foundation course in raja yogaitation-teacher resources

8/3/2019 Foundation Course in Raja Yogaitation-Teacher Resources

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The Processof Meditation:At this point our aim in meditation is to ftee the mindFom r-henJluence f negalive anskarasyemergingthe positiveones,and to enable t co wo.kharmoniouslywith the intellect.Meditation is the processofcreating thoughts ofhighqualiry which release he rnind from its streamofor,ilinary,mundane and negative thoughts. t is notthinking routinely, or somethingyoudo rhythmicallylike a chant, or a repeatedprayer.

Lesson 2: lnrssofrl.drlrron l st.gc- l r i l i r ns ' Fu! r \ Shqe

Nor is it ahout making the mind blank or scoppinghought. Rather it's about ransforming le qt@linJof thought.This naturallyslows he speed f thoughts.t's acreative rocess.t is an ntemaldialoguewith yourselfandwith the Divine,Meditation is a time to practicebeing fully awareof one's thoughtsand creatingverypowerful,uplifting thoughts. Remember hat according o what you think, rhiswill be wharyouexperrence.The pmcesscan be described n {our distinct stages. n the Initial Stage,youdecide ro meditate. Soyou go to yourmeditation place and sit with the intention of meditatingfor a particularperiodof timeandon apartiqrlar hemeor topic. The intellectdecideshis.At first,you'llprobablyind yourmind sflowing in variousditections. You need to use he intellecc to shift yoursense f identiry ro the soul,tum yourattention within and becomeawareof your inner state Relax the body andfocusatrentionon the forehad, hinking "*ris is where I sir".Becauseout consciousnesss used o being engagedwith the extemal world, *rere can initially be aninner battle or conflict. You want to gowithin, but the habit of your mind is !o remain extemal ,ndscattered.You may need to persist.Do not worry ifyou remain in the initiation stage or a long time.During this time of focusing nward, usingyour intellect, consciouslychoose c experiencean o.iginal,positive quality, one t}atk of deep flurest ta Jouor his par.idtltr tine Ask yourmind to fiink aboul it'to explore t. Fo! example,youmight choose o try to expedenceyour original qualiry ofpeace, coexplore he meaning f 'Om Shanti'(I am a soul,a beingofpeace).Or youmight choose hequalityofspiritual love.If you penist with your intention, your mind will catch the flow of spirituality and before ong you willmovegenrlyand impercepaibly nto the next stage.

lvlay 004Teacher esourceso 2004B6hm Kumds v'lodd llritual univ.Eny.ALL R GHTSRESERVED


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The next stages called Contemplation. ln theinitial stage oubegan by tuming the mind witlinand corsideringyourself to bea soul. You told yourmind to set asideall other thoughc which areconnecredwith your work, relationships, eelings,pre-occupations,etc. You setyour mind to focusona cenain opicor themeofelevaledconsciou.necs,such aspeaceor love.

