Meditation is a state of consciousness that can be understood only on a direct, intuitive level. Ordinary experiences are limited by time, space, and the laws of causality, but the meditative state transcends all boundaries. While you meditate, past and future cease to exist. There is only the consciousness of I am in the infinite, eternal, Now.

WHAT IS HAPPINESS?
Everyone wants to be happy; this is a universal fact. Most people believe that some material object will bring this happiness-money, the perfect spouse, the dream job, a new car, a big house with swimming pool-but in truth the list of what would make you completely happy is never ending. Each "thing" will please only for a short time, until the novelty wears off. As long as

you think that happiness will come from something outside yourself, you will never be happy. Happiness, the blissful state, comes from within your own self.

 

PHYSICAL BENEFITS
Meditation provides a lasting spiritual rest, which must be experienced to be understood. Once you can meditate, the time you normally devote to sleep can gradually be reduced to as little as three hours per night, and you will still feel more rested and peaceful than before. By reducing heart rate and consumption of oxygen, meditation greatly reduces stress levels. It seems that each part of the body, even down to the individual cells, is taught to relax and rejuvenate. Meditation helps to prolong the body/s period of growth and cell production, and reduces the decaying process. After the age of 35, our brain cells die off at a rate of 100,000 per day, and they are not replaced, but meditation can reduce this decline, as it changes the vibratory makeup of both the body and the mind. In this way, meditation can prevent or minimize senility.

MENTAL BENEFITS

We each posses vast inner resources of power and knowledge. In meditation, new patterns of thinking come to the surface and develop as we experience a new view of the universe, a vision of unity, happiness, harmony, and inner peace. Negative tendencies vanish, and the mind becomes steady. Meditation brings freedom from the fear of death, a doorway to a new name and form. People who meditate regularly tend to develop health and cheerfulness. Others draw strength from such people and feel elevated in their presence.

Brain Cells
Meditation can reduce the rate at which brain cells are lost as we get older.

CHARTING YOUR PROGRESS IN MEDITATION
“An ounce of practice is worth tons of theory.”—Swami Sivananda.

• Do not abruptly change your way of life. Begin to evolve bit by bit, thus developing your will power.

• Keep a spiritual diary, it may prove to be an eye-opener. It is a simple practical aid to help you to be regular in your practice and to make the most of limited time available.

• Make a daily routine and stick to it.

• Nightly, just before going to bed, review what you have done that day. Keep the diary for six months and compare your progress.

• Remember that regularity and sincerity are the most important secrets to success.

• Only you can evaluate whether you are making progress. There are no objective tests or guidelines. None else can tell you this, it is completely subjective.

• Do your body and mind seem to be shedding a kind of dullness or heaviness?

• Do you feel more peaceful, more happy with yourself, and less prone in emotional outbursts? Are serenity of mind and a sense of deep-seated contentment starting to manifest themselves?

Knowledge is good medicine. Pass it on!TM