Choose a time in the evening and/or morning when you can devote 10 to 15 minutes to meditation. Even 10 minutes of meditation each day will bring positive results. Early morning is an ideal time for meditation.
Many problems in life are solved only when “I” get out of the way: The bossy, all-knowing, opinionated, reactive “I”. Or, the upset, emotional, hurt “I”.
There is another part of me, which can see the activity and absurdity of these “I”‘s, as if they were characters in a novel. This “meta” part of me, that can see the larger picture, that sees the joke, that sees the miracle unfolding, exists when I stop thinking.
When I don’t think about something, I get to enjoy the amazing outcome. For some reason, in a state of meditation, the outcome is always good. The next job is better; the alternate seat on the plane is more comfortable, the route taken by mistake leads right to something I had been looking for and never could find before. It is as if some powerful force of goodness and compassion takes over and the problem is solved.
In meditation, what I have noticed, is that by simply paying attention, by simply being alert and aware in a situation, a resolution is possible. If I jump into the situation and start to wrestle with it, if I think I can somehow solve it through my own efforts, analysis and arguments, I just exhaust myself, and the situation doesn’t change. Maybe I make it worse. Maybe I say something I didn’t want to say.
I have learned that the most time-wasting thing in life is reacting to situations and to people. The fact is, the situation is exactly how it is; it isn’t going to change just because I am impatient or angry. So why not reduce my blood pressure, my stress level, my rampaging storm of thoughts? Why not see if I can be in the situation I am in, and at the same time, be in meditation?
One of the coolest things about having an evolved friendship, a friendship between two people who both enjoy Sahaja Meditation, is that if at least one of us has the attention higher, silent, still, expanded, it acts as a catalyst for the other person. Crazy, distracting, annoying thoughts clear away. The conversation moves from trivial, unimportant things to the really deep, profound mysteries of life; the most delicate, the most intense parts of life. There is always humor; together, with a friend, we each can see the joke.
Being with a friend, I am a mirror. I am not trying to guide or judge my friend. I become still, I try to listen, and I try to feel what is happening inside the other person. When I am in a state of meditation, my friend stops being “the other person.” I can feel all of the barriers to joy inside of him or her, and at the same time, all of the greatness, all of the potential.
Having practiced and studied Sahaja Meditation for a while, I recognize what the various signals mean that I receive on my central nervous system. I know what a throbbing pressure in my ring finger means when I sit down next to my friend. And it doesn’t matter. My job is to listen, and to lose the separateness, the distance between us. When my friend talks to me, it should be like he is talking to himself. A concept like “trust” is almost ridiculous, since there is no “other person.” If you are talking to yourself, of course you can say anything, without dreading a reaction, opinion, or judgment.
People are drawn to a good leader, as if by a gravitational field. A good leader has gravity. The weight of their authority comes from their strong moral firmness and personal integrity. A good leader leads by example. He or she gives respect and love to everyone in equal measure. The people working with a good leader want to work extra hard and do their best work, because the leader has encouraged and inspired them. The good leader has reminded everyone of what their true potential is.