About Meditation: Commonly Asked Questions and Answers

About Meditation: Commonly Asked Questions and Answers Q. When is the best time to meditate? Q. How long do I need to meditate? Q. How do I get past the mental chatter and the thoughts when I m meditating? Q. How will I ever find an extra hour in my day to meditate? Q. Sometimes during my meditation I feel so restless and frustrated that I want to stop the meditation and get up and do something else. What should I do? Q. What should I do if I feel bored and impatient during meditation? Q. Why do I sometimes want to give up in the middle of my meditation? Q. How do I know if I m meditating correctly? Q. How long will it be before I start to notice the benefits of meditation? Q. How will meditation affect my health? Will it cure my particular disease or illness? Q. Is it okay to meditate with other people? Q. What is the difference between meditation and spending time in silence? Q. I have a difficult time staying awake when I meditate. Do you have any insights or recommendations? Q. What experiences should I be having when I meditate? Q. What if I fall asleep during meditation? Q. Will I have profound, insightful thoughts during meditation? Q. What if I see colors or pictures during meditation? Q. Will I need less sleep when I practice meditation? Q. Is it okay to get up early to meditate and then go back to bed? 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5

Q. Are the goals of meditation and yoga the same? If so, why meditate instead of doing yoga and why do yoga instead of meditation? Q. Is meditation like being asleep or in a trance? Q. Is it okay to move and change my position during meditation? Q. What is happening if I feel discomfort in the body while meditating? Q. Why do I sometimes feel pressure in my head during meditation? Q. I sometimes find that my eyes twitch or water when I am meditating. Why does this happen? Q. Sometimes when I meditate, I get a slight ringing sound or whistling in my ears. What is happening? Q. When I meditate, sometimes I feel a tingling throughout my body, or it may feel as though energy is rushing up and down different parts of my body. Why does this happen? Q. Sometimes I get a twitching sensation when I meditate. What does that mean? Q. I expected to feel more energetic but am actually feeling tired and sleepy both during meditation and afterward in my activity. Why is this happening? Q. Now that I have learned to meditate, I seem to have so much energy that I want to take on many new tasks that I have been putting off for years. How should I proceed? Q. How can my meditation help people around me? Q. What should I do when I encounter negative people who are obstructing my meditation practice? Q. I work different shifts. What time should I meditate during the day? Q. Is it okay to meditate in the bath or in my hot tub? Q. When will I know I m in the gap? Q. How will I know when I am in higher states of consciousness? Q. Should I use breathing exercises before or after meditation? Q. Should I control my breathing during meditation? 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9

Q. What should I do if I continually forgo meditation to accomplish the things that need to get done in my life? Q. How do I set intentions prior to my meditation? Q. When solutions to my problems arise in meditation, where do they come from? Are they an interruption, a disruption, or a benefit that I m receiving during meditation? Q. Is spending more time in meditation more beneficial? Q. What is the best way to time my meditations? Q. What do I do if I miss a meditation? Q. Will meditation assist me in aligning with pure consciousness? Q. I experience strong emotions when I meditate and sometimes cry or laugh out loud. Is this normal? Q. Can I listen to music while using my Primordial Sound mantra? Q. Can I practice Primordial Sound Meditation and the 21-Day Meditation Experience at the same time? Q. What is the ideal posture to sit in while meditating? Q. What do I do with my hands during meditation? Q. Do I use my present name or the name given to me at birth when repeating ahum? Q. Are some people unable to meditate? 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 13 13 13

