The Processof Meditation: At this point our aim in meditation is to ftee the mind by Fom r-he inJluence negalivesanskaras

emerging of the positive ones,and to enable it co wo.k harmoniouslywith the intellect. Meditation is the processofcreating thoughts ofhigh qualiry which releasethe rnind from its streamof or,ilinary,mundaneand negative thoughts. lt is not thinking routinely, or something you do rhythmically like a chant, or a repeatedprayer. Nor is it ahout making the mind blank or scoppingthought. Rather it's about lransformingtle qt@linJ process. is an intemal dialogue lt of lt's of thought.This naturallyslowsthe speed thoughts. a creative yourselfand with the Divine, with Meditation is a time to practice being fully awareof one's thoughts and creatingvery powerful, uplifting thoughts. Rememberthat accordingro what you think, rhis will be whar you experrence. The pmcesscan be describedin {our distinct stages.In the Initial Stage,you decidero meditate. So you go to your meditation place and sit with the intention of meditating for a particular period of time find your mind is this. At first, you'llprobably and on a partiqrlarthemeor topic. The intellectdecides of flowing in variousditections. You need to usethe intellecc to shift your sense identiry ro the soul, tum your attention within and becomeawareof your inner state Relax the body and focusatrention on the forehad,thinking "*ris is where I sir". with the extemal world, *rere can initially be an yout consciousness usedto being engaged Because is go within, but the habit of your mind is !o remain extemal ,nd inner battle or conflict. You want to scattered.You may need to persist.Do not worry ifyou remain in the initiation stagefor a long time. During this time of focusinginward, usingyour intellect, consciouslychooserc experiencean o.iginal, positive quality, one t}atk of deepiflurest ta Jouor his par.idtltr tine Ask your mind to fiink aboul it' to explore it. Fo! example,you might chooseto try to expedenceyour original qualiry ofpeace, co che explorethe meaning 'Om Shanti'(I am a soul,a beingofpeace).Or you might choose qualityof of spiritual love. If you penist with your intention, your mind will catch the flow of spirituality and beforelong you will move genrly and impercepaiblyinto the next stage.
Lesson 2: lnrssofrl.drlrron
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Lesson 2l h(,.css.lNlcdikrnri ?'ishs.

The next stageis called Contemplation. ln the initial stageyou beganby tuming the mind witlin and corsidering yourself to be a soul. You told your mind to set asideall other thoughc which are connecredwith your work, relationships,feelings, pre-occupations,etc. You set your mind to focuson a cenaintopic or themeofelevaledconsciou.necs, such aspeaceor love.

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ln this secondstage,you call to mind all your ideasand feelings about your chosenspiritual theme. your inner hauty, your puricy,love and You might call up thoughts about your ryiritual essence' "l One by one, pick ,-rpall the things you know about being a soul. am immortal, invisible, a serenity. in point oflight, eternal,a beingofpeace,etc." ln this way,the knowledge yourintellectaboutthe soul beginsro guideyour mind. Each sentenceis not something to repeat,but something to consider.Questioning helpskeep fie 'l How doesit feel to bepeacefull' mind focused. am a beingofpeace.What is peace? of ln the sameway contemplate other aspects the soul, What doesit mear to you to be immonal ?Can you tiink about yourselfas never dying?Try to imagine it, try to feel what it would be like to be forever.What you are actually doing is evoking the memory that is lateflt wichin you. What doesit mean to be invisiblel Can you think of being invisible?Your face is not you. Your body is very subtle, not you.Wlrat you seein the minor is not you.\fhat do you look like?... a non-material, infinitesimal, invisible point ofspiritual light, like a star in tle night sky. You are an exrraordinarystar of consciousness, silting in rhe center of your forehead. This stageof rhe meditative processis when distractionsoccur. The number ofdiscractionsis direcdy related to your de$ee of motivation, to your interest in expedencingyour chosencopic.Once you're awarethat your mind has scarteddown a path noa appropriateto your topic, useche incellect to bring rhem. lf the it back gently. Use the intellect to clarifi disrractionsand set them to resr;don't suppress you will think about what to havc for mind stans co rhink of food, for example,either a) tell it that dinner in ffve minutes after you ffnish your meditation; and/ or b) work wirl dre thought of food by thinLing how, just as it is nourishment for rhe body, in the samewaypositive, elevatedrhoughtsabout the self, nourish the soul; and/ or c) exploring which ate chethoughts which bestfeed the mind and give eneryyto the spiriL your you needto ffnd a moreinteresting topic,or consider lfyou havetoo manydistractions, maybe topic more deeply.Ifsomeihing comesto mind that's impotanc and needsattention, gently tell the that after medirarion. OK to suggest rhey mind to put it aside now you'll give ir full atcention for Ut's jot down *rings chat rhey suddenlyrememberand fear drey rnayforget if keep a notepadwith them to they put it aside.l

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Once you have serasidedistractions and ate really deeplycontemplating your theme, you have naturally enteredthe next stage,ofconcentration. Concentration meansno disuactions! You are beginning to experienceyourselfas a peaceful,pure, loving powerfr.rl soul. Acknowledge rhat this is what to ir feelslike to be you.Allow yourself be at peace with younelf, with the world, at peacewith God-

Lesson 2. fr,!c\.,l\l.Jr,,un rjsiig.

