MEDITATION
THE MORE YOU MEDITATE, THE MORE
THERE IS A QUALITATIVE CHANGE IN
YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS.
I like the notion of
"mental grooves". If we
consider the mind as a
product of experience,
whatever impressions
are made upon it are
imprinted to varying
degrees. One can liken
this process to the
grooves on a
phonograph record. The
deeper the impression,
that is, the deeper the
groove, the more
resilient the pattern of
reaction and behavior.
The most effective way
of creating deeper
grooves is by presenting
the mind with a set of
circumstances that
reinforce certain
behaviors by virtue of
their repetition, such as
meditating at a certain
time and in a certain
setting each day. This is a
critical factor. By
repeating a behavior over
and over, with the same
or similar conditions, we
create a mental groove
that becomes a part of
our mental dynamic and
habit.
Another way of
reinforcing a mental
groove is by eliminating
44 www.yogicherald.com Jan./Feb. 2019
distractions that pull the
mind in different
directions, thereby
limiting it from
indulging itself in living
out other grooves or
desires. If wanting to sit
at the computer is
competing with the
desire to meditate, the
stronger groove will
invariably win out. There
are always competing
grooves, and we have to
make the meditation
groove a strong one, that
will not fade or diminish
with time. If we decide
that 7-8pm is the time
for meditation, and we
reinforce that through
repetition and
commitment, the
activity will take on a
momentum of its own.
We will live out this
groove, one that happens
to be helpful and
expansive.
This brings us to an
interesting fact about
meditation. The more
you meditate, the more
there is a qualitative
change in your
consciousness. The
sense of calmness and
ease (we can call it bliss)
is something that
touches the deepest part
of your nature. It is an
experience of utter
fullness. And it is
something that will start
to permeate your
consciousness even
after you get up from
your meditation and
start to interact with the
world again. The world
will not seem quite so
involving.
There is a wonderful
sense of detachment
that happens when one
meditates a lot. There is
no longer the sense that
you are being pulled in
every direction, of being
constantly emotionally
entangled, or implicated
in the roller coaster ride
of life. The yogi knows
that this field of forms
and phenomena is
constantly changing,
and that getting lost in