We are members of a DOING culture and rewarded for doing the very things that burn us out and keep us dull! It takes courage to meditate and give yourself permission to just be rather than do. Thank goodness that yoga has become familiar to most – if people are not practicing at least they’ve heard of it! The wisdom traditions with WISDOM being the key word give us all of the tools to live our best lives, heal our karma, our bodies and minds, and find bliss. Why do people avoid this wisdom right at their finger tips? The ego clings to the past and the familiar and when that structure is threatened it becomes a tyrant of a saboteur! We all experience this daily and guess what? The sages told us that RAJA YOGA, meditation as the royal path, heals this affliction of the ego and the dis-ease in our lives. The process is simple but not necessarily easy. I believe instruction is absolutely necessary or one can easily get discouraged and give up. I did when I was first interested in a meditation practice. My ego played every trick in the book convincing me that I couldn’t do it right, I didn’t have time, my mind was too busy, I didn’t have quiet experiences, etc… So I believed in this crazy monkey of a mind and gave up. That is until I took the course in Primordial Sound Meditation developed by Drs. Deepak Chopra and David Simon. It gave me a rock solid foundation from which to establish a successful lifetime meditation practice. I learned 7 years ago and have not missed one single day! I still will experience a turbulent mind and a feeling of not having the experience that I want. I just know what that is all about it and chose the practice over a perfect experience. I’m as busy as any of you out there and I know the ego will always present competition to my practice and really tempting ones sometimes but I choose the practice. In addition to my daily Primordial Sound Meditation practice, I continue to study other methods of meditation including creative visualization and have gone on to study and earn certifications in Ayurveda and Aromatherapy. This all blossomed from my courage to commit to learning HOW to meditate and having the courage to do it regularly. Thinking about or talking about meditating won’t deliver the benefits sorry to say:) Having the courage and commitment to sit and be with any and all that comes up in a practice has taken more faith, discipline and maturity than extending my nature of doing to more doing even if it’s yoga or hiking in nature. These activities are awesome and absolutely recommended in this ancient wisdom of Ayurveda but they are not enough! They help to prepare us for meditation. So be courageous and let that monkey ego serve you rather than rule you! I’d love to help you develop a successful, enriching, lifelong practice! Contact me at candice@swansage.com or www.swansage.com and be courageous!