Been interested in spiritual development for a some years now, because my father has a lot of books about it. I have practiced yoga, pranayama and researched a lot through the web. But have been struggling with depression and anxiety for 7 years now (fear of living my life). I sense that I am not yet ready to ask some profound questions (because when I do, I get anxious), but would like to know where to begin, in order to live a more fullfilling life. Thank you so much.
—Mário Ferreira, Portugal
Dear friend,
The best thing you can do to begin a more fulfilling life is to learn to meditate and to practice it daily. This, more than anything else, will help in grounding your energies and emotions and will begin to remove fear from your life. The daily practice of meditation will bring you repeatedly back to your own deep spiritual center within.
On the Ananda.org home page menu look at the Meditation dropdowns. The Getting Started section is a good place to begin. You can learn how to meditate with the instructions and support given there. Online with Ananda also offers a meditation course for those who are learning to meditate. If there are other people in your area who you can meditate with, this can also be very helpful as you begin a meditation practice.
Meditation, as you continue and deepen your practice, changes everything in your life for the better — in how you view life, in what is important to you, and in being centered during stressful times. It can help you to tune into a much broader understanding of life, and help you to better understand who you are and why you are here.
In divine friendship,
Nayaswami Parvati
