This lesson is excerpted from How to Meditate by Rama, Dr. Frederick Lenz. @2016. The Frederick P Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism. This work may be used by the public consistent with a Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs” license (CC BY-NC-ND). For more information, see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
If you want to meditate, think of God.
You can think of God as a person,
As a Light,
As Beauty,
As Truth,
As Your Friend,
As Your Lover,
As Your Child,
As Your Mother,
As Your Father,
As Yourself,
As The Void,
As Eternity,
As Perfection,
As Nirvana,
As you like it.
Meditate in a clean and quiet place.
Try to take a shower before you meditate.
If you don't have time to take a
Shower or a bath,
Then wash your hands and face.
Water has a very pure consciousness.
When you take a shower,
The subtle physical vibrations of
The water neutralize a great deal of the
Negative energy that your body accumulates.
Try to avoid eating for several hours
Before you meditate.
If you eat too much before a
Meditation session, you will find it
Difficult to meditate.
Instead of meditating on peace, light and bliss,
You will meditate on pasta.
If you are very hungry, then
Drink some fruit juice or
Eat something very light.
If you try to meditate when you are too hungry,
You will sit there and think of food.
Wear loose and clean clothing;
Otherwise you will be uncomfortable.
Set up a meditation schedule:
I suggest that you meditate
Two or three times a day.
Set a minimum amount of time for
Each meditation session.
If you are a beginner,
Meditate for fifteen minutes or more.
If you have been meditating for
Over six months,
Then I suggest that you meditate for
At least 45 minutes.
It is not necessary to meditate for
More than one hour.
Instead of meditating for over an hour,
Increase the intensity of the hour,
Until the hour becomes Eternity.
Needless to say, if you meditate for
More than an hour and the
Meditation is going well,
Don't stop simply because you have gone
Beyond your normal time.
Pick a spot in your bedroom or another room
To meditate in.
Put a small table there.
Place a pretty rug in front of your
Meditation table.
Place candles on the table.
Flowers are nice too.
It is easiest to meditate by candlelight.
During meditation, your eyes become sensitive.
Candlelight is a soothing and natural light.
When possible, burn incense.
Good incense contains aromatic oils that
Soothe your central nervous system.
The fragrance of incense is beautiful.
Meditation is an act of supreme beauty.
When you meditate, you will discover
Your own inner beauty and the
Beauty of Eternity.
Anything that you can do that will
Add to the beauty of your
Meditative experience will be helpful.
Sit on your rug in a cross-legged position.
If you find it more comfortable,
Sit in a chair.
The important thing is to sit up straight.
Don't meditate lying down.
If you lie down, your body will
Relax too much and
Your attention will waver.
You may feel comfortable, but you won't
Meditate well.
Now close your eyes.
Chant the mantra "Aum," or a
Favorite mantra, seven times.
Chanting a mantra to start your
Meditation makes it easier to enter into a
High and pure state of consciousness.
When you chant "Aum," or any mantra,
Do so softly and gently.
Extend the sound.
Focus your awareness on the sound of the
Mantra and become absorbed in it.
After you have chanted a mantra seven times,
Or as long as you like,
Open your eyes.
Focus your attention on a candle flame,
On a flower, on a yantra,
Or on anything small and finite.
It is not a good idea to continually
Repeat a mantra during meditation.
Repeating a mantra throughout your
Meditation causes you to fixate on a
Specific level of consciousness.
In meditation you are trying to
Quiet your mind and stop your thoughts.
A mantra is a thought.
Use a mantra to help still your mind initially,
And then move into silent meditation.
Focus your attention on a candle flame
And gaze at it.
Begin by looking at a small part of the
Flame for a minute or two.
Then look at the entire flame.
If you start to get a headache, or
If your eyes bother you, then you are
Trying too hard.
Relax.
Don't be afraid to blink or
Change positions if you need to.
Meditate. Look at the candle flame -
Or whatever object you have chosen to
Gaze upon - with intensity.
After several minutes of gazing,
Close your eyes.
Enter into the world of feelings.
Ignore your thoughts or enjoy them;
But let them go.
Meditate.
Focus your attention on your heart chakra.
Your heart chakra is one of
Seven psychic energy centers in your
Subtle physical body.
Each chakra is a gateway to a different
Level of reality.
The heart chakra is the central chakra;
It is the best chakra to meditate on
For the first five or ten years of your
Meditative practice.
The heart chakra is the chakra of
Love and purity.
Meditating on this chakra each day will
Give you humility, purity, and
Spiritual balance.