Q. When is the best time to meditate? A. First thing in the morning and late afternoon coincide with the body s quieter rhythms. The body knows how to be still; we just have to give it the opportunity. Meditating first thing in the morning gives us the freshness and alertness to enjoy our day, while meditating again in the late afternoon enriches our evening s activities. If these times aren t possible, any time that works for your schedule is the right time. Q. How long do I need to meditate? A. To receive the maximum benefits from your meditation practice, we recommend meditating 30 minutes, twice daily. If you don t have a full 30 minutes, we encourage you to meditate for as much time as you have available. The only rule is that something is always better than nothing. Q. How do I get past the mental chatter and the thoughts when I m meditating? A. It s not possible to consciously stop thinking and silence the mental chatter. However, it is possible to quiet your mental chatter, and bring your awareness inside. This is the purpose of the mantra. The mantra has no specific meaning so there s nothing to keep you on the active level of the mind. When you think the mantra, the awareness starts to move within. It starts to get drawn towards its source, the basis of your essential nature, the field of silence, the field of infinite possibilities. The thoughts you are having in meditation are the result of the release of stress. When you think the mantra, the mind settles down, which causes the body to settle down, which allows you to start to release stress, fatigue, and toxins. This causes an increase in physical and mental activity, which is thinking thoughts. At some point you will have a thought, but don t struggle against it. You may think, I m supposed to be thinking my mantra. I m supposed to be meditating. You now have a choice. You can choose to continue thinking the thoughts, which is daydreaming; or you can choose to come back to the mantra, which is true meditation. It doesn t matter how many times you drift away from the mantra. When you realize you ve drifted away, come back to the mantra effortlessly. That s the process of meditation. Q. How will I ever find an extra hour in my day to meditate? A. It is normal to believe that one hour in your day is a colossal amount of time. However, if you believe there is value in meditation, you will discipline yourself and find the time to meditate. Many people discover that they begin to get more organized and creative in their lives and become more efficient with their time. When you make the time to meditate you will find that you are still able to accomplish all the other necessary things. 1

Do the best you can and if you don t always have the full recommended time to meditate, then meditate for whatever time you can. As your meditation practice becomes more important to you, it will be easier to find the time for a committed routine. Q. Sometimes during my meditation I feel so restless and frustrated that I want to stop the meditation and get up and do something else. What should I do? A. This is just the time when it is best not to get up. The restlessness and frustration are indications that a lot of stress is being released, and this is one reason we are practicing meditation. When you have this experience, be gentle with yourself. Continue with your practice and if it becomes too much, stop and just allow the frustration and restlessness to surge through and then leave your body. When this dissipates resume your meditation. Rather than quit your meditation practice, this is the time to continue with the meditation so that you can get rid of those stresses. Q. What should I do if I feel bored and impatient during meditation? A. Impatience and boredom are common experiences during meditation and are the result of the release of stress and toxins. Release of stress is a physical process that can sometimes make us fidgety and irritable. Rather than stopping your meditation when you feel bored or impatient, be disciplined with the time that you ve committed to meditate. When you sit down to meditate, decide how long you are going to meditate, whether it s 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 30 minutes. You have nothing else to do during that time. Whatever experience comes, notice it and gently go back to repeating your mantra. Stay with this process for the time you ve committed to meditate. Q. Why do I sometimes want to give up in the middle of my meditation? A. The ego wants to control everything; however, the process of meditation takes us beyond the ego, beyond control, and into unlimited freedom. The ego may sometimes feel a little threatened when we sit down to meditate and it is always going to come up with reasons to stop our meditation. Again, be a little disciplined and meditate for the time you have set for yourself. Q. How do I know if I m meditating correctly? A. As long as you are repeating the mantra effortlessly and come back to it whenever you notice you ve drifted away, you are meditating correctly. There s no such thing as a good or bad meditation. Every meditation is a good meditation because it gives you the experience you need at that time. If you want to judge your meditation, then look at your lifestyle. How are things starting to change in your life? Meditation is to enrich our lives not for any particular experience during the meditation. 2

