Meditation on Attitudes
Yoga and Vedanta, the ancient science of the mind, both suggest that we need to cultivate the right attitudes, this helps in removing the mental and emotional blocks that veils the joy of our true self and opens our being. We can start with meditation and contemplation on the attitudes to be practiced in our daily life. Attitudes meditations are foundations for the subtler meditations.
Meditation on attitudes: To meditate or contemplate on one of these attitudes sit in your meditation posture or simply relax in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and allow your attention to gently rest in the middle of your chest or the space between the eyebrows. Allow that one attitude (from the ones mentioned below) to arise in the field of thoughts and feelings, cultivating a positive relationship with that attitude. Hold it in your attention for some time. Since many attitudes relate to other people or objects, those too may come into the mind field along with the chosen attitude.
Four attitudes towards people
In relationships, the mind becomes purified by cultivating feelings of friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion for those who are suffering, goodwill towards those who are virtuous, and indifference or neutrality towards those we perceive as wicked or evil.
- Maitri : Friendliness, pleasantness, lovingness
- Karuna : Compassion, mercy
- Mudita : Gladness, goodwill
- Upekshanam : Acceptance, equanimity, indifference, neutrality
(Taken from Yoga sutras. These days the term meditation is used in a very broad way, in yoga it refers to a specific state of mind.)
Five efforts and commitments
In the Yoga Sutras five efforts and commitments are suggested as a foundation to meditation. These five principles and practices are very helpful in raising our awareness and achieving a peaceful state of mind. It is very useful to remember them and reflect on them often.
By cultivating a constant remembrance of these five forms of efforts and commitments, the life energy starts moving towards harmonizing and balancing of mind, its thoughts, and emotions, along with the other virtues.
- Shradha : Faith and clarity of your direction
- Virya : Have positive energy that supports the faith.
- Smriti : Cultivate a constant memory of mindfulness.
- Samadhi : Strive to attain inner quietness, tranquility.
- Prajna : Pursuing the higher wisdom.
