Some years ago we were completing the work on Swami Kriyananda’s dome at Ananda Village, the initial building of what has evolved over time into Crystal Hermitage. Although the interior of the dome still needed work to transform it from a building site into a home, Swamiji was eager to move in. To speed up the process, he rounded up … Read More
“I really want to meditate more deeply, but I have a hard time concentrating.” This is a complaint we often hear from devotees. The mind seems to be programmed to be restless. A recent study by Microsoft showed that in the last thirteen years the length of time people can concentrate has decreased on average from 12 to 8 seconds. … Read More
People can meditate for many months, or even years, with little result, simply because they have ignored the basics, thinking that such elementary practices are only for the merest beginner. Restlessness, especially mental restlessness, is the main impediment to deeper meditation. Our hardest job in meditation is to rid the mind of the static created by thoughts and desires. There … Read More
Have you ever finished meditating and then realized you’d been so unfocused that you could hardly remember what happened? Paramhansa Yogananda defined meditation as “deep concentration on God or one of His aspects.” In order to achieve this, we need to bring the consciousness to one-pointed attention at the spiritual eye. The first few minutes after closing our eyes is … Read More
An Italian friend told us a joke about two Carabinieri (a sort of Italian national police force who take the brunt of a lot of “dumb” jokes.) They got the “not too bright” reputation because, when Mussolini created this group, he was afraid they might rebel so he drew them from areas with various dialects.
Without concentration, which helps interiorize the life-force, any time spent supposedly meditating is largely ineffective. In very deep meditation the prana becomes completely focused at the spiritual eye, and the body’s need for oxygen and breath ceases.
If you can concentrate more deeply, your meditations will be more fulfilling and their depth and length will automatically begin to increase.