Q. How long will it be before I start to notice the benefits of meditation? A. The benefits will start to accumulate from the first time you start meditating. If you continue to meditate on a regular basis, the benefits will grow at whatever speed and at whatever rate is easiest for your body to assimilate them. Everyone progresses at his/her own rate. If you ask how long it will take to get to the top of the Empire State building, the answer will depend on what floor you get onto the elevator. Some people get on at the 10th floor and some get on at the 25th floor. So it is with meditation. We all grow and evolve at whatever rate is most appropriate for us. Sometimes we notice the benefits immediately. Sometimes it is weeks or months before we really notice the changes. Sometimes it is other people who notice the changes in us before we notice them. As long as you are meditating regularly, the benefits will continue to accrue. Q. How will meditation affect my health? Will it cure my particular disease or illness? A. Meditation is a natural process for restoring balance and harmony in the physiology by reenlivening the body s own healing mechanisms. It helps us to restore wholeness within our mindbody system. Many people have noticed dramatic improvements in their lives and in their health situations as a result of a meditation practice. However, meditation should not be looked upon as a cure for any particular health problem, and you should not discontinue the advice or medication that you are currently receiving from your health care practitioner. Q. Is it okay to meditate with other people? A. Yes! In fact, when we meditate we create a certain coherence and positive energy around us that everyone shares. It has been reported that the effect of meditating with other people is greater than the sum of the individual parts. We not only share in the coherence of the group but the effect radiates out to everyone in the environment. If you enjoy meditating with other people, we recommend doing it on a regular basis. Q. What is the difference between meditation and spending time in silence? A. While spending time in silence can mean almost anything depending on your state of consciousness, meditation is a reliable means of contacting the silence of our inner self. For some rare individuals, meditation can be simply closing the eyes and connecting to silent awareness beyond thought and mind. For most people, meditation also requires thinking about silence in the midst of thinking other thoughts. Without a traditional technique like meditation, which takes the mind beyond itself, silence is usually just another thought, not a transcendental experience. 3

Q. I have a difficult time staying awake when I meditate. Do you have any insights or recommendations? A. Go ahead and let yourself sleep if you feel a strong urge to nod off during meditation. It s not a good idea to force yourself to stay alert. Sometimes you may go through a period of meditation where your body requires an experience of sleep in order to release a particular stress. However, if you find that you regularly fall asleep during meditation, look at your lifestyle and make sure you are getting enough sleep at night, are eating a healthy diet, and are not under too much pressure. Q. What experiences should I be having when I meditate? A. The experience you will have in meditation is a reflection of what s going on in your physiology at that time. If you are tired, you may fall asleep. If you are clearing a lot of stress, then you may have a lot of thoughts, feel very restless, or become fidgety. If you aren t clearing a lot of stress, you may settle down and have quieter experiences. Do not judge your meditation by what s happening in meditation. Meditation is a tool to enrich your life. If you want to judge the value of your meditation, look at the changes that are happening in your life. You may start to feel more comfortable with your life, less stressed, happier, and more accepting. Your desires may start to be fulfilled more easily. The experience you have in meditation is whatever it will be. Stay with the simple process. Think the mantra effortlessly and gently. When you realize you ve drifted away, come back to the mantra. Q. What if I fall asleep during meditation? A. Falling asleep during your meditation means one thing and one thing only: you re tired. When you start to meditate, the mind and the body settle down. If you are tired, the fatigue will start to release and you ll fall asleep. Falling asleep every once in a while is a normal experience and happens to everybody. If you feel tired and sleepy in meditation, don t resist it. Allow yourself to fall asleep. Enjoy the release of that fatigue and stress. However, if you find that you re falling asleep every time you meditate or most of the times you meditate, you may want to look at your lifestyle. Falling asleep every once in awhile is okay. Enjoy the sleep, but if you re falling asleep all the time it is not ideal. The rest response in meditation is different from sleep. Sleep is restful dullness, while meditation is restful alertness. You need both the experience of sleep and meditation. Q. Will I have profound, insightful thoughts during meditation? A. Not necessarily. The thoughts you have in meditation are generally associated with the release of stress. If you do have thoughts in meditation that you think are profound or insightful, it is not recommended that you stop your meditation to act on them. After finishing your practice, if a thought still feels profound and insightful, you can decide what you would like to do with it. 4

Q. What if I see colors or pictures during meditation? A. Some people are more visual and see colors or images. Some people picture their mantra. These are just visual thoughts. Once you realize you are watching colors or pictures and not repeating the mantra, turn your awareness back to the sound of the mantra. Q. Will I need less sleep when I practice meditation? A. Not necessarily. Some people find they sleep less with meditation, some sleep more, and others find that their sleep patterns don t change at all. Sleep gives us a level of rest to get rid of the fatigue accumulated throughout the day, whereas meditation goes to a much deeper level. Sleep is restful dullness whereas meditation is restful alertness. Meditation is not a substitute for sleep. We need both regular sleep and a regular meditation practice to live a happier, healthier, more balanced life. Q. Is it okay to get up early to meditate and then go back to bed? A. The yogis in India get up in the early hours of the morning to meditate when there is a still, calm silence. There is a special quality to the air early in the morning, but listen to your body and don t force yourself to do something that isn t comfortable. After your morning meditation, you should feel rested and alert, which you will want to carry with you into the day s activities. By going back to bed, the dullness of sleep would negate this alertness. It would be better to sleep until you wake naturally, perhaps take your bath or shower to wash away any lingering dullness and then sit down to meditate. Q. Are the goals of meditation and yoga the same? If so, why meditate instead of doing yoga and why do yoga instead of meditation? A. The word yoga means union of one s body, mind, soul, and spirit. The ancient practice of yoga has always been considered a mental technology of consciousness, primarily involving meditation. In the last few decades the West has come to associate yoga with the physical postures, or asanas. Originally, asanas were practiced to prepare the yogi for sitting still during long periods of meditation so they complement each other. However, as meditation gives the direct experience of unity of the individual mind with cosmic mind, it should always be part of one s practice. Q. Is meditation like being asleep or in a trance? A. Not at all. While sleep or trances are both states of restful dullness, meditation provides a state of restful alertness. Meditation wakes us up from the sleep and trance of our conditioning so we have a heightened state of awareness. 5

Q. Is it okay to move and change my position during meditation? A. Yes. Anytime you feel discomfort during your meditation simply change your position. If you need to scratch your ear, go ahead and scratch it. Just know that your meditations will be more comfortable if you start off in a comfortable position. Q. What is happening if I feel discomfort in the body while meditating? A. When you meditate, you are releasing stress. Usually this happens effortlessly without you noticing it. Occasionally the physical release of stress may be experienced as a sensation in the body. If the sensations are mild, notice them and return to the mantra. If they are too uncomfortable, ease off the mantra, sit easily, and when the sensation diminishes, gently go back to the mantra. Q. Why do I sometimes feel pressure in my head during meditation? A. Your meditation practice should be effortless. If you put any effort into meditation it will increase activity. Primordial Sound Meditation takes you within. Effort increases activity and has the effect of taking you out, creating a kind of tug-of-war effect. This may be experienced as pressure in the head. Anytime you feel discomfort, tightness, or tension in the head during meditation, stop thinking the mantra for a few seconds and then begin again effortlessly. Remember that it s more like listening to the mantra rather than saying it. Q. I sometimes find that my eyes twitch or water when I am meditating. Why does this happen? A. This is probably just the release of stress or tension. Most of us tend to overtire our eyes from reading, sitting in front of a computer, watching television, or just from the amount of stimulation that we take in through the sense of sight. A lot of stress and fatigue is accumulated in the eyes, and when we start to meditate that stress begins to be released. Be easy with it and make sure you re not overtiring your eyes during the rest of the day. Q. Sometimes when I meditate, I get a slight ringing sound or whistling in my ears. What is happening? A. This is an indication that some stress is being released. Some changes are happening in that area and this is causing this slight noise. This should pass in a short amount of time. Q. When I meditate, sometimes I feel a tingling throughout my body, or it may feel as though energy is rushing up and down different parts of my body. Why does this happen? A.. According to Ayurvedic medicine, we have approximately 72,000 channels of energy throughout our body. Most of them are subtle and are used to transfer energy and information to different areas of the body. Many of these channels get blocked with stress and toxins, and this causes our whole system to break down. This shows up as illness, discomfort, a sense of feeling unhappy, or an inability to live a fulfilling, contented lifestyle. 6

