What is Meditation?

Many of us think we know what meditation is. Here in the West we are taught to sit quietly and try not to think about anything. Well this is virtually impossible! And most people, after trying to do this realize they cannot stop their mind chatter, so they get frustrated and quit. I tried this type of meditation for over 20 years, and I hardly ever reached that state of “Nirvana” like everyone talks about. After getting better lessons at the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, CA. where I was introduced to Primordial Sound Meditation and given my own specific mantra to repeat, I found the practice easier. In essence, one focuses on the mantra, (their primordial sound current) and not on all the thoughts that come up while trying to meditate. It is not that your mind ceases to produce thoughts, it is just that when your notice yourself “thinking” again, you return to the mantra. This worked for me for a while, but I was looking for a deeper experience and still hunting for that energy of my youth. Then, I discovered Kundalini Yoga. What an amazing door opener that was! There are thousands of mantras and meditations. In the over 8000 kriyas (yoga sets) to choose from, one can find active as well as passive meditations with beautiful mantras to recite out loud or silently for prosperity, healing, love, happiness and a host of other topics. Yogi Bhajan said this about meditation in 1994, “Normally people do not understand what meditation is. It has been sold in America but not taught, that’s the tragedy of it. There has been meditation given secretly and openly and you are asked to give some mantras to do something but please understand there are only two areas in your body, which are most important. The front lobe this controls your personality and the upper palate, which is the base of the hypothalamus, if those two areas are well controlled by you, by your practice, then there is nothing to worry (about).” Most of the Kundalini kriyas and meditations focus on the glandular (endocrine system) and this helps us balance and strengthen our nervous system. When I started doing the practice and these meditations, I began healing much quicker. I could feel the shifts in my brain and body. Kundalini yoga is like the speed train to enlightenment and health. It works extremely fast. One 3 minute kriya can absolutely change your life! Just the Tune In can have an amazing impact. Yogi Bhajan continued in his lecture about meditation saying this about a specific kriya he was teaching. “it will trigger the pituitary glandular system and pituitary command center will order the other glandular system to start secreting. Now in the secretion, the blood chemistry will change, if the spine is straight, chest is out, chin is in that’s all you need the serum of the flow in the spinal column to go up and down…Let the expansion take place. It is not how long you meditate, it is how carefully you meditate, that matters. Eyes must remain closed and roll them downwards as from the closed eyes you are looking at your chin point. It may start giving you some kind of pain or hurt or heaviness in the forehead that should be considered normal. Posture is very important in this, what you can make your pituitary do now is very astonishingly a wonderful thing and once the pituitary makes the entire glandular system to come through its command, the chemistry of your blood will change and the strength of your organ will be different and that has to be experienced now, not tomorrow. That’s the beauty of this yoga that is for the householder and in a shortest possible time, person can experience it.” The breadth and wealth of information found in Kundalini Yoga is astonishing. It is such a blessing that Yogi Bhajan delivered these secret teachings to the West. You can take control of your own health and personal growth by finding a certified KRI Kundalini Class or Instructor near you. There is tremendous power in the group practice. If you are local you can find my classes here in Carlsbad and Encinitas by clicking on the Kundalini Classes tab under The Practice. This lecture and meditation I quote above can be found in the Library of Teachings.