the power of meditation

Meditation is fun. Well, sort of. Most people sit down to "meditate" and get frustrated because all these thoughts keep running through their heads. After they sit for a while they say they "can't meditate" because of all the thoughts. Well...
As Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj explained (in his book I Am That), the natural tendency of the mind is to have thoughts. Swami Satchidananda says the same in his translation & commentary of the Yoga Sutras. Sri Satchidananda says clearing the mind is like throwing out the trash: you can't throw it all out at once, but you separate it first into piles and then clean out one by one. Our mind is like that too, and a yogic practice can be watching the mind, trying to bring in more positive thoughts, and dismissing or transforming the negative ones.
By taking the time to actually watch the thoughts, we are taking the first step towards yoga: we are becoming aware of them. As we "progress", we gain more control over the thoughts and start to filter, arrange, and master these fluctuations of the mind.

So if you're sitting down and frustrated by the thoughts, try not to worry. Many of the greatest yogis became so after years of practice. Those years started with just one day, and then the next day, and then another day, and before long it just became a habit. Like most worthwhile change, it will take time, but time is no excuse to avoid starting, today or any day.

"Practice and all is coming" - Shri K. Pattabhi Jois

Last week there was one thing after another and I didn't fit in as much asana (physical practice/yoga postures) in as I would have liked. Fortunately, I was able to squeeze in a minimal amount of meditation and pranayama (breath control). But still, this week as I started to do my full practice (and at least complete my full "minimum" series), I could see why persistence is simply the biggest factor in all kinds of success.

We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare, but it can be so easy at times to think that just because this time all is going great it will always be that way going forward. I believe that with age we begin to realize that this type of thinking - the notion that we can "skip steps" - will lead to a bigger fall or setback quite soon. And this is why I believe the yogis also greatly emphasize "non-attachment" or in the words of Dharma Mittra, "Renounce the fruit of your actions." This way we can simply offer whatever happens up to a higher power, and we won't feel affected by the rise and fall of life as it takes place around us.