Lesson 2l h(,.css.lNlcdikrnri?'ishs.. S .1ge l (](nllcDijalbn

ln this secondstage,you call to mind all your ideasand feelings aboutyourchosenspiritual theme.You might call up thoughts aboutyour ryiritual essence' our inner hauty, your puricy, ove andserenity.One by one, pick ,-rpall the thingsyou know about beinga soul."l am immortal, invisible, apoint oflight, eternal,a beingofpeace,etc." n thisway, he knowledgen your ntellectabout hesoul begins o guideyour mind.Each sentences not something o repeat,but something o consider.Questioninghelpskeep iemind focused.l am a beingofpeace.What ispeace? ow does t feel o bepeacefull'ln the sameway contemplate other aspects f the soul, What does t mear to youto be immonal?Canyou tiink aboutyourselfasnever dying?Try to imagine it, try to feel what it would be ike to beforever.What youare actually doing is evoking the memory that is lateflt wichin you.What does t mean to be invisiblel Can you think of being invisible?Your face s not you.Your body snot you.Wlratyousee n the minor is not you. fhat do you ook like? .. anon-material, erysubtle,infinitesimal, invisible point ofspiritual light, like a star in tle night sky. You are anexrraordinarystarof consciousness,ilting in rhe center of your forehead.This stageof rhe meditative process s when distractionsoccur.The number ofdiscractions s direcdyrelated to yourde$ee of motivation, to your interest in expedencingyour chosen copic.Once you'reaware hat yourmind has scarteddown apath noa appropriate o your topic, useche ncellect o bringit backgently.Use the intellect to clarifi disrractionsand set them to resr;don't suppresshem. lf themind stans co rhink of food, for example,either a) tell it that you will think aboutwhat to havc fordinner in ffve minutes after you ffnish your meditation; and/ or b) work wirl dre thought of food bythinLing how, just as t is nourishment for rhe body, n the samewaypositive, elevated houghtsaboutthe self, nourish the soul; and/ or c) exploring which ate che houghtswhich best eed the mind andgive eneryy o the spiriLlfyou have oomanydistractions,maybe ouneed o ffnd a more nterestingopic,or consider ourtopic more deeply. fsomeihing comes o mind that's impotanc andneedsattention, gently tell themind o put it aside or now you'll give r full atcention fter medirarion.Ut'sOK to suggesthat rheykeepanotepadwith them to jot down *rings chat rheysuddenly ememberandfear drey rnay orget iftheyput it aside.l

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Once youhave serasidedistractions and ate reallydeeply contemplatingyour theme, youhavenaturally entered he next stage,ofconcentration.Concentration meansno disuactions!You arebeginning to experienceyourselfas apeaceful,pure,loving powerfr.rl oul.Acknowledge rhat this is whatir feels ike to beyou.Allow yourselfo be at peacewith younelf, with the world, at peacewith God-

L e s s o n 2 . f r , ! c \ . l \ l . J r , , u n r j s i i g .

, S l ! eo lConc er l t a l Lon

Consider that beforeanything ever happened,youwere at peace-- quiet, peaceful,silent' serene,noupheavals,no strongemotioru, just quietb beingyourself.Can you remember his peace? eace s astateof verydeep erenity, armony, aLance,atience. voke hat feeling. t will comequite easilywhenyou ust hink about/ emembert. Then savot he eeling n yourmind.Automacicallyouhave slowedyour thoughas.Your elevated houghts areproducing elevatedvibrationsandyouare-*--.,-^-i^- rl,-nln the sameway, consideryour otiginal, natural stateof purity- no flaws, no guilt feelings;puremeanscompletely natural. Purity meanscleanliness,being clean-not extemally-buc in the sense fbeing true. Puremears to be like aperfectdiarnond,completely uansparentand light Evoke hememoryof the eeiingof complete uriry.You'll feelas f youhave an nnerglow;you'll eelverygoodaboutyounelf. That is natural and correct.This is che eal you-Conrinue yourexplotation of the odginal qualities of tle soul by thinling of younelf as oving. Youare a child of God, the Ocean of Love. You are uil of love Spiricual ove includes olemnce,respect,mercy, acceptance,All other beingsareyour brochersandyoufeel natural love and respect or all.Regardless fwhat anyonedoes, heir being is alsoesentially pure, peacefulandloving, so on thatlevel youcanfeel love for everyone-This shift ftom thinking co eeling is the stageof concenttation Once youbegin to feel and torememberandexperience,distractions no longer occur andyour thoughts flow naturally andeffortlessly n one direction. The longe. youstay n a certain consciousness,he deeper he experienceofthose thoughts will be.Focusingon a certain theme s done by t}re intellect and when the mind andintellect ate stable n oneconsciousness,his is calledconcentration. Check the clock, andyouwillseechat 10 to 15 minuteshave flown by.This is easymeditation: youknew what ro think, yor:savoredand consideredeach dea,you created he droughts n a logical sequence, tep'by'step,you evoked/began o recall or call forth &om within you the experience.This is how meditation works

[NOTE: Emphasize hat thesestepsarenot a formula to be followed, br:t rather a descriprionof thenaturai flow of consciomnesswhen you areusingyour mind a-ndntellect in the right way.l

Mav 004Teacher esources@2004BEhtu Kumds !"lo d Spi tu.l UnlvFlty. tL RIGHTSRESERVEO 34


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Realization is the fourrh stage, when you arrive atyour desrinarron;when you become he experienceyou are seekin$ where you ate totally still andradiating chepure bli's ofyour experience n aserene silen! stale. lt's not so much the "AHa!"state, as it is the "Aaaa" state. Let yourself becontent if you find youself experiencing only thefirst three stages or many meditations.

