Meditation
Meditation is a space to simply be.
Meditation, for me, is not limited to one particular technique or tradition. And it is not always something that you consciously do. At a certain point, meditation can simply happen — when there is enough stillness, awareness and space for it to arise.
An approach to meditation
There is more than one way into stillness.
Meditation, for me, is not limited to one particular technique or tradition. And it is not always something that you consciously do. At a certain point, meditation can simply happen — when there is enough stillness, awareness and space for it to arise.
My approach draws from the teachings of Dr. Joe Dispenza, Advaita Vedanta, various esoteric traditions, Kundalini Kriya Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. I have been initiated into Kundalini Kriya Yoga, which is also a part of my own practice.
I bring together different techniques rather than following one fixed method. These may include awareness, breath, visualisation, mantra, energy work, self-inquiry, devotion, stillness and heart-centred practices, depending on what feels appropriate.
The heart
The deeper direction of meditation is expansion.
For me, the deeper direction of meditation is expansion — particularly the expansion of the heart.
Heart-centred practices can open a space for compassion, connection, coherence and a sense of oneness. They can also invite us to explore the relationship between the heart, the brain, the body and our emotional states.
The intention is not to create a particular state or force ourselves to feel a certain way. It is to become familiar with a different way of being — one in which there can be a sense of connection and safety within, regardless of what is happening around us.
“The intention is not to create a particular state or force ourselves to feel a certain way.”
The practice is not about forcing
Creating from within
What becomes possible when you begin creating from within?
Meditation can also create a space in which we become more conscious of the thoughts, beliefs and patterns we have been carrying.
This is where I also bring in practices such as affirmations, rampages and visualisation. In a meditative state, there is a possibility of experiencing a different thought, feeling or version of yourself — rather than simply repeating words mechanically.
You can use this space to imagine and experience who you could become, what you could create, and how you could relate to yourself and your life differently.
There is no promise of a particular outcome. It is simply an opportunity to explore what becomes possible when you begin creating from within, rather than always responding to what is happening outside you.
Meditation beyond meditation
What happens in meditation does not have to remain on the meditation cushion.
What happens in meditation does not necessarily have to remain on the meditation cushion.
The awareness, stillness and possibilities you experience within meditation can slowly become something you carry into everyday life — into the way you relate to yourself, to other people, to your body, to your emotions and to the world around you.
Meditation can become less about escaping life and more about changing the space from which you meet it.
And sometimes it becomes something beautifully simple.
You wake up at five in the morning to meditate, while the rest of the world is asleep. There is something almost mystical about being awake at that hour — sitting quietly while everything outside you is still. For a moment, it can feel as though you are one of the lovers of truth who are awake while the world sleeps.
Perhaps the deeper practice is to take a little of that feeling with you when the sun comes up.
To carry that stillness into an ordinary morning.
That quiet joy into a difficult day.
That sense of contentment into the small moments of life.
Little by little, the practice can become less about the hours spent meditating and more about what begins to live in your heart.
“Perhaps the deeper practice is to take a little of that feeling with you when the sun comes up.”
To carry that stillness into an ordinary morning.
That quiet joy into a difficult day.
That sense of contentment into the small moments of life.
A little practice
There is nothing to achieve here.
Close your eyes and take a few slow breaths.
Notice your body without trying to change anything. Notice the space around your body. Then bring your attention towards your heart.
You don't have to create a particular emotion or feeling. Simply notice the heart, the breath and the space around them.
From there, allow your awareness to expand — beyond the body, beyond the thoughts, into the space around you.
There is nothing to achieve here.
Just stay with the awareness for a while, and allow yourself to experience what it is like to simply be.
And when you open your eyes, take that space with you.
Perhaps meditation is not only the time when you sit with your eyes closed.
Perhaps, little by little, it becomes the way you walk through the world — with a little more awareness, a little more wonder, and a little more space in your heart.
Make a little space for yourself.
Explore meditation as a practice of awareness, stillness, inquiry and inner space.