Namaskar Hi All! Cool and calm ------------- Before you do meditation, asanas (yoga postures), eat or sleep, you can do what's called a "half-bath". Lets go through it. That doesn't mean you wash only half your body! The half-bath is the yogic way of balancing the body temperature and calming and refreshing the mind. It works by cooling the body, especially the organs, which usually get heated in daily activity. The spine also gets heated because it acts as the "cable" through which all the electrical impulses between the brain and the rest of the body travel along. The half-bath stimulates what's known as the "dive reflex" (the same one that enables dolphins and other marine mammals to conserve oxygen when they dive), lowering the heart rate, respiration and blood pressure. It also cools the brain directly through the optic nerves when you splash water in your eyes, and it strengthens the eyes too. Here's how to do it: * Use cold water, or lukewarm water in cold weather. * First go to the toilet, then pour some cold water over the urinary organ. * Then pour water on your arms only down from the elbows, and your legs only down from your knees. * Take a mouthful of water, and while holding the water in your mouth, splash water in your eyes and on your face at least 12 times. It's best to keep your eyes open, so the water hitting the surface can directly cool the retina and optic nerve. * Wet the ears and the back of the neck. * Flush the nose with water (but only if your stomach is empty): suck water into each nostril and spit it out through the mouth. Spit out the water rather than swallow it. If you can't suck it through to the mouth, blow it out the opposite nostril. If you can't do that, then blow it out the same nostril. Now for meditation ------------------ Now do meditation, asanas, massage and deep relaxation. Remember: it's a matter of practice to be able to concentrate on the feeling of the mantra. Keep practicing. Every time you realize your mind has wandered away from the mantra, concentrate on it again - it will get easier the more you do it. You can do the Baba Nam Kevalam mantra if you have not got your personal mantra. Meditative potential ... You unlock the real potential of meditation and yoga when you adopt it. This means living yoga; practicing meditation every day. It means applying the wisdom to everyday day life and to live a sentient lifestyle, that is, with awareness of the inner meaning of meditation. All aspects of life are affected: how you should eat, how you should sleep, ideation at work, relationship with others and so on. Conscious and skilful living doesn't mean you need to be a superstar to practice such a lifestyle. All you need is sincerity and application of some discipline. Make any adjustments in a systematic way and view changes as positive. Effort in life is essential to spiritual discipline and one's concern with a healthy, wholesome, functional, and spiritual environment. Now, the question may arise: is not the effort of meditation a mental occupation? No, it is not, for a mental occupation is concerned with the doer I or ego, with the effort to attain for that ego. But the effort of meditation (divine contemplation) is the effort to dedicate the small ego to the great Ego, so we cannot call it an ordinary desire. Meditation is not a mental propensity, it is the fullest expression of Divine desire or love itself. Meditative bearing ... "Train yourselves in the ideal of the lily, which blossoms in the mud and has to keep itself engaged in the struggle for existence day in and day out, parrying, bracing, and fighting through the shocks of muddy waters and forces of storms and squalls and sundry other vicissitudes of fortune and yet it does not forget the Moon above. It keeps its love for the Moon constantly alive. Prima facie however, it is but a most ordinary flower. There is nothing extraordinary about it. Still this most ordinary little flower is in a romantic tie with the great Moon. It has kept all its desires riveted to the Moon. Similarly, maybe you are an ordinary creature - maybe you have to pass your days through the ups and downs of your worldly existence - still don't forget that Supreme Preference. Keep all your desires inclined towards that Infinite Entity. Always keep yourselves merged in the thought of the Great. Go deep into the mood of that Infinite Love. By this your worldly occupation will not be hampered in any way." - Anandamurti So you see the meditative bearing works at the psycho-spiritual strata - the arena of mind that touches the spiritual. Inner feeling ------------- The inner feeling of meditation can be gathered from the song - I Love This Tiny Green Island (by PR Sarkar). Listen to the MP3 file of the song. If you play the guitar, approximate chords are given. Play around and locate the chords within the piece as required. The song represents the small 'I' merging with the Infinite Consciousness. To get the real feeling ... well meditation as spiritual practices is the way to go ... * I Love this Tiny Green Island Dm Am7 Am Dm I love this tiny green island, surrounded by the sea (x2) Am Em Am Em Am Touched by the sea, decorated by the sea (x2) Am Em Am Em Am Am I a secluded figure? In the vast a little, a meagre? (x2) Dm Am No, no, no, no, I'm not alone (x2) Dm (C) Dm Great is with me (C) Dm The Great is with me (PR Sarkar) I love this tiny green island surrounded by the sea (x2) Touched by the sea, decorated by the sea I love this tiny green island surrounded by the sea. Am I a secluded figure, in the vast, a little, a meagre No, no, no, no, I'm not alone, Great is with me, the Great is with me I love this tiny green island surrounded by the sea.