Day Ten: Effort and Stability

Success with meditation occurs over a period of time as we develop the positive habit of regular practice. Steady practice removes stress from the body and mind, awakens our dormant powers of insight and intuition, and clarifies the mental field which makes one-pointed attention easier to experience. This prepares us for samadhi or superconsciousness. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra (1.13-14) explains: [Superconscious meditation] Practice requires effort and stability. It becomes firmly established when carefully attended to for a long period of time without interruption. When we meditate every day, it is like building an inner fire that grows stronger as it is tended. This inner fire burns away the dross of laziness, restlessness and confusion. Stopping and starting our practice is like building a fire, letting it go out, and then having to gather the energy all over again the next time. How much better it is to build the fire then tend it every day.

The effort needed to establish a deep meditation practice is best understood as focused intention and follow-though, rather than as something we must force ourselves to do. It’s a subtle distinction, but one that can be very supportive when properly understood. At the heart of the difference is this: meditation practice, daily conscious contact with the essential Self, is something we deeply desire. It is something that nothing else will satisfy. The effort required is simply a matter of aligning our energy with our deepest desire rather than allowing ourselves to be distracted. Think of it as supporting yourself to do something that you are naturally drawn to do.

Daily meditation practice is the training ground for intentional living. It is a demonstration of how we order our priorities. This is one of the reasons why meditating first thing in the morning is useful. When we do, we affirm that our conscious relationship with the Infinite is the foundation for everything else.

Distractions do arise. Our scheduled meditation may be occasionally interrupted by obstacles like travel or even illness. What then? Quickly and efficiently begin again. Remember that your practice builds momentum. Even if you miss a session, that momentum can still be experienced when you return to your practice. However if you miss a session and allow that to erode your commitment, you will lose momentum and have to start again. Once we experience the benefits of daily practice, we are naturally drawn to it. While there is always a need to be intentional, once our practice is established, the momentum of positive reinforcement contributes to ease in maintaining it.

Think About It: Recent research at Harvard University reported that a group of meditators, spending an average of 27 minutes each day practicing mindfulness exercises, showed increased gray-matter density in the hippocampus region of the brain. This area is known to be important for learning and memory, and is associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection.

—Reported in the Harvard Gazette

Be Inspired: The heart [the soul], once it experiences awareness of its Source, if nothing diverts it from this communion, sinks deeper by an insensible process of revelation, till it is wholly in God. 

 –St. Francis de Sales