Suddhi Meditation

(Pronounced “Should-ee”)

Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for the entire time that you are meditating. When you start this practice, the recommendation is to meditate for five minutes twice a day for a week. Then for 10 minutes twice a day for a week. Then for 15 minutes twice a day for a week. Then for 20 minutes (or more) twice a day for the rest of your life. If you can only manage to meditate once a day, then that is OK. Meditating at dawn or dusk is preferable (but not mandatory) to all other times.

This technique is like riding a bike – it looks easy, and it is easy, but you have to get the hang of it first. This is one of the oldest meditations known to humankind. One of the essential ingredients of this meditation is that you remain motionless for the entire duration of the meditation. If you can sit cross-legged, it then that is best. If you are a woman, make sure that your right leg is over your left leg. If you are a man, then your left leg is over your right leg.  Any cross-legged position will do. Of course, the Lotus position is the one that is most advised, but since this is extremely difficult for most Westerners to do then sit in a cross-legged position that you can comfortably without strain keeping your back straight not bent or hunched over. He if sitting cross-legged it is just not an option for you at all then sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground.  whether you are sitting in a chair or cross leg did you must keep the back as straight as possible and your chin parallel to the ground. Your hands are resting comfortably on your lap. If you are a man, the right palm is on top of the left palm and if you are a woman the left palm is on top of the right palm the tips of your thumbs are lightly touching each other. If you are sitting in a chair than it is perfectly fine to use a cushion either to sit on or to stabilize your lower back. Sit facing the east or the north.

Once you have assumed the position, then the rest is easy. I will outline the steps for the actual meditation now in bullet points:

·       Close your eyes and take three full breaths. Try to make the breaths as big and as long as possible. Try to make the inhalations the same length as the exhalations.

·       After the third exhalation become the observer of your thoughts. This is a little tricky at first because most of us are so attached to our thoughts that we don’t even know that detaching from them is even possible. It is.

·       When a thought pops into your mind just observe it and let it go. Do not think it through. Simply observe it and let it go. It will quickly be replaced by another thought. Observe it and let it go. If you find yourself attaching to a thought and thinking it through, then simply stop yourself, detach from the thought, and let it go.

·       When you consistently and continually detach from your thoughts they will begin to slow down. They will continue to pop into your mind, but to lesser and lesser degrees. Your job is simply to let them go.  Eventually you will find yourself in a very calm and quiet place inside your mind. Enjoy it. Embrace it. Experience it. When a thought pops into your mind like “Isn’t this remarkable,” just let it go. The entire intention of this meditation is to detach from your thoughts completely, utterly, and totally.

·       You may have many different experiences over time during this meditation. You may feel like you are in the middle of a vast dome. You may start to see lights or a five-pointed star. Whatever happens just experience it and if you start thinking about anything - just let it go.

When you begin this meditation, it might be a good idea to set a timer so that you don’t have to be worried about how long you are meditating. You may also have the curious experience that what seemed like two or three minutes to you was in actuality 15 or 20.

As you are able to simply sit in that part of your mind which is separate and distinct from your thoughts, your intuition will increase, and your ability to pray will deepen. This technique is elegantly simple and yet it is tricky to master. The mind is very much like an ocean – turbulent on top and quiet in the depths. Most of us spend all of our time on the surface. As your practice of this meditation deepens so will your inner strength, and it will take a great deal more stress to negatively affect you mentally when you are not meditating.