, Sl! eolConcerltalLon

Consider that beforeanything ever happened,you were at peace-- quiet, peaceful,silent' serene,no Peaceis a upheavals,no strong emotioru, just quietb being yourself.Can you rememberthis peace? patience. Evokethat feeling.lt will comequite easily harmony,baLance, stateof verydeepserenity, you just think about/remember Then savotthe feelingin your mind. Automacically it. when you you are Your elevatedthoughts are producing elevatedvibrations and have slowedyour thoughas.
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ln the sameway, consideryour otiginal, natural stateof purity- no flaws, no guilt feelings;pure of meanscompletelynatural. Purity meanscleanliness,being clean-not extemally-buc in the sense like a perfect diarnond,completely uansparentand light Evoke the being true. Puremears to be puriry.You'll feel asif you have an inner glow;you'll feelverygood memoryof the feeiingof complete about younelf. That is natural and correct. This is chereal youConrinue your explotation of the odginal qualities of tle soul by thinling of younelf asloving. You are a child of God, the Ocean of Love. You are fuil of love Spiricual love includes tolemnce,respect, All mercy, acceptance, other beingsare your brochersand you feel natural love and respectfor all. Regardless ofwhat anyone does,their being is alsoesentially pure, peacefuland loving, so on that level you can feel love for everyoneThis shift ftom thinking co feeling is the stageof concenttation Once you begin to feel and to rememberand experience,distractions no longer occur and your thoughts flow naturally and the effortlesslyin one direction. The longe. you stay in a certain consciousness, deeperthe experience intellect and when the mind and ofthose thoughts will be. Focusingon a certain theme is done by t}re this intellect ate stablein one consciousness, is called concentration. Check the clock, and you will This is easymeditation: you knew what ro think, yor: savored seechat 10 to 15 minutes have flown by. step'by'step,you evoked/ and consideredeachidea, you createdthe droughts in a logical sequence, beganto recall or call forth &om within you the experience.This is how meditation works chat thesestepsare not a formula to be followed, br:t rather a descriprionof the [NOTE: Emphasize when you are using your mind a-ndintellect in the right way.l naturai flow of consciomness

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Lesson 2: l,r c.s oflvcdndin 4rstxsc

Realization is the fourrh stage, when you arrive at your desrinarron;when you become rhe experience you are seekin$ where you ate totally still and radiating chepure bli's ofyour experiencein a "AHa!" serene silen! stale. lt's not so much the "Aaaa" state. Let yourself be state, as it is the content if you find youself experiencing only the first three stagesfor many meditations.

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Realizationcan be bolh suddenand cumulative, but generallythe stageof realizalion comesover you imperceptibly in its o\rn time. When you have thought so deeply,with suchconcentration that you reach completion, you attain a state of stillness,in which tlere is rotal comprehensionof your themclevel. There is no longer the need to create tioughts about it. That You know it on the deepest your soul indelibly. As you progress, realizationscontinue and your soul realization sinks into which continuesthrough undergoes real and permanentchange.lt is a very subtie and specialprocess, your lifeAs you begin to understanddris proces, you'll also begin to understandthar .Change implies responsibilityfor the stateofyou mind and your aclions' Becomingrnasterof yout meansyou 'cut' Puppetconsciousness being pulled thoughts, feelings,reactionsand rcsponses here and chereby everything and everyone,getting into cyclesof bsd feelings,blaming complaining, accusingoYou have within you both the sources any srifferingaswell as the solution !o i!. of oThe intellect has a crucial role in guiding and transformingthe self. .The positive qualities, which sre in you assanskaras only be brought co the surfaceof the can consciousmind though intewention of the intellecr choice for a coDnection with your S-mmryire: Raja Yogameditation requiresmaking a coDscious your self imagebasedon your original intrinsic divine qualiries.Vhat kind odginal self, and reqeating of self imagedo you havel What thoughts come to mind when you chink about yourselfl lf they are droughts about your gender,role, personality, etc. rememberthat theseare conceptstlnt you have 'you', your spiritual identity. acquiredover time. They are not your original To .r."t. you. "piritual self-image,askyourselfthese3 questions:V4ro am ll Vhat is my form?\Ulat your with understanding to reallyexperLence ans*ers. and to aremy originalqualities?Try answer you've gotcensomething Visualize, expedmentand experience.Resistgoing to the nexcquestion undl out of the precedingone. The success your meditation will dependon how long you are able to think aboul lhesequestions of without being distractedby things around you ot by o*rer thoughs coming up. lf you don't have an just keeppracticing. for right away, Considetit gymnastics the soulexperience

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Lesson 2: TheImtorlllce olsiletrce

For d-risconnection with your own sel| silenceis very important. Silence is a quiet place behind all thoughts, feelingsand emotions.hom this place of quiet you cerl like an otsewer, look at tie wotld ftom a distance. 'noise' inside the mind' Silence enablesus to discormectfrom everything aroundus and even fiom the of silence is an enormousinner powr. ln silencewe are able to know ourselvesand the secrers life. ln of with that original point of peace, silence we are able to mnnect with the essmceof our being, harmony, of wholeness. you Silence is somethingyou can storc inside youtself;you can createa spacefor silence ln this space need.ICsan inner sanctuary, can build up a stock, a resewoir of silencewhich you can tap at a time of a meditation room in your mind, a place of silmce you can alwaysgo to. Silence comesautomatically when you leam to focus your mind on one idea' and Raja Yogais the art like of stabilizing the mind in one conrciousness, peacefor irstance. lc is not about making the mind you think deeplyabout peace,you'll find your mind gradually becoming en empty of droughts. more and more quiet, until only a few essentialthoughts remain. Leam co give your thor:ghts the right direction so that thev take vou into silence.

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