When we meditate these stresses and tensions start to dissolve. We begin to reopen these channels, and as this happens there is a surge of energy through the channels. Sometimes we experience this in our meditation as a tingling or surging of energy throughout the body. This is the experience of our physiology starting to wake up again. Q. Sometimes I get a twitching sensation when I meditate. What does that mean? A. When we practice meditation, we make that inward journey. The mind settles down, the body settles down, and when we get to a certain level of rest, we release some stress. Stress is a physical thing. We may feel the knots of stress in our shoulders or neck or we may feel the stiffness in the body. When that stress is released, there has to be some physical activity involved. Most of the time this release of stress is very smooth and comfortable, but once in awhile we might hit some of those bigger stresses, and they all start to come out at once. When that happens, the body may experience some physical sensations. As long as these sensations are not uncomfortable, just notice them and come back to your mantra. Have a neutral attitude towards them, neither resisting nor encouraging them. If at any time the sensations become uncomfortable, stop thinking the mantra. If you need to calm yourself, open your eyes and look around the room. This will bring you out of the meditation and the stress release will settle down. When you feel comfortable, close your eyes and effortlessly return to your mantra. Q. I expected to feel more energetic but am actually feeling tired and sleepy both during meditation and afterward in my activity. Why is this happening? A. Sometimes meditation can stir up stress and fatigue. That stress and fatigue come out whenever they are ready to emerge. If this is your experience, try to get some extra rest during this time. Maybe go to bed earlier or work a lighter schedule. If the fatigue becomes a problem and affects your activity or lifestyle in some way, perhaps reduce the duration of your meditation to slow down this release of stress. Q. Now that I have learned to meditate, I seem to have so much energy that I want to take on many new tasks that I have been putting off for years. How should I proceed? A. Increased energy is one of the benefits we expect from meditation, but be careful not to overdo things in the early stages. Do not rush out and take on so many new responsibilities that you end up expending more energy than you are gaining. Be regular with your meditation and move ahead gradually. Remember that balance is the key to success in life. Q. How can my meditation help people around me? A. Everything we do affects everything else in creation, even if on some very subtle level. By practicing meditation and increasing the coherence in our own life, we affect the coherence for everything else in the world on some level. As our own lives become more balanced and harmonious, we become happier and healthier, and radiate the effects of that expanded state to everyone around us. 7

Q. What should I do when I encounter negative people who are obstructing my meditation practice? A. Ask yourself, Are these the people I want to be spending my time with? Are these people supporting my journey? If your answer is no, this doesn t have to be a negative thing. You can just thank them for the friendship or the time you were with them and part ways. Begin to surround yourself with people who are more like-minded. This doesn t mean abandoning your family, but maybe don t bring up the subject of meditation at mealtime if you know it will cause discomfort. Don t expect everyone to do the same thing as you that would be boring. It s nice to have a little variety with your friends and within your relationships. You can share what you know with those who are interested but don t force your ideas on those who are not. As you evolve with meditation, your circle of friends may change over time and if it s comfortable, move in that new direction. Q. I work different shifts. What time should I meditate during the day? A. It is always best to meditate when you first wake up, whatever time of the day that might be. This is usually when we are the freshest and the meditation will be the most rewarding for us. Depending on your schedule, you will need to decide when to do your second meditation. It is best to allow seven or eight hours between your meditations, so you can decide what works best for you. Q. Is it okay to meditate in the bath or in my hot tub? A. This is not recommended because the movement of water and change of temperature of the water against your skin will keep your attention on the surface of awareness, and will draw your attention outward rather than allowing it to move inward. Q. When will I know I m in the gap? A. We are actually slipping in and out of the gap all the time. The gap is there, between every thought we have. Most of the time our thoughts are happening so quickly that we don t notice the gap, but as things settle down in meditation, the gap may become longer. We can never know when we are in the gap because it s beyond thought, beyond space, and beyond time, and we are only aware of an experience if we localize it as a space-time event. The gap is awareness of everything at the same time rather than awareness of anything in particular. Since we don t know we re in the gap when we re there, it s easy to miss; however, during meditation we may sometimes have the thought, Where was I? We know we weren t thinking thoughts or the mantra but some time has passed. We were in the gap. Coming out of the gap, we may feel some expansion, peacefulness, and joy. It s important not to spend your meditation looking for the gap or wondering if you ve slipped into it. Follow the process effortlessly and know that the gap is always there. 8

