I would like to begin with a quote:

"Love lives by Giving & Forgiving... Self lives by Getting & Forgetting..."

Thinking thinking, doing doing, desire and holding on... What is this mindful thing that so many speak about, and why should you care? A thought, each and every thought, occupies a space in our mind.. and as the thoughts pile up we spend our time lost in thought and holding on to them. The more we think, the more space we give up, and the more we attach meaning and importance to them.. until finally we identify with them as ourselves. What would you be, what would you feel like if you had no thoughts? We spend our days lost in a perpetual dialogue with ourselves, but are our thoughts so important? What if we realised that being mindful just meant letting go of that chat, whatever it may be about. Animals cannot think like we do, because they don’t have words, they don’t have language.. and yet they are able to function perfectly, with great intelligence and knowing.. they are in touch with their essence and true nature in each and every moment. Have you ever watched a cat sitting so nicely, for hours on end, looking, watching, in a state of bliss? That cat has no thoughts to distract it from its true nature, it simply IS, and watches, looks, its mind is not full, but it is totally mindful.

Many people think that meditation means having no thoughts, but that is not how you start. Meditation is the final step in a long process! Anyone who attempts to sit down and quieten their thoughts and mind will surely fail. That is the great hurdle and misunderstand of meditation... A cat does not make any effort to not think, it is its natural quality because it is so focused, so concentrated and aware of the moment, of every sound, scent, and movement around it. It is alert and watching everything! And so the way to begin with meditation is simply to be alert, to watch everything within and around us, without judgement, just observing it all, without having to make any story up about it. Let the mind wander wherever it wants, but do not follow it. It takes practice to just observe, to be mindful, to just listen without talking about it, without responding to it.

And so, if you are interested in meditation and would like to deepen your practice I would like to share with you with a special quote on meditation from a divine being, his words always touch my heart and soul.

What is Meditation?

Concentration, contemplation and meditation

Concentration is below senses; meditation is beyond senses. We must travel from below senses to beyond senses. So, when we set out from what is below senses through concentration, we reach the stage of contemplation. And when we cross the boundaries of contemplation, we reach the area of meditation. So there are three stages, concentration, contemplation and meditation. Concentration can be compared to the state of "One you think you are". "One others think you are" is contemplation. Meditation enables us to recognize the state of "One you really are"

Forgetting the feeling of body identification

Supposing you sit for meditation, closing your eyes. However, the mind goes on wandering everywhere. You try to bring it back to the starting point. It is all a practice. It is only when the wavering mind is stilled that meditation is possible. This process of making the mind steady is called concentration. Meditation is possible only after concentration. The proper order is concentration, contemplation and meditation. If someone claims that he is meditating the moment he sits, it should not be believed. That is an artificial exercise, not meditation. Real meditation is forgetting oneself totally. It is forgetting dehātma bhāva (the feeling of identification with the body) completely. One has to totally give up attachment to the senses. Then only the mind will be steady.

Practicing concentration, contemplation

Do not follow the vagaries of the mind

Let the mind run wherever it likes; just be careful not to follow it, seeking to discover where it is going! It will then wander about for some time as the fancy takes it; soon, getting tired and exhausted, it will come back to you in the end! It is like a little child that knows nothing. Since the mother is following it and calling it back, it gets courage and confidence to run forward in any direction, but if the mother does not run behind the child and instead retraces her steps quietly, the child too, of its own accord, will run back to the mother!

Meditation means offering the flower of love to the Divine. In the rose plant of our body, there is the rose of pure and sacred Love emitting the fragrance of good qualities. Below the rose, however, there are thorns in the form of sensual desires. The purpose of meditation is to separate the rose of selfless love from the senses and offer it to the Lord.

 

Have a beautiful Mindful Monday my friends!

 

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