Jan 112012

How do I concentrate better?

FAQs on Meditation, Meditation No Responses »
 

Today’s question on meditation comes in from Louise from the Philippines who asks “How do I concentrate better – I manage a good quality 5 mins at most with minor drifting but then my mind wonders massively after this…?”

The best way to learn how to concentrate better is to practice it more. We become good at what we practice. Know that the mind has no ability to discriminate between what practice is good for you and what is not good for you. If it did we’d all be excellent at concentration. The mind becomes good at whatever we practice. If we practice being distracted 10 hours a day then we become good at that. The same way, if a dancer wants to be part of the best ballet company then she would have to practice many hours a day. 

So, to be good at concentration you need to practice it more each day. In my workshops and spiritual adventures I share specific concentration exercises that can be integrated into your every day life to help you be better at concentration.

If you have questions on meditation please feel free to reach out to me. You can do so by sending your questions to me on email at info(at)vedicodyssey.com.


Posted by Dandapani at 8:11 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jan 092012

How do you know a meditation technique is good or not?

FAQs on Meditation, Meditation No Responses »
 

On the 7th of January I was asked “what are the techniques of meditation” and responded to that on the blog. The natural next question to follow from that was asked…which was “How do you know a meditation technique is good or not?”

It’s hard to know this answer if you are new to meditation. How would you know anyway if you’ve never tried it out long enough. Hopefully this can help shed some light on the topic.

Whatever meditation technique you choose should make sense to you. You should understand it thoroughly. A clear intellectual understanding is essential to make progress. How can you practice something well if you don’t understand it, right?

So make sure the technique you choose makes sense to you. It’s clear, practical and systematic. Its practicality allows you to develop your meditation skills slowly in your consistent practice of it.

If you don’t understand something about the meditation technique then ask questions about it. Understanding is essential. And whoever is teaching you this should be able to answer your questions logically and if they can’t then they should be able to direct you to a resource that can.

Hope this helps.

If you have questions on meditation please feel free to reach out to me. You can do so by sending your questions to me on email at info(at)vedicodyssey.com.


Posted by Dandapani at 7:35 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,
Jan 072012

What are the techniques of meditation? 

FAQs on Meditation, Meditation 1 Response »
 

I received a question on email from Rupa in DC who asked “What are the techniques of meditation?”

There are many meditation techniques around. You should pick one that you resonate and feel comfortable with. Different techniques work for different people. Stick to it once you’ve decided on the technique and practice it consistently. Don’t continue to shop around and practice other techniques. In order to be good at something you need to remain focused on it. 

Pick a technique that is also systematic, clear and practical. Meditation needs to be approached in a systematic way if you want to make progress in it. 

Tune back for more questions and answers on meditation.

If you have questions on meditation please feel free to reach out to me. You can do so by sending your question to me on email at info(at)vedicodyssey.com.

Posted by Dandapani at 7:41 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
Jan 052012

What is the purpose of meditation?

FAQs on Meditation, Meditation, Meditation Workshops & Classes No Responses »
 

Somebody asked me in a class recently a question that I have never been asked before. The question was “What is the purpose of meditation?” Strange, I thought at that very instant I heard the question, that it was a very obvious question but no one seems to ask it. Unless of course everyone knows the answer to it.

The highest purpose of meditation is to take your awareness from an external state of mind and go within yourself to experience the Self (God in the aspect of timeless, formless and spaceless known as Parasiva in the Hindu faith). The experience of doing so helps you to realize that you and God are one, inseparable.

Meditation also serves to help you become the master of your mind, body and emotions. Your mind, body and emotions are your tools. You are meant to be in charge of them. If you are not they will be in charge of you as is clearly visible in many people these days. Meditation teaches you how to be in control of your mind, body and emotions by helping you to realize that you are a soul in possession of these tools. 

These are a couple of the purposes of meditation. Needless to say meditation has countless benefits.

I conduct meditation classes in New York City and also in various places around the US, Caribbean and Australia. If you are interested in learning about meditation please feel free to reach out to me and you can do so by sending me an email to info(at)vedicodyssey.com.

The spiritual adventures that I conduct a few times a year are wonderful opportunities for personal growth and self discovery. I take the role of a spiritual guide or catalyst that teaches classes and create creative, fun, intimate and spiritually uplifting experiences along the way for my fellow travelers. Visit this link to learn more about these spiritual adventures.

Posted by Dandapani at 3:08 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 172011

Spiritual and Culinary Tour of India

Spiritual Adventures No Responses »
 

Spiritual and cooking tour of South India

Explore the locations we will be visiting on our Spiritual and Culinary Adventure

This map takes you through the route of our spiritual and culinary adventure in South India next February 2012. Use Google’s interactive map below to zoom in on towns, explore neighboring villages and the surrounding countryside. Click on Vedic Odyssey’s logo to learn the name of the town.


View Culinary Tour in a larger map

Auto rickshaws in South India

Posted by Dandapani at 6:25 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 142011

New York kids use meditation for better performance

Meditation Workshops & Classes, Testimonials, Youth Camps No Responses »
 

On Monday I shared how I conducted a class on Hinduism to 44 5th graders at the Village Community School in New York City. The class also included a 5 minute guided meditation. Today I received a very sweet testimonial from the teacher sharing how the meditation had influenced the students.

How inspiring to hear that they loved the meditation. It’s practical and applicable in their lives and they see this. What enlightened “young grasshoppers” they are.

Here’s the teachers email to me:

Hi Dandapani,
I have a wonderful anecdote to share with you today, from our music teacher, Jeannette. Yesterday, many of the students performed in a Winter Concert (singing and playing instruments). They performed twice, once for the school, and the second time was for the parents in the evening. Apparently, our students had such a good time with the meditation you lead (it made such an impression on them), that they proposed to the music teacher to have a meditation session before each performance, to calm their nerves and get them ready to perform!

For each meditation, a child from one of our classes lead the whole group (at least 40+ kids), in a round of breathing, and they said exactly what you said: “breathe in and out, get a good thought, hold on to it…”

What was so funny was the music teacher had not been to our meditation but when she told me about it, the words were exactly as you had said them! How fabulous! I just thought you should know what a success the time with you really was for them.

Many thanks again,
Natalie
Village Community School

Posted by Dandapani at 12:31 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 122011

New York 5th Graders and Hinduism

Meditation Workshops & Classes No Responses »
 

A couple of weeks back a friend asked me if I would be willing to teach a class on Hinduism at his son’s school. They have been studying India and Hinduism in their social studies class and he thought it would be nice for me to share some of my experiences and thoughts with them.

So, this morning I made my way to the west side to the Village Community School on 10th street and was welcomed by 44 energetic and enthusiastic (maybe more like excited) 5th graders. I don’t think most of them had seen a Hindu priest in person before let alone have one come in and teach a class.

So, I had 45 minutes to teach and I shared with them, via a Keynote presentation, the basics of Hinduism which included beliefs, God and divine beings, sects, the two paths, the four goals, etc and we ended the class with a 5 minute meditation practice.

How do you get 44 5th graders to sit still for 5 minutes let alone concentrate and meditate? Breathe! And they did and did exceedingly well in this guided meditation. Some even sat in the lotus position and hands in the perfect meditative mudras. Budding yogis indeed! I was most impressed and after 5 minutes there was a great noticeable calmness in the classroom.

Posted by Dandapani at 8:02 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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