First of all, thanks for the encouraging words.

Now to the question. I too had breathing awareness as

the prime meditation technique that I used for almost

20 years. Similarly to you, I too began to use it

during seated meditation as well as during movement. I

also began to become aware of more and more things

that were in the "Now" (like heartbeat/pulse,etc.).

Eventually, I found that 3rd eye technique became part of

what presented itself as my Concentration merged into

Meditation and Meditation into Contemplation.<br>I think

that this is a natural process, and that what you need

for your spiritual evolution will naturally,

effortlessly present itself without your having to do anything

"new". The classic teachings point to continuing doing

what has brought you success (peace) in meditation.

The more you do it, the closer you come to not having

to "do" anything and to experiencing your meditation

coming to you. There is a cliche that says that when you

need a teacher, one will come to you. The best teacher

is your meditation, and when you need it, it will

evolve and your serenity, knowledge, and bliss will grow

as well. Evolutionarily, eventually, you will live

happily ever after.

you're welcome for the words.<br>Thank you.

Although that response perhaps does not seem too cryptic,

why do I feel I'll understand it better 5 yrs from

now than I do now? ha ha ha<br><br>:)<br><br>and in a

way - I feel I'm living happily ever after already,

we'll see if it continues!<br><br>thanks

again<br><br>oh yeah, as to 3rd eye technique - I have been

desiring to learn to see auras. So I think it's neat you

posted something about a 3rd eye technique, as I suspect

that is related to being able to "see"- see auras or

whatever.<br><br>thanks again , where do I learn more about 3rd eye

techniques?<br><br>thank you...<br><br>Gregory

you're welcome for the words.<br>Thank you.

Although that response perhaps does not seem too cryptic,

why do I feel I'll understand it better 5 yrs from

now than I do now? ha ha

ha<br><br>:)<br><br><br>thanks again<br><br>oh yeah, as to 3rd eye technique - I

have been desiring to learn to see auras. So I think

it's neat you posted something about a 3rd eye

technique, as I suspect that is related to being able to

"see"- see auras or whatever.<br><br>thanks again ,

where do I learn more about 3rd eye

techniques?<br><br>thank you...<br><br>Gregory<br><br>and in a way - I

feel I'm living happily ever after already, we'll see

if it continues!

A mantra is truly a key to dissolve the illusion

of Maya. It is a seed that is planted in the

devotee's heart by the Guru. If meditated upon, the seed

grows and the illusion disappears. It is a focal point

to dissolve the mind from all thoughts. All words

represent something in reality or in Maya. A mantra is the

essence of the transcendence of ego, mind, duality, etc.

It represents the absolute, without beginning or

end. In the end, there is no mantra...no

absolute...nothing that can be expressed by words. The mantra

transports one to that. And, that thou art! "One, without a

second."

Questions from an email:<br>Can meditation help

in gaining psychic skills?<br>Do incense and music

help meditation?<br>My body twitches and I have to

swallow alot when I do breathing techniques. What can

help this?<br>Answers:<br>There may or may not be a

connection between meditation and psychic ability.One of the

things that meditation practice lets you do is to

increase your concentration skills. So, if a meditator is

trying to focus on something, it is less likely that

they will be distracted. Also important is that a

meditator becomes able to empty their mind. This would

enable new thoughts and feelings(sometime called"psychic

impressions")to come in.<br><br>For some people, incense and

music can be very soothing and condusive to meditation.

For other people, they will be distracting. You will

have<br>to experiment to see what works best for

you.<br><br>As far as not being able to concentrate because your

body, mind, or emotions distract you, this happens to

every meditator. When this happens, you<br>have the

opportunity to learn what takes you peace away from you. Once

you discover this, you can learn to either ignore

these things, or do<br>something to prevent their

occuring. So, actually, it is a good thing that your

meditation was<br>interrupted because by recognizing what

caused it, you will soon be able to deal with what

distracts you during the usual events in your

life.<br><br>I hope this helps.

Dear Gregory,<br>Nice post! As far as learning

about 3rd eye technique, we will be posting one on our

site, Meditation Station,

<a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com

target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com</a><br>very soon. It may also appear

as the featured article

in the next issue of our newsletter, The Inner

Traveler. If so, that should be coming out sometime in the

middle of Feb, and the posting on Meditation Station

would follow that. In any event, if anyone wants a

"sneak preview", please email me at

medit8@... and I'll email you an attached copy

back.<br>Peace and blessings, Bob

Do you feel that the mantra is a means to the end

i.e. enlightenment or preparation for meeting a

teacher and being receptive to his transmission which

catalyses

enlightenment?<br><br>Hellman<br><a href=http://www.oshana.org

target=new>http://www.oshana.org</a>

Dear Hellman, Enlightenment comes from Grace.

