Well, if you are like this furry sibling of ours and are struggling to control that monkey mind then perhaps it is time you tried one of my meditation classes. The next class is this Friday In New York City from 7pm to 8pm at Serenity Center on 37th St between Park and Lex.
For more information on these meditation classes in New York City click this link.
Affects of meditation come not from prolong practices rather more from quality practices. Sitting for long periods in meditation not necessarily produce result if the meditator does not know what he or she is doing. There will be benefits from this but not significant.
When a quality meditation practice is observed consistently then progress starts to take place. One easy to recognize sign is that one becomes more observant. It is the first sign of the awakening of the superconscious mind. Your awareness is soaring within going past the subconscious and into the superconscious. Your perspective changes. You start to view things from the inside out. Your powers of observation becomes stronger.
With this new found perspective you also handle life differently. You start to adopt the attitude of intelligent action and dispassionate reaction as my guru says thus handling life’s circumstances wisely.
Here’s a link to previous FAQs on meditation.
If you’d like to ask a question please send it to me on email.
These classes are set up as warm, respectful and fun places of exploration for self discovery and meditation. Each class is divided into 2 parts.
The first half of the class involves learning a spiritual tool that when applied consistently each day can bring about a positive change in your life. These tools are simple and practical,and come with an exercise for the week. This interactive part of the class includes time for questions and answers.
The second half of the class is dedicated to meditation. You’ll learn a simple but highly effective and systematic meditation technique that takes you within yourself and brings you back out. The steps for the meditation including the goal is clearly outlined allowing everyone to easily follow even if you are a beginner.
Do join me in these series of meditation classes in New York City. If you are keen to learn about meditation and to make a change in your life that you can sustain, you’ll enjoy these classes. Students of all levels, including beginners, are welcome.
Next class is Friday, 7pm to 8pm on May 11th, 2012 at
Serenity Center NYC, 118 E. 37th Street, Ground Floor
(between Park and Lexington Avenues), New York, NY 10016
Click here for more info on these meditation classes in NYC.
A couple of days ago we gave a response to the question “What are one of the first things to do when one wants to begin a meditation practice?” and we ended the blog post with the question “How long should I sit for?”
Here’s our response to that question.
Well if you’ve never meditated before then I suggest just one minute. It’s a good place to start and it is an achievable goal for most people.
What should I do in this one minute?
When you are seated, firstly, tell yourself that you have no where to go and nothing to do for the next one minute. And that all you have to do is be aware of yourself sitting there having met your appointment. Congratulate yourself for doing this. You have now begun the process of training your body to be still by forcing it to be in one place for a period time. You are exercising your will over your senses, over your body and mind. In order to go within in meditation it is essential that our body and mind be still.
For the first week of doing this just be mindful of your breathing. Observe your every in and out breath during that one minute.
In our next pot we’ll look a little deeper into the breathing. For now, you know what to do.
Here’s a link to previous FAQs on meditation.
What are one of the first things to do when one wants to begin a meditation practice?
I often get asked this question. One of the first things you should do is to make an appointment with yourself each day. The appointment with yourself involves sitting down for a period of time each day by yourself in a designated spot within your home.
This spot should be purely reserved for your meditation practice and nothing else. Make sure it is clean and free from clutter. Have a small blanket or mat which you can sit on. It is best to be seated on the floor cross legged. If you can’t do this then sit on a chair with a fairly firm surface.
Ideally you create a little shrine at this spot. You could have a small statue of Ganesha, a candle which you light and and burn an incense as well.
Unless you make time for yourself each day you are not going to be starting a meditation practice anytime soon.
Tomorrow we’ll explore the question “How long should I sit for?” and “What should I do during this time?”
I had a wonderful time last weekend up in Colorado conducting various spiritual workshops at Yoga Off Broadway in Eagle, Colorado. Here are a few photos from the weekend. Thank you to all of those attended and to Kelly Western, owner and lead instructor at Yoga off Broadway, for organizing all of this.
Teaching a class on relationships
One evening we conducting an Indian cookin class at someone's home up in the mountains. This horse stopped to say namaste!
...and these horses decided not to let us go by....
Kelly Western helps to get ready for the cooking class. We cooked for 19 people....that was a lot.
Everyone helped with the cooking, as part of learning how to cook, and we enjoyed a delicious Indian vegetarian meal afterwards.
The scenery was simply beautiful...
Well, if you can say the name of this dish then you can surely make it as it is easier than it sounds. And when you have one of these lentil balls (urandais) in your mouth you won’t be saying anything as it is absolutely delicious.
We learned this on our most recent spiritual and culinary adventure in South India in January 2012. When I first saw it being made in front of me I thought to myself that this takes a lot of work and I was hesitant to try it. But having tried it a week ago and realized how fairly simple it is I’ve made it twice now.
Here’s the recipe and I hope you’ll give it a go. Photos below are from cooking class during our culinary tour in South India.
Ingredients for Kola Urundai (Lentil balls)
1. Toor dhal (Pigeon peas) – half cup
2. Bengal gram dhal (black chick peas) – a handful
3. Raw rice – 2 teaspoon
Soak above for 15 mins, drain and keep aside. (I actually did it with only the Toor dhal)
4. Red chilly – 1
5. Garlic – 3 cloves
6. Aniseed – 1 teaspoon
Grind all the above (from 1 to 6), coarsely, and keep aside
7. Coconut shredded – quarter coconut
8. Onion shallots or small onions – 3, slice finely
9. Coriander leaves – 2 tablespoons finely cut
10. Curry leaves – 2 tablespoons finely cut
11. Turmeric – quarter teaspoon
12. Salt to taste
Mix all the above from (1 to 12) well.
Shape into balls and steam for 10 minutes, keep aside.
Ingredients for the gravy or sauce
1. Oil – 4 tablespoons
2. Cinnamon – 3 small sticks
3. Aniseed – 1 teaspoon
4. Onion shallots or small onions – 10 to 15, slice finely
5. Tomatoes – 4
6. Turmeric – quarter teaspoon
7. Chilli powder – 2 teaspoons
8. Coriander powder – 4 teaspoons
9. Water – 4 cups
Masala to be ground fine for the gravy
10. Coconut – half shredded
11. Poppy seeds – half teaspoon
12. Aniseeds – 1 teaspoon
13. Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
Grind fine from (10 to 13) and keep aside
The Method
Heat oil in pan.
Add the cinnamon and aniseed, stir till aniseed splutters (takes about half a minute).
Add the small onions and saute.
Add the tomatoes and saute.
Add the chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder.
Add the ground gravy masala.
Add the water and boil for 5 minutes.
Add the steamed Kola Urundai one by one carefully in order not to break it.
Boil and remove from fire, decorate with coriander leaves.
Serve with rice.
Some of the ingredients...
Main ingredients for the kola urundai kolambu
These little dumpling like things are then steamed.
Dumplings are placed gently into the curry (sauce)