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

Realization can be bolh suddenand cumulative, but generally he stageof realizalioncomesoveryouimperceptibly in its o\rn time. When youhave thought so deeply,with such concentrationthat youreach completion, youattain astate of stillness,n which tlere is rotal comprehensionof your themc-You know it on the deepestevel. There is no longer the need o create ioughts about t. Thatrealization sinks nto your soul indelibly. As you progress,ealizationscontinue andyour soulundergoes eal andpermanentchange. t is avery subtie and specialprocess,which continues hrough- your life-As you begin to understanddrisproces, you'll also begin to understand har

.Change impliesresponsibility or the state ofyou mind andyour aclions' Becoming nasterof youtthoughts, eelings, eactionsand rcsponsesmeans ou 'cut' Puppetconsciousness beingpulledhere and chereby everything and everyone,getting into cycles of bsdfeelings,blamingcomplaining, accusing-oYouhave within youboth the sources f any sriffering aswell as he solution !o i!.oThe intellect has a crucial role in guiding and transforming he self..The positive qualities,which sre in you assanskarasan only be brought co he surfaceof theconsciousmind though intewention of the intellecr

S-mmryire: Raja Yoga meditation requiresmaking a coDscious hoice for a coDnectionwith yourodginal self, and reqeating your self imagebasedon youroriginal intrinsic divine qualiries.Vhat kindof self image doyouhavel What thoughtscome to mind when you chink aboutyourselfl f they aredroughtsaboutyour gender, ole, personality, etc. rememberhat theseare concepts lnt youhaveacquiredover time. They arenot your original 'you', your spiritual identity.- - To .r."t. you. "piritual self-image,askyourself hese3 questions:V4ro am ll Vhat is my form? Ulataremy originalqualities?Tryo answerwith understandingnd o reallyexperLenceourans*ers.Visualize, expedment and experience.Resistgoingto the nexcquestionundl you've gotcensomethingout of the precedingone.The success f yourmeditation will depend on how long youare able to think aboul lhesequestionswithout beingdistracted by things aroundyouot by o*rer thoughs coming up. lf youdon't have anexperienceightaway,ustkeeppracticing.Considet t gymnasticsor the soul-

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For d-risconnection with your own sel| silence svery important. Silence s aquiet placebehind allthoughts,feelingsand emotions.hom this placeofquiet you cerl like an otsewer, look at tie wotldftom a distance.

Lesson 2: The mtorlllceolsiletrce

Silenceenablesus to discormect rom everything aroundus andeven fiom the 'noise'inside the mind'silence is an enormous nner powr. ln silencewe are able to know ourselvesandthe secrers f life. lnsilence we are able to mnnect with the essmceof our being,with that original point of peace,ofharmony, of wholeness.Silence is somethingyou can storc insideyoutself; youcancreate a spaceor silence ln this space oucan build up a stock, a resewoirof silence which you can tap at a time of need. Cs an inner sanctuary,a meditation room in your mind, aplaceof silmce youcan alwaysgo to.Silence comesautomaticallywhen you leam to focusyourmind on one idea' andRaja Yoga s the artof stabilizing the mind in one conrciousness,ike peace or irstance. lc is not about making the mindempty of droughts. enyouthink deeply aboutpeace,you'll find your mind graduallybecomingmore and morequiet, until only a few essential houghtsremain.Leam cogive your thor:ghts he rightdirection so that thev takevou into silence.

May2004TeaoherRsourcese 2oo4 8..hm Klmrl vbdd spirlb.l unlvBftv.ALL RIGHTSRESERVEO

foundation course in raja yogaitation-teacher resources

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