There is no sure-fire way to prepare for it. One person

could say mantras for decades and live in the presence

of an enlightened saint, and yet never attain the

realization of enlightenment because they were so full of

spiritual pride, while another could have led their life as

a "sinner" and suddenly see the folly of their ways

and attain the divine state that is our birthright.

Mantra is a wonderful practice and has great potential,

but intention is very important. If you just want to

be able to say "I say my mantra for more hours a day

than you do", the mantra will probably not be too

helpful towards your spiritual growth. Similarly, every

"real" teacher seems to have incredibly unevolved people

around them. The thinking is that they are the ones who

need the teacher the most. There have been many

saints, like Swami Sivananda, and Sri Nisargadatta who

only had very brief contact with their Guru's, and yet

attained the highest states of Enlightenment. Their

intention was selfless, pure, focused, and determined. To

be sure, many, many people have chanted mantras and

attained Enlightenment. Similarly, Swami Vivakananda had

Enlightenment transmitted by his teacher's touch (Ramakrishna).

But it still comes down to Grace. When the universe

needs us to receive a mantra, or have a teacher, or

attain Realization of Enlightenment, it will happen. And

we will live happily ever after.

Thank you for your excellent answer. It

encapsulates traditional thinking on this issue very

well.<br><br>My teacher Oshana sais that we should always unpack

concepts.<br><br>I agree that preparation is not a guarantee, but I

would say that it is a necessity. Though this

preparation may have happened in a past life - just to

confound things.<br><br>So then what is Grace? Is it not

another word for a miracle. <br><br>When Ramana Maharshi

met Papaji (HWL Poonja) he could see that he was

ready to Awaken. So it seems that there are 'signs' to

be seen.<br><br>best

wishes<br><br>hellman<br><br><a href=http://www.oshana.org/

target=new>http://www.oshana.org/</a>

Greetings to all!<br><br>I have spent some time

reading messages and I saw that club is going very good

thanks to his webmaster who keeps giving questions and

themes to talk about.<br>Keep up the good work!

Thanks for your kind comments. We are dedicated

to sharing meditation concepts and techniques from

all traditions, and your kind comments give us hope

that we are going in the right direction. I encourage

you, and everyone who visits this message board to

make use of it. Interactions with fellow seekers can

be very beneficial to a meditator. We all face

common challanges and knowing that others have gone

through them and some have found ways to deal with them

can help our progress. Thanks for joining our effort.

Question from e-mail:<br>How long will it take to

control my mind?<br>Answer:<br>This will be different for

everyone. One <br>person may gain a measure of control

after just <br>a few days, while another may take

decades.<br>There is one thing that is universal though -

<br>meditation will help the process tremendously. <br>Witness

your mind while meditating and you <br>will gain

insights into the ways that your mind <br>has enslaved and

distracted you and taken your <br>peace away. Your mind is a

great instrument, <br>but, like musical instruments,

must be practiced to learn to play correctly. Find a

technique, persevere,apply what you learn, and you will gain

control of your mind and it will serve you well. And you

will live happily ever after.

I have just started meditating again after a long

period of time. I find that when I meditate, especialy

when using techniques like counting the breath, and

mind clearing, that images from my past pop up in my

minds eye. I don't really think about these images,

they are more like scenes with no thought or emotion

tied to them. I don't lose count of my breath or get

distracted but I wonder how much effort should I give to

trying to erase them and does this mean that I am not

truly in the present moment. Should I stop my counting

and start over? Am I doing something wrong? I don't

feel like I can stop these scenes from coming up.

Could you please explain the difference, if any,

between mantras and affirmations. From my readings it

seems that mantras are more of a spritual saying or

prayer as opposed to affirmations which are used for

personal improvement.

Just let the images come to you and witness them.

You don't need to try and stop them. It's just your

mind trying to distract you from your meditation

practice. You aren't doing anything wrong. All kinds of

things can pop up during meditation. The fact that you

don't think about the images and don't let them

distract you is good. I think eventually they will stop,

but even if they don't it's OK. Keep meditating. You

are doing good.

That sounds about right. A mantra is often the

object of meditation, where you are focusing completely

on saying your mantra, over and over again, to a

point where you merge with it. Different mantras have

different meanings. Affirmations are used to "re-program"

negative thought patterns or help you stop habitual

behavior. Both are wonderful things.

I understand the difference, now how are they

applied to my meditiation practice. I sometimes use a

Mala in meditation. Should this be used with a mantra

or affirmation? I have read that a mantra will find

it's way to you and you will use it for life (or at

least a long time). I don't know if I should create my

own or wait for some sort of intervention. In the

meantime I feel like I am using affirmations where I

should be using mantras.

Eve is right, and her explanations are right on!

