By Sri Preethaji, Spiritual Leader, Co-creator – Ekam & Author – The Four Sacred Secrets

Wait till you read this. For anyone who thinks of meditation and says, NOT FOR ME or TOO TOUGH, or NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE.

All of us can meditate, and it certainly does not require us to go to a cave or get disinterested or disgruntled with the world to start meditating. Meditation can be the best inner adventure you have yet had.

I had my first experience with meditation when I was 17. I experienced a timeless space of consciousness, where every experience of seeing, smelling, touching was an explosion of bliss. That was like watching soap operas all my life on a black and white television to suddenly watching interstellar on Imax!

What exactly is meditation?

All meditation certainly is declutching from unconscious habitual thinking and experiencing a beautiful state of being.

However, every one of the world’s meditations can be classified into 3 categories.

“CONCENTRATION BASED MEDITATION” – where the meditator focuses on one single point, a form or a mantra and obliterates the rest from their focus. The purpose of concentration based practices ranges from a desire to prevent brain degenerative disease to enhancing efficiency to ultimately going beyond thought to a thought-less state of being.

“FLOW-BASED MEDITATIONS” OR OBSERVATION-BASED MEDITATION. The mediator here does not control thought but moves into a space of non-resistance and non-judgment. This is not focused on a point but the observations of a movement – the movement of thought, breath, body, or movement in nature.

The purpose of these meditations is to experience well-being, calm, peace and serenity.

“MEDITATION AS A HAPPENING”. Meditation here is not a conscious practice; it is happening. Meditative states can happen spontaneously when individuals go through an intense crisis or have experiences of breath-taking beauty, like when you are sky diving or holding a new-born baby and looking into their eyes or having a panoramic view of nature. Meditative states can also be induced through intense solitude, fasting, prayer, meditation, breathwork or rigorous movement. The meditator experiences a transcendental state of consciousness ranging from trance to expansive states of connection and bliss to inner states where you feel one with the universe.

How do you make meditation work?

Relax the body – it heals.
Observe the mind – it calms
Expand consciousness – you become whole

Meditation for the body is conscious relaxation.

Conscious body relaxation can happen when you bring relaxed attention to the breath or practice certain kinds of pranayamas and yoga-nidra or when you bring awareness and practice smiling meditation.

When the mind moves into a state of attention, it heals.

A beautiful life means a beautiful mind. A beautiful inner state means joy, serenity, peace, a sense of being connected. It means a mind free of confusion, conflict, and clutter, a mind free of unhappiness. It means an inner spaciousness where you can be present to the other, present to life. A beautiful state means a clear thinking, intelligent mind ultimately.

When consciousness expands, you become whole.

Here, consciousness means our sense of self and who we think we are. When your sense of self goes from being limited to including others, including the earth and the universe itself, your thinking changes radically; you know you are the limitless consciousness. When your sense of self changes, your thinking changes fundamentally; with transformed thinking arise transformed states of being, transformed actions and transformed life. This is the ultimate pursuit.

With meditation and wisdom, you realize a state of consciousness in which you are ‘all existence’.

And for all beginners, I would suggest the 3 minute serene mind practice. This is one of the best practice for calming stress and moving into a space of calm.

Try it. It works. Free Meditation Videos