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