You are doing very well. Mantras, affirmations, Mala

beads, and so on, are all devices to quiet the mind. If

they work (bring you peace), they are good. If they

don't, they are bad (take your peace away). If you have

used an affirmation as your mantra, that's fine.

Mantras align you with holy vibrations and affirmations

replace negative thoughts, words, and actions. You could

say that using an affirmation as your mantra gives

you twice the return for the energy you use. If you

are supposed to receive a mantra to replace the

affirmation you use from a teacher, a book, an angel, or from

any source, nothing in the universe can stop this

from happening. As Kir Li Molari says, "Witness, flow,

watch your ego and suffering go."

Question from Email:I would like to loose weight.

Do you have a meditation tape for that? Do you have

a tape to help me not to want food or at least not

crave so much?<br>Answer: We don't have any tapes that

deal with weight loss, but I want to share a few

things with you. Even though I've been a vegetarian for

over 37 years, I've been overweight my whole life. So,

I've walked a mile in your shoes, and know 1st hand

about the frustrations of trying to lose weight. Long

ago, I mostly took the attitude that "Thy will be

done" and accepted that the universe<br>wanted me to be

as big as I am, or I would be smaller. I still feel

this is valid. Just 2 days ago, we received a great

article from Swami Satchidananda that we will be

excerpting in our newsletter, The Inner Traveler. Here's a

part that really stood out for me:<br><br>Imagine that

you have struggled with overeating for some time. You

have recently resolved that you were going to eat only

to satisfy your true hunger and that you would stop

eating after doing so. And this is a problem you have

really struggled with, because you have a “sweet tooth”

and tend to overeat with sweets. The mind will make

so many excuses to do what it wants to do. Anyhow,

soon after making this resolve, you have eaten an

enjoyable and satisfying lunch. You are full and now want

to get up from the table. But suddenly, your sister

arrives and she brings apple<br>pie to the table. You are

not hungry anymore, but somehow you convince

yourself, that just this once, and only because your sister

baked the pie, you’ll eat a slice. So you eat it, and

you tell her it’s wonderful and you really did enjoy

it. So she tells you, “Why not have just one more,

small piece.” You think to yourself, “Well, that can’t

do too much harm. Tomorrow, I’ll get back on track.”

See how the mind tricks us!<br><br>With good mental

training, you learn how to develop the tools and skills to

cope in these situations. You would learn that you

could have<br>told your sister, “What a wonderful and

sweet thing you did to bring this pie. It looks so

delicious. I am quite full right now and I

would<br>appreciate your support in helping me to keep my resolve to

eat only when I am hungry and only to the point of

relieving that hunger. So, please allow me to take a piece

of pie and put it aside for my next meal. So that

when I am hungry I will really, really be able to

enjoy this fabulous treat. Thank you so much.” The

undisciplined mind tries to continually trick us. It is a

constant fight and struggle. We don't have to fall sick,

we don't have to feel bad, feel disappointed in

ourselves, or depressed! That is how you learn to develop

mastery over the

mind.<br>__________________________________________________<br><br>So, I am now

not eating unless I feel hunger. I had

long ago realized that I never had the feeling of

feeling "full". So, I often nibbled to keep myself

feeling as close to full as possible. I now realize that

it is actually easy to recognize the feeling of real

hunger - not just the feeling of not quite full - and

will only eat then. I have a lot of confidence that

this is going to work just fine, and if I don't lose

anything, I know that that's the way it is supposed to be,

and I won't carry around one ounce of regret or

anything<br>negative about however much I weigh.

Can anyone recommend any good books on meditation?

There are several listed in the Recommended Reading section of our web

site.<br>The URL is:<br><a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com/reading.html

target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com/reading.html</a><br>I hope this

helps.

Here's the URL of The Divine Life

Society:<br><a href=http://www.SivanandaDlshq.org/home.html

target=new>http://www.SivanandaDlshq.org/home.html</a><br>They offer dozens of

books that deal with meditation

that can be downloaded free. They are excellent! There

is also a book store where you can order books from

them. They will be shipped from their ashram in India,

and may take a while to arrive, but are worth waiting

for.

Question from email: <br>I am searching for a

cassete that called (Chansler Buddha). In that cassete

there is meditation sonud of "OM" in this

cassete<br>there is a words only "OM".."OM".."OM" at every 30

seconds the voice of that person is very powerful at evry

30 seconds he<br>produce a vibreting sond of "OM". I

am in india one of my friend told me that you will

get it from outside of india so I am asking<br>you is

there any cassete available.If it is please tell me

where should I get it.

