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Relaxation
An important
rule in life is: Don't be impatient. This rule is doubly
important for meditation, for whereas the general stricture against
impatience gives hope of finding inner peace in meditation, that
hope is demolished if one applies to meditation itself attitudes
that we've developed in the "rat race." To find God, it
is better to be a long-distance runner than a sprinter. Today's
meditative efforts will have to be renewed tomorrow, and again the
day after tomorrow, and the day after that, and so on for as long
as it takes to achieve the consciousness of the Eternal Now.
Don't let your
approach to meditation be so achievement-oriented that you end up
mentally tense. Yogananda, noting my own tendency toward impatience,
once said to me, "The principle of karma yoga applies to meditative
action also. Meditate to please God. Don't meditate with desire
for the fruits of your meditations. It is best, in the beginning,
to emphasize relaxation."
The more you
seek rest as the consequence of doing, rather than in the process
of doing, the more restless you will become. Peace isn't waiting
for you over the next hill. Nor is it something you construct, like
a building. It must be a part of the creative process itself.
Learn to be
restful, even in the midst of activity, and you will be able to
relax better when you sit to meditate. As Paramhansa Yogananda put
it, "Be calmly active, and actively calm."
From: "Awaken to Superconsciousness", by J. Donald Walters
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