Practices
Daily
- Meditation (dhyana): Sit each morning, spine straight, attention resting on the breath or on the felt sense of “I am.” When thoughts come — and they will — notice them as passing weather, not as yourself. Begin with twenty minutes; the practice deepens by itself.
- Self-inquiry (vichara): At least once daily, turn attention to its source: Who is aware of these thoughts? Who is the “I” that claims them? Do not answer with words. Rest in the question until the questioner dissolves.
- Japa: Repetition of a sacred syllable — Om above all — silently or aloud, 108 times on a mala. The sound steadies the mind the way a post steadies a restless elephant.
Weekly
- Satsang: Gather with fellow seekers for silent sitting, scriptural reading, and honest discussion. The company of those turned toward truth (sat) is itself a practice — the mind takes the shape of what it contemplates.
- Study (svadhyaya): Read slowly from the Upanishads or Gita — a few verses, repeatedly, letting them work like medicine rather than information.
Ongoing Disciplines
- Karma yoga: Dedicate one regular activity entirely to selfless service, performed without concern for recognition or result.
- Discrimination (viveka): Practice distinguishing, in real time, between the changing (body, thoughts, moods) and the unchanging awareness in which they appear.
- Retreat: Periodic days of extended silence and sitting, following the traditional rhythm of withdrawal and return.
Meditation is not something you do. It is what remains when you stop doing everything else.