Question from email: Can meditation help me with

my problems?<br>Answer: There is a wise saying that

tells us that if we have a problem that can be dealt

with, we have no problem, and don't have to worry about

it. Similarly, if we have a problem that can't be

dealt with, why worry about it. Worry and unhappiness

will not help us solve a problem or deal with anything

ever! It has been my experience, and I'm sure yours,

that so called problems never stop coming. We can't

change that, but we can change our perspective about

them, and this is where meditation is very beneficial.

Even if we have been unable to stop worrying about a

problem for hours, just by sitting in meditation, and

perhaps chanting a mantra, we can put that suffering

aside for 20 or so minutes and this is certainly a

relief. Often, we can then approach the problem with a

different, less upsetting view of the situation. When we

begin to evolve spiritually, which is automatic and

inevitable with meditation, we can perceive our problems as

challenges and experiences that help us get stronger and

wiser. Then, there is no need to change anything outside

of us. We need only to find that peaceful inner

attitude that lets us see that "problems" are illusionary

and to see that every moment in life has the

potential to awaken us to our infinite, eternal nature. And

meditation is the perfect tool to find that attitude, and

then we will live happily ever after.

Two books that deal with meditaion as a 24/7

experience that I feel are excellent and that I have read

several times are Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon

Kabat Zinn and The Power of Now by Eckert Tolle. Both

of these books have some individual meditation

techniques you can try but they mostly talk about how to

approach life from a meditative state all the time.

Thanks to Rusty Morgan for forwarding

this:<br>Listening to God<br><br>The man whispered, "God, speak to

me" And a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear.

<br><br>So the man yelled "God, speak to me" And the thunder

& lightning rolled across the sky. But the man did

not listen.<br><br>The man looked around and said,

"God, let me see you." And a star shined brightly. But

the man did not see. <br><br>And, the man shouted,

"God, show me a miracle" And a life was born. But the

man did not notice.<br> <br>So, the man cried out in

despair, "Touch me, God, and let me know you are here."

Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But the man

brushed the butterfly away and walked on.<br><br>The man

cried "God, I need your help" . . . and an e-mail

arrived reaching out with good news and encouragement.

But the man deleted it and continued

crying.<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>Rusty says

that this is by an Anonymous author. We will

probably be including it in the next issue of our

newsletter, The Inner Traveler. Please feel free to share

those things that you have found to be beneficial to

you here on the message board.If you would like to

share with thousands of seekers all over the world,

please send me an email with your submission for

publication in The Inner Traveler. This is at the very heart

of the Meditation Society of America's

purpose.<br>Peace and blessings,<br>Bob Rose,

President,<br>Meditation Society of America<br>Email:

medit8@...

How many times a day do you look at your watch? I

look at mine all the time and most of the time my mind

is focused on the past (how I should have used my

time) or the future (the things I have to get done). I

accidently put my watch on upside down the other day and

found that it takes my mind an extra split second to

read and record the time. I use that pause to remind

myself to observe the present moment. How am I

breathing? What am I thinking? How is my body? What are the

beautiful things around me? Its been an interesting

experiment. Any thoughts?

That sounds excellent. It is often hard to

"remember" to keep our thoughts in the present moment.

Having something to bring you back to reality throughout

the day is great. Next, try not wearing watch at all.

The time is always now! Of coarse, watches are

helpful if you have to keep an appointment. :) Seriously,

it is good to have something to remind you to be in

the now. Other good times for this is while you are

going to the bathroom and eating. A good meditaion to

do to help you see how "in the now" you have been

throughout the day is the "Review of the day" meditation.

I'm not sure if it's listed on the meditation website

or not. But basically, you review your day in your

mind's eye, starting form when you opened your eyes in

the morning. You go through all your events,

remembering every detail. It's always interesting to see how

much you remember and how conscious you were, or

weren't, throughout the day. It's also excellent for

seeing all your habitual behavior.

As you look within, it is inevitable that you

will see things about yourself that make you sad,

embarrassed, and even disgusted. Please be kind to yourself.

You didn't know what you were doing. Do not carry

around the weight of guilt. Drop it. Forgive yourself.

And if you see yourself continuing to return to

self-loathing, do not get mad at yourself for continuing this

now obviously upsetting behavior. Just let it go

without inner commentary. Resolve to never repeat the

inappropriate actions and go on with your life. Fill yourself

with purity and joy using prayer, meditation, and

affirmations - whatever works to bring you peace. With each

breath, you are being forgiven and given a new fresh

start. Don't return to what took your peace away. Know

that you are in the process of evolving and will be

continually finding things and actions that have been causing

you to suffer. Witness the process without punishing

yourself in any way. Always love your Self and you will

surely live happily ever after.

Excellent! It stops your habitual compulsive

behavior in its tracks and lets you Witness your life as

it takes place. Just as beneficial as spectacular

mystic visions, and the insights are probably more

useful in the so called "real world". Thanks for

sharing.