The other chakras are fine to meditate on
Occasionally. But, for daily meditation,
The heart chakra is the best.
Your heart chakra is located in the
Center of your chest.
If you don't know how to find it then
Here is an easy way:
Hold either your right or left hand out
In front of your chest.
Extend your index finger.
Now say "ME" out loud and,
As you do so, touch your chest.
You will automatically touch your
Heart chakra.
Your heart chakra is not in your
Physical body.
It is in your subtle physical body,
But it connects with your physical
Body in this location.
The first few times you meditate,
Use this method to find your
Heart chakra. After you have
Practiced gazing for several minutes,
Place your finger on the
Spot you have located,
Close your eyes, and simply "feel"
The spot your finger is touching.
Then, after a couple of minutes,
Let your hand down.
Continue to hold your attention on
This spot just as you did when
Your finger was there.
This becomes easier with practice.
NOTE: After two or three sessions of meditating
On your heart chakra, it will no longer be
Necessary for you to physically touch your
Chest with your finger to locate it.
You will sense the spot automatically and can
Start focusing on it as soon as you have
Finished gazing.
Focus your attention on your heart chakra.
Ignore your thoughts.
As you focus more intensely, you may feel
As if you are floating.
Sensations of peace, joy, and love
Will enter into you.
They will be very subtle at first.
Then they will grow stronger.
Don't expect to be able to stop your
Thoughts for sustained periods of time until
You have meditated for many years.
You don't have to stop all thought to have a
Good meditation.
Simply pay no attention to your thoughts and
You will unhook yourself from them.
Let go of your thoughts.
Let the current of meditation take you
Where it will.
As you meditate you will observe your thoughts changing.
At the beginning of your meditation session,
Your thoughts will be very worldly.
You may be thinking, planning, or worrying.
As the meditation progresses,
Your thoughts will become more pure.
You will think of constructive things that
You can do for yourself and others.
As your meditation progresses even further,
You will notice the phenomena of meditation.
You may see dazzling lights,
Feel energy coursing through different
Parts of your body,
Feel as if you are floating,
Hear sounds, or
Smell fragrances.
Be neither attracted nor repulsed.
You are watching a movie.
If the visions are beautiful or horrible,
Don't get caught up in them.
Enjoy your popcorn.
Enjoy the experience.
Don't expect anything.
Whenever you expect something
From a meditation, you set yourself up for
Immediate frustration.
Don't program your meditation.
Sit and enjoy it.
Then, when you have grown accustomed to
Sitting and meditating,
Try to stop your thoughts.
That's the bottom line in
Meditative practice.
At the end of your meditation session,
Chant "Aum" seven times.
Chanting a mantra at the end of your
Meditation session will help you to
Retain the Light.
Bow and offer your meditation to
Eternity, as you would offer a
Flower to your lover.
If you have a Spiritual Teacher,
Then think of your Teacher at the
Beginning of your meditation.
Your Teacher is your mantra.
Repeat your Teacher's name
Several times.
Think of a nice moment you
Had together -
When you meditated together,
When you talked - Something intimate.
When you think of an Enlightened Teacher,
You contact them inwardly.
An enlightened Teacher is Light.
When you focus on them,
That Light psychically enters into you.
The Teacher will teach you how to meditate
From within.
You can meditate directly on God,
On a spiritual Teacher who is no longer
In the body,
Or on a Cosmic God or Goddess.
Do whatever works best for you.
Be creative. As you progress,
You will meditate in
New and different ways.
Never analyze your meditation experiences.
Meditate and move on.
Meditate each day as soon as you
Wake up.
This is important.
It may be easier to meditate
Later in the day;
Do so.
But also meditate each day
When you wake up.
Your mind is calm when you wake up.
You may be a little tired,
But a shower will perk you up.
Meditate.
You will enter into stillness and peace.
Then your entire day will be wonderful.
Meditation.
It's like your American Express Card:
Never leave home without it.
Meditate each day at noon,
Just for a few minutes.
The kundalini is strongest at noon.
Meditate at sunset or at night.
It's easiest to meditate at night.
Night is Eternal.
It is good to meditate at any time.
You will find that some times are
Better than others.
Do what works for you.
Be creative in your meditation.
On a nice day, it's fun to meditate outside.
Meditate with friends.
Meditate alone.
Never get discouraged.
Each meditation will change your life.
Sit and meditate with your whole
Heart and mind.
Cry to God.
You will change.
Enjoy the process.
Your meditation is only limited
by your powers of concentration
And your ability to surrender to Eternity.
Anything else you need to know,
You will learn as you go along.
Trust the Force.
It is with you.