The Dharma Room

Its interesting how I've been able to continue my daily meditation practice so effortlessly now that it has become as essential as brushing my teeth (and with far more health benefits)....and yet, there are still those days that I wonder if I'm making any progress.  Oh sure, I'm up to 30 minutes each morning, and many mornings I find myself slipping comfortably in between the gaps of my thoughts and finding space and peace that is all-pervading.

And then there are the "Mondays" of my meditation practice...the cats yowling and scratching at the door, or crawling all over me, the incessant thoughts of worry and doubt, the replaying in my mind of human mistakes made, the wild imagination of disasters that could be, etc. etc.  Some days my mind are like an unruly child just screaming for attention, so how do I best respond?

I think I am learning that:

(1)  Giving in emotionally to a demanding monkey mind will only train it to continue its wild antics even longer the next time in order to get my attention. 

(2)  Harsh scolding is not an option either.

(3)  Simply having a non-judgemental awareness and bathing the mind in the calm breath seems to work the best for calming it quickly.

and (4)  I now know why they call it a meditation "practice"!

James Arthur Ray, author of Harmonic Wealth, recently talked about how its not good enough to simply practice positive and empowering thoughts once a week or even once a day.  If we are to truly manifest change in our lives, we must be diligent in our practice until it becomes mastery.  Will it take a long time to do so?  Certainly!  But we owe it to ourselves, others, and the world to make the commitment to practice as often as possible.

How many of us have commented that "we miss yoga" when we have been away for a few days or even a few weeks.  Certainly there will be situations that arise that will warrant us being away...and yet, do we find that our practice falters?  And what benefit will receive if we are only practicing half-heartedly?  This is not about pushing beyond our limits, its simply about committing to the practice, committing to making mistakes and learning from them, committing to growth and spiritual evolution, committing to something larger than ourselves in order to be that larger-than-life divine human being.

So what are YOU practicing??