Q. How will I know when I am in higher states of consciousness? A.. Each state of consciousness has its own separate functioning. By going back and forth into the gap during meditation, we are able to start to integrate that non-local experience of the gap along with our localized experiences of sleeping, dreaming, and being awake. As we continue to do this, we begin to experience what are referred to as higher states of consciousness. In cosmic consciousness we become the witness to all our actions; in divine consciousness we fall in love with the whole of creation; and in unity consciousness there is no separation and we experience our oneness with everything. We can have glimpses of these higher states at any time, and with regular meditation they become to be our constant experience. However, don t spend your time wondering if or when you will experience them. Be regular with your practice and know that higher states of consciousness will be the natural outcome. Q. Should I use breathing exercises before or after meditation? A. There are various breathing exercises in the yoga tradition, each of which has different effects. Some are calming and some increase activity in the body. If you want to do some breathing exercises before meditation, they should be calming. Often it is a good idea to use breathing exercises before your afternoon/evening meditation. Activity from the day is still within you, and breathing exercises allow you to settle the mind and prepare you for meditation. Take a few minutes to sit quietly, relax in your meditation chair, and do a gentle, calming breathing exercise. If you d like to do more vigorous breathing exercises, we suggest doing those after you finish your meditation. Q. Should I control my breathing during meditation? A. The less we do during meditation, the greater the rewards. Don t try to control your breath during meditation; simply allow it to do whatever it wants to do. As the mind settles, you may notice the breath settling down. Sometimes with the release of stress it may speed up. At times, you may experience no breath at all. This is a sign that you had slipped into the gap. Thoughts and breath mirror each other. When you slip beyond thought, the breathing is also suspended. No matter what the breath does, simply notice it and effortlessly bring your attention back to the mantra. 9

Q. What should I do if I continually forgo meditation to accomplish the things that need to get done in my life? A. Life is about priorities. You must decide what is most important for you. For many people, meditation is a top priority and they always make the time to do it. For other people it may be less of a priority, particularly at the start, because it takes time to see the benefits. Make a commitment to be as regular as possible with your meditation for at least four to six weeks to give the benefits the opportunity to emerge. Remember that something is always better than nothing so try to include even a short meditation in your daily schedule. Q. How do I set intentions prior to my meditation? A. Before your meditation, formulate your intention or desire into one simple sentence. Close your eyes and silently repeat the intention two or three times. Then let the intention go and begin repeating your mantra. As you meditate, the seed of the intention gets carried into those deeper levels and planted in the field of infinite possibilities. It s important to detach from the outcome of the intention and let the universe handle the details. Detachment is like saying, This is what I think I want. However, if there s something even better, it s okay to send that along instead. Q. When solutions to my problems arise in meditation, where do they come from? Are they an interruption, a disruption, or a benefit that I m receiving during meditation? A. The thoughts you are having during meditation could be coming from anywhere. They could be anything. We don t really know. They could be insightful thoughts that are coming from that field of silence where all thoughts originally come from, or they could just be the product of some release of stress. We recommend that when you have thoughts in meditation, whatever the thoughts are and even if they seem to be the solution to some problem you re dealing with just treat them like any other disturbance and return to the mantra. At the end of your meditation, you may turn your attention to those thoughts in the light of fresh clarity and increased creativity that has resulted from the meditation. Then you can decide if it was insightful and something you want to act on or not. If you don t remember them at the end of the meditation, they probably were not insightful thoughts. Q. Is spending more time in meditation more beneficial? A. The fastest growth on all levels comes through balance and integration. Meditation gives us the experience of silence and connects us with the field of infinite possibilities. Regular activity allows the benefits of meditation to be integrated into our lives. In general, 30 minutes of meditation twice daily gives us the balance of deep rest alternated with normal activity, which is how we ll progress as quickly as possible. 10

