The Truth has a ring to it, an echo. When someone is speaking the truth there is a sympathetic resonance within the hearer. This is because the truth lives within us. The trick is listening for this echo. It is a matter of training the perception. In our ordinary awareness we are much to distracted to hear this inner voice. And tragically we are cut-off from one of our most important senses, our truth sense. It is because of this cut-off that we are unable to discern the difference between the real and the unreal, and are constantly in a state of not knowing. Unfortunately, society supports our delusion, and in fact it preys upon this vulnerability. It tells us what we should buy, wear and think. We have a consumer society based upon a great lie; that happiness comes from outside ourselves. We are taught from childhood to get a good education so that we can get a good job and make lots of money. We are told that this will bring us happiness. But there are just as many unhappy wealthy people as poor ones. There are many people in high paying jobs that hate their work and are unhappy in their marriage. And this is because they never took the time to ponder what really would make them happy. Why should they? They’re were given a paradigm in childhood that was supposed to make them happy.

Ponder this: Happiness is a state of being, not a person, place or thing. And if this is true, then how can a person, place or thing bring us happiness? Really think on this, see if this rings true for you.

So then the question isn’t what can make us happy. The question is: How do we attain the state of happiness?  And it isn’t a mystery that we never found the answer to this, because we were asking the wrong question!

So then how do we attain the state of happiness?

And here the ascended masters hit us with another paradox; for they say that the state of happiness is already attained, that it is our natural state. The problem is with our perception. As the great siddha master baba muktananda used to say: “We must change the prescription of our glasses.”  And this is what is meant when the bible states: “We see things through a glass darkly.”

So how do we change the prescription of our glasses so as not to see through a glass darkly? With practice. We must establish a daily practice of meditation/contemplation. There is no other way. And there are no shortcuts. Actually, meditation is the shortcut. Reading these words and contemplating them won’t do it, though it’s a start. But intellectual understanding won’t accomplish the goal. Trying to use the mind to understand deep spiritual truths is inadequate. It is like using a flashlight to illuminate the sun. The beam of the flashlight(thoughts) are obliterated in sunlight. You can’t think your way out of it, indeed, you thought yourself into it. And here is another truth: The first thing to do if you find that your digging yourself into a hole is to stop digging.

During the process of meditation you slowly learn how to bypass the mind. The mind has its purpose, and that is to process thought. The mind is the computer that runs the programs(thoughts). It executes the programs. It is a tool of consciousness. A prism of light. A filter, receiver and transmitter. It is very powerful, it runs our lives. And it shouldn’t!

The mind is the program, not the programmer. But it thinks it is. It usurps the position of Spirit, the rightful ruler of our lives. The one that doesn’t think anything, but knows everything.

Spirit is what we really are, it is who we really are. It is the dynamic force, universal energy. This is who you really are. You’ve been fooled into thinking otherwise by a trick of the mind. This is why we must be the magician who is not fooled by his own tricks. This unnatural state is cured by a supernatural agent. And this agent is invoked by the act of meditation. An effort is needed to maintain a daily practice of meditation. That is the only effort needed. To sit down each day and meditate. The effort is not needed in meditation, meditation happens spontaneously. Just do it. Invoke the supernatural agent whose name is grace, shakti, the holy spirit. She permeates everything and is in all places at all times. She is the prime mover,  through her everything that is done gets done. She is the substance of our being. She is intelligent and compassionate. And just as water seeks it’s own level, she will elevate you to hers. But you must make the effort. It is the dynamic between these two principles, effort and grace, that gets the work done. They are akin to the wings of a dove, and when they work together you can fly.

I will not get into complicated techniques of meditation, that is done elsewhere.  Here is the basic technique:

Pick a quiet, comfortable spot. Spread a wool blanket on the ground. Light a white candle.  Wear loose-fitting comfortable clothing. It’s best that they’re real fabrics like wool or cotton. Pick a quiet time of day when you won’t be disturbed. Turn off your cell phone! You should try to wear the same clothes, sit on the same wool blanket, and the same place and time of day for meditation. This will aid your concentration. Sit comfortably in a chair or cross legged on the ground. No need to get fancy and try to sit in some difficult, painful posture. You want to meditate on the witness consciousness which is found in the space between two thoughts. Not the pain in your knee from sitting in the full lotus. The only important thing about posture is to keep your spine elongated. After some time kundalini shakti will take charge. Kundalini Shakti is the shakti(energy) that resides in the human body. Symbolically she is thought of as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine. When you go deep into meditation she will awaken and begin to move. She will move you, let her.

Close your eyes. Focus on your breath. Breath in deep, breath out long. When thoughts arise(notice I say when, not if) just let them go. Don’t follow them. Bring your awareness back to your breath. If you listen carefully you’ll hear the natural mantra, soham, match up with your breath. When your breath comes in you’ll hear so… and when it goes out you’ll hear …ham. Keep your mind focused on soham. This is Sanskrit for “I Am That”.   I am one with the divine, universal energy. And whenever your mind wanders, bring it back to soham. That’s it. Just do it. And remember, meditation is not what you think 🙂