Meditation Keys

Intensity of effort is far more important than the time spent in meditation. How long should you meditate? The first rule is, don’t be ruled by what others do. What works well for them may not work for you. Accept that in certain ways you are unique. Here are a few general guidelines:

Never meditate to the point of mental fatigue, strain, or boredom. Enjoy what you do. Enjoy every aspect of your life—not an easy thing to do if one thinks about the aspects individually, but not so difficult if you concentrate on enjoying the inner Self. If you feel joy in meditation, stop meditating when the joy begins to diminish. One rule for right eating is to leave the table a little hungry. Apply this rule to meditation. In that way, you’ll always look forward to your next time for meditation.

On the other hand, make an effort to meditate a little longer at least once a week. Four to six hours, even, is not exaggerated. And once a week won’t kill you! Gradually you’ll break the habit of thinking you can meditate only for short periods.

In longer meditations, imitate the ocean tides in their ebb and flow. Let periods of intense concentration alternate with periods of relaxed effort and peaceful receptivity. Like waves coming in to shore, high intensity will alternate with low intensity in long meditations, and there may be pauses when no waves come at all. Until you can transcend body-consciousness in superconsciousness, it is unlikely you’ll be able to meditate deeply for very long. Think of your thoughts as dirt that has been stirred up in a glass. Stop stirring it, and it will gradually settle.

The greatest difficulty, in long meditations especially, is physical tension. Make an extra effort to keep your whole body relaxed, by following the relaxation methods taught in this book.

Think of meditation, if you like, as daily spiritual hygiene.

As a general guideline, I suggest you try to meditate at least half an hour twice a day—in the morning after you get up, and in the evening before going to bed. An hour and a half twice a day is better. But if you are a beginning meditator, more than one hour a day may be extreme. It is better to meditate a few minutes with deep concentration than a whole hour absentmindedly. Moreover, I don’t mind bargaining with you! For although five minutes, let’s say, isn’t much for anyone who has developed a taste for meditation, it may be all you feel you can spend in the beginning. So be it! Think of meditation, if you like, as daily spiritual hygiene. You brush your teeth, bathe, and brush your hair every day: Why not add to that routine five minutes of meditation?

You’ll come to enjoy meditating, in time. Then you’ll find yourself meditating longer because you want to, and not because someone is nagging you to do so. But if you think you’re too busy, here’s something to think about: You can always find the time for something you enjoy doing, can’t you? In time, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without meditating daily. And the answer, of course, will be: You didn’t. What you did, that is, wasn’t really living.

Be natural in your efforts. Make haste slowly, as the saying goes. Don’t force yourself to meditate when you’d very much rather be doing something else.

At the same time, don’t stop meditating altogether with the excuse that you have other things to do. Remember, there’s only one direction to go that makes any lasting sense: toward your own Self, in superconsciousness. No substitute will ever work for you; it’s never worked for anyone. No appointment is more important than your appointment with—not death: life.

Be a little stern with yourself. Success won’t come to people who never try. Only bear in mind that tension is counterproductive. In meditation, concentrate first of all on relaxation . . . As soon as you sit for meditation, get “down to business.” Don’t dawdle, as if telling yourself, “Oh, I have a whole hour, so what’s the rush?”

Remember this also: The more you meditate, the more you’ll want to meditate; but the less you meditate, the less you’ll enjoy doing it.

-Swami Kriyananda