Once in a while, if you are under a lot of stress, unwell, or away from your normal responsibilities, it s okay to do some extra meditation. However, always only do what feels comfortable for you. Q. What is the best way to time my meditations? A. When starting a meditation practice, it is common for people to be concerned that they may lose track of time and miss something important in their lives. When you re first getting started, use a timer with a quiet bell or tone rather than one with a jarring sound. Set the timer for as many minutes as you want to commit to your meditation. You can also use a timer app on your smart phone or tablet. If you meditate for approximately the same amount of time, at approximately the same time every day, the body becomes accustomed to that. For example, if you always go to bed at 10 pm and wake up at 6 am, eventually you will find that you don t need an alarm clock. Your body gets into that rhythm and knows when to feel sleepy and when to wake up in the morning. It s the same with meditation. If you meditate for approximately the same amount of time, at the same time every day, you won t need an alarm clock. You ll find that you sit down to meditate, and after about 30 minutes or whatever your set time is, you ll have the thought, I wonder what time it is? Open your eyes and look at the clock. If you have come to the end of the time, rest in silence for a few minutes and you are finished. If you have opened your eyes early, close your eyes and gently continue repeating your mantra. Q. What do I do if I miss a meditation? A. If you miss a meditation or perhaps don t meditate for several days, accept it and try to be more regular in future. Never feel guilty that you missed a meditation. Once you begin to experience the benefits of meditation, you ll want to make it a regular part of your daily routine. Q. Will meditation assist me in aligning with pure consciousness? A. Our essence is pure consciousness. However, due to past conditioning, most people live in a state of constricted consciousness. When we meditate, we transcend the ego, the mind, and the intellect all of the conditioning and dip into pure consciousness. When we come out of our meditation, we bring that glimpse of pure consciousness with us and begin to integrate it into our lives. As we progress, we begin to step out of our self-made boundaries and our lives become aligned with the unlimited potential of pure consciousness. Q. I experience strong emotions when I meditate and sometimes cry or laugh out loud. Is this normal? A. These emotions are the release of stress or tension. Anytime emotions well up in your body during meditation, allow them to flow through your body and come out without resisting or encouraging them. 11

Most of the time these emotions will release smoothly, but sometimes a stronger one may cause you to feel some sadness and you may start crying or laughing out loud. This is a normal experience due to the release of some stress. If it is not uncomfortable, return to the mantra and continue with your meditation as you experience this release. If it becomes too strong and you are unable to continue, stop and sit easily for a few minutes until the emotion settles down, then resume your meditation. The great thing about meditation is you re in charge. It s not like swallowing a drug and just hanging on for the ride with whatever comes. You can stop and start your meditation anytime you wish. Enjoy the meditation and don t take too much notice of these things. They ll eventually sort themselves out. Q. Can I listen to music while using my Primordial Sound mantra? A. We recommend that you don t listen to music while practicing Primordial Sound Meditation. Music can be very soothing and restful, but in Primordial Sound Meditation we want to go into the silence. We use sound in the form of the mantra to take us into silence. Playing music would be a distraction keeping us in activity. Some meditations, like the 21-Day Meditation Experience, use music. That s a different type of meditation. Music is fine for many types of meditation; however, in Primordial Sound Meditation you want to use only the sound of your mantra to go within. There are enough other things outside the meditation that will disturb you without creating more. Q. Can I practice Primordial Sound Meditation and the 21-Day Meditation Experience at the same time? A. Yes. Depending upon how much time you have, you may practice your Primordial Sound Meditation twice daily as normal and the 21-Day Meditation at some other time of the day as a bonus meditation. Alternatively, you could practice your Primordial Sound Meditation once during the day and substitute the 21-Day Meditation for the other session. When you practice one of the 21-Day Experience meditations, use the mantra recommended in the program, not your Primordial Sound mantra. Q. What is the ideal posture to sit in while meditating? A. The classic yoga posture for meditation is sitting on the floor, legs crossed, and spine erect without back support. However, please don t attempt this unless it is perfectly comfortable for you. The important thing is to be comfortable so you aren t disturbed by your body during meditation but not so comfortable that you fall asleep. To allow the energy to flow smoothly throughout your body, it s best if your spine can be fairly upright. However, don t strain, and do use pillows and cushions as needed. If you re sitting on a chair, place your feet flat on the floor. If you re sitting on the floor, try to have your hips raised so that they are level or higher than your knees. This will prevent any strain on your lower back. 12

Unless you cannot sit up, we don t recommend lying down to meditate as the body associates this position with sleeping. Q. What do I do with my hands during meditation? A. There are various hand positions known as mudras that can be used during meditation. However, the most important thing is to be comfortable, so you don t want to be thinking about your hands throughout the whole meditation. Most people find it most comfortable simply to rest the hands one on top of the other, in the lap or on the thighs. Q. Do I use my present name or the name given to me at birth when repeating ahum? A. As this process is about releasing the personality and worldly attachments, use whichever name you most identify with. Q. Are some people unable to meditate? A. The mantra is a thought, so the only thing you need to be able to meditate is the ability to think thoughts. Anyone who can think a thought can meditate. However, meditation might not always be appropriate for people with certain psychological conditions. 13