“In deep sleep . . .
you are devoid of all possessions, including your own body. Instead of being unhappy, you are quite happy.

“Everyone desires to sleep soundly. The conclusion therefore is that happiness is inherent in you and is not due to external causes. One must realize one's Self in order to open the store of unalloyed happiness.” —Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi

 

Meditation is a word often misunderstood. The word “I” is often confused with the word Thinking, and although there is some relation between the two, Meditating and Thinking are two distinct different functions.

The sages say, “In quietness we meditate” ... and so it is. Meditation is the flower of silence. When there is holy silence, perfect meditation is brought forth.

Thinking is a function of the mind in which the Soul doesn't necessarily take part. Meditation is an art in which complete cooperation of spirit, soul and body is experienced. When a person meditates, the material plane of thinking is bypassed. There can even be thoughts, but one is not attached to them. Meditation is a place where the pure of heart can enter and receive omniscient consciousness.

“If the mind be fixed on the acquirement of any object, that object will be attained.” —Buddha

When I first began to study Yoga with Eugenia (my teacher, who is featured all over this site), the second book she gave me was The Autobiography of a Yogi by Yogananda. That book was also my introduction to Jnanavatar Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri (most people just say Yuktsewar). Yogananda and Yuktsewar had an enormous impact on me. The next day I became a member of the Self-Realization Fellowship, which Yogananda founded, and began my long-distance studies that they offer (written by Yogananda while he was still alive). They arrived every week all the way from Los Angeles to Stockholm, Sweden.

 

When Hurricane Andrew hit Miami in 1992, all of those lessons with my notes scribbled all over them, were destroyed. It was not until last year that I finally began to receive the lessons again, from the beginning. If you check out Yoga Links - Yogananda, you will find the Web sites that lead you directly to the courses and other sites about Yogananda and Yukteswar, too. (You can get back to this page simply by clicking on Meditation in the navigation menu on every page.)

In this Meditation Series, various techniques are provided. I believe that they all can take you the same place, if one wants to use that expression ... Try one at a time and see which one helps you the most. You will know quite soon through practice.

I had already begun to meditate in 1970, as Eugenia had taught me. It was not until 1983 that I was given a mantra from Transcendental Meditation at their beautiful place in Los Angeles. In fact, I brought my mother there with me, because I knew that meditation would decrease her high blood pressure.

We were enthralled with the surroundings at the beautiful Transcendental Meditation headquarters. Then I took my mother next door, to Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship. What a place to be, right next to one another there not far from the beach. What a perfect setting for peace and meditation. It was like arriving in paradise.

When we came home that evening, she began her meditation. The next day she said, “Kathryn, I think I must be doing something wrong. Whenever I close my eyes to meditate, I see a large yellow eye in the middle of my forehead, between my eyebrows.”

Stunned, I explained to my mother how wonderful that actually was, and how I wish I could see that yellow eye, too! She never ceased to amaze me throughout my life. Her blood pressure did come down.

Meditation does a lot of other incredible things for the body and mind, too. Here's an article about it. (Bookmark this page. This link leaves this site.) This is a BBC News Report, which states: “Scientists investigating the effect of the meditative state on Buddhist monks' brains have found that portions of the organ previously active become quiet, whilst pacified areas become stimulated.”

Life is not always as it appears. We have all learned this by now. Take a train for example. Have you ever been sitting in a train waiting to travel somewhere, when the train on the next track started to move? You weren't sure if it was the train you were in, or the other train that was moving, right? Our minds deceive us. One has to remember that whatever we see in front of us has already happened and it has taken our brain an infinitesimal amount of time to register it as reality.

This is why visualization is such a powerful exercise. If you are already visualizing what is about to happen, you will see it more clearly when it actually happens! Visualization is a wonderful way to train yourself to meditate. It helps you to understand how your mind works. It helps you to focus your attention on one point. I repeat throughout this site, “visualize it, visualize yourself doing it.” This is a powerful tool for success.