Meditation is the journey inwards, a journey of self-discovery or, in fact, re-discovery. Meditation is time taken for quiet reflection and silence, away from the hustle and bustle of daily living. Taking time out enables us to come back to a centred place of being. In our modern world, the pace of life is growing ever faster and we are losing touch with our true inner peace and power. When we no longer feel grounded, we can experience ourselves pushed and pulled in many different directions. It is at this point that we start to experience stress and a feeling of being trapped. Gradually, over time, this feeling leads to illness and disease, as our mental, emotional and physical health is thrown out of balance. 

Raja Yoga meditation is a form of meditation that is accessible to people of all backgrounds. It is a meditation without rituals or mantras and can be practised anywhere at any time. Raja Yoga meditation is practised with ‘open eyes’, which makes this method of meditation versatile, simple and easy to practice. Meditation is a state of being in that place just beyond every day consciousness, which is where spiritual empowerment begins. Spiritual awareness gives us the power to choose good and positive thoughts over those which are negative and wasteful. We start to respond to situations, rather than just reacting to them. We begin to live with harmony, we create better and happier, healthier relationships and change our lives in a most positive way.

Meditating is easy. Raja Yoga even has the name ‘Easy Raja Yoga’. But sometimes getting started needs a little explanation. Here is a simple five-step process to follow. Soon you’ll arrive at the quiet still place with just a single stride – a single thought – and you won’t even need to take five steps.

Step 1: Relaxation

Relaxation is about letting go of tension and stress and bringing the mind and body into a state of calm and peace …

Step 2: Concentration

Concentration allows me to use my time productively, once I have relaxed: I focus on the thoughts I choose to have…

Step 3: Contemplation

Contemplation is reflecting deeply on myself, my inner world and my values…

Step 4: Realisation

Realisation is when my understanding and feelings combine and I experience a more profound, more meaningful reality within…

Step 5: Meditation

Meditation is focusing on a thought and remembering my eternal identity, and re-awakening a wonderful state of well-being …

Making space for Meditation

Life already feels full – filled with activities and responsibilities, so where can we put in the activity of meditation? That’s the beauty of Raja Yoga; you can fit it in anywhere.

At home

You don’t need a special room or allocated space, any quiet corner or comfortable chair will do. Make a regular appointment to meet up with your innermost self. In time, you’ll probably find a particular place that you’re drawn to, where the vibrations of your own stillness and reflective practice create a little place of peace. Visit whenever you like. Visit often.

In your workplace

Wherever you work, a little creative thought can suggest a place for meditation: quietly holding the phone to your ear for a moment or two while listening to the silence within, instead of a voice on the phone. Or walking down a corridor with a file can give you a few minutes of peacefulness away from your desk. Your colleagues won’t notice you meditating, but they may notice your new calmness.

While travelling

The time you spend going from one place to another, on foot, travelling by bus or train can be used to visit your internal space of stillness. The open-eyed method of Raja Yoga meditation makes this inner journey possible and practical.

Outside or inside

The whole world offers itself to you to select your own special place to connect with yourself and the One. On a sunlit beach or in a supermarket queue, a serene riverbank or a dentist’s waiting room, a bench in a city square or a patch of grass somewhere. Everywhere is a fine place to become still and silent. Pick your own place of peace.

Quiet among crowds

As you learn how to create a quiet room within yourself, you’ll find that you can slip into it at any time. When there are people around you, or when the world is noisy or challenging, step into the quietest place on the planet – the silent space of the soul.

Making time for meditation

Most people say they would like to meditate. Most people say they don’t meditate. And why? Because, they say, they don’t have time. So how and when do busy people, like you, make moments to meditate?

First thing in the morning

The moment you open your eyes and know you are awake is a great time to start meditating. Start by greeting yourself, the powerful positive soul you are. And then greet the One who never sleeps. 

At mealtimes

Before you eat, you can sit for a moment, meditating on the good fortune of having food to eat and with the understanding of how our thoughts affect our food, what we think, do and become. Filling our food with powerful thoughts of gratitude and grace means we feed ourselves too, with all good things. 

Throughout the day – Traffic Control

We are all drivers on the highway of life, and every now and then it is good to check the direction in which we are travelling. When we drive our car on the road we have to stop at every traffic light, so perhaps we can learn to take advantage of these traffic light moments during the day to practise some meditation. In the same way, by pausing our thoughts from time to time we can check and re-direct them, and create a method to make positive changes that will help to put our mind back into neutral.

Taking short peace breaks for the mind gives us a chance to re-focus our thinking, and helps to put the mind back into the right gear to create a positive flow of thoughts and feelings. By doing this, we will find that our day will run more smoothly and peacefully, because ‘traffic control’ moments allow us to maintain balanced thinking.

At night

Before you sleep is a good time for your final meditation of the day. Book yourself a little time, as part of your bedtime routine, to sit quietly with yourself and reflect on the day – considering what was well done and what could be done differently tomorrow. Deliberately close up the ‘files’ of the day’s activities and put them away in your mind, so you can bring the day to a close and allow yourself to slip into sleep, untroubled and at peace. 

Anytime

Whenever you arrive at a moment of anxiety or indecision, uncertain of the way forward, that could be a moment to go ‘within’ and await an answer.

In a moment of gratitude and pleasure, why not share it with the One.
When frustrated, lonely, tired or happy, uplifted, optimistic – all these are moments to find power to deal with negatives and times to enjoy and enrich the positive – anytime is time for a moment of meditation.

Anyone and everyone who wants to can use, and benefit from, Raja Yoga meditation. Some choose to come to a Brahma Kumaris centre once a year to confirm a connection, others incorporate meditation into their daily lives, yet others add meditation to their other spiritual practice. It all works and it all enriches the lives of those who choose it. Those who make use of Raja Yoga meditation include people who:

• have spent time searching for spiritual solutions, and now find something they did not find elsewhere.

• have achieved and gained much in their lives, and come to wonder, “Is that all there is?”

• have experienced difficulty and challenge in their lives and seek extra power to help them.

• have a deep desire to deepen their understanding of, and connection with, the Divine.

• have a wish to use their own energy and good wishes to bring peace to the world and share the sense of well-being and contentment they have found with other souls in the world.
  

Consistent practice of Raja Yoga meditation brings about profound transformations, including: