Dear Friends,
Today I'm bringing you an in-depth interview I did with Sura, the course author of Meditation: How to Manifest Your True Intention. Sura is a sweet spirit who may shed some light on meditation and tell you things you didn't know. Here we go!
Madisyn Taylor: Meditation is what enabled me to start healing my physical body and my emotional trauma. Why do you believe meditation is so important for people to practice?
Sura: Meditation awakens us to our true nature. It is a powerful way to experience what every human being longs for: joy, peace, and freedom. It connects us to our authentic selves, and it helps us listen to our inner guidance, what some people also refer to as their intuition or higher self. This subtle inner voice is vital to discovering our unique life path, which includes our true purpose. We become receptive to our guidance when we learn how to quiet the inner chatter and release the limiting beliefs that often keep us unconsciously stuck. Meditation helps us experience more flow, presence, and spontaneity in our everyday lives. It gives us energy, focus, and perspective.
Through meditation, we come to realize the oneness of life. When we understand how interconnected we are, we see how important it is to cultivate our own individual practice so that we don't project our fears and unconscious blocks onto others. When we are spiritually clear, it becomes more difficult to experience negative emotions like anger and fear. It's easier to experience peace no matter what's happening around us. The more we meditate, the more we experience true wellness and reside in bliss consciousness.
MT: My meditation journey started with just meditation music and then I tried guided meditations. I had a tremendous struggle quieting my body and mind to just be. Guided meditation was the only way I could get it done. In this course you give students a different guided meditation for each of the seven lessons. What are your thoughts on guided meditation versus quiet sitting meditation?
S: Guided meditations are a wonderful way to practice meditation, especially if you're just beginning. They put you in the passenger seat. You don't have to think about what to do, you can simply follow the voice of the instructor. Instead of struggling with the thoughts in your head, you can simply sit back and listen. The voice of the instructor often helps you to relax and let go. For many people it's easier to achieve a meditative mind-set through guided meditation. The intention is to eventually learn how to do this for ourselves. In addition to listening to guided meditations, I think it's also important to establish your own sitting practice. Even if sitting on your own can be challenging at times, it's a natural part of the process of developing your practice. It takes courage to discover meditation on your own. Even a few minutes each day on your own will make a difference in the long run.
MT: We make so many excuses not to meditate: I'm too busy, it's too weird, it's not for me, I can't stop the noise in my head, etc. Why do we make so many excuses?
S: That's just resistance. It's natural to come up with lot of excuses when it comes to meditation. Behind resistance is fear. This is where the ego likes to hide out. You could also call it the "ego mind," the part of you invested in staying separate and upholding the status quo. Your ego is often masked as the voice in your mind. It's the voice of our societal conditioning, the one that is constantly judging, assessing, thinking, trying to protect you, all while creating unnecessary suffering and angst. The ego is intimidated by meditation. It doesn't like change, and that's what happens when you meditate. You change. Every seated practice is a mini-transformation, a shift in consciousness.
You have to face yourself in meditation and that's not easy. All the stuff that our ego mind likes to keep hidden and alive in the background comes to the forefront when you sit quietly. That can be disturbing. That's why we come up with all kinds of reasons and excuses. We'd rather avoid all the stuff that comes up during meditation. It's much easier to binge-watch Netflix! Whenever you find yourself making excuses not to meditate, stop and pay attention. See if you can relax, breathe, and listen deeply to what's really true for you.
MT: What do you say to people who just can't get started in a meditation practice?
S: Do what you can and take one day at a time. There is no pressure when it comes to meditation, only the pressure we put upon ourselves.
Show up for meditation, exactly as you are. Have an imperfect practice that's just three minutes. Do your best and be curious about the nature of your own mind. You can learn to be present with all the messy stuff that tries to get in the way of being still. When you can do this, you're no longer held captive by the darting thoughts of your mind. The important thing is not to beat yourself up about missing your practice. Meditation is meant to make us feel better, not worse. A good way to start is to simply practice relaxation. Don't even worry about meditation. Just relax. This allows you to easily slip into the state of meditation. Practice a few minutes of relaxation each day before you begin your day. Take a few minutes to practice relaxation each day and eventually work your way toward seated meditation. Even if you're an established practitioner, I highly recommend practicing relaxation before sitting practice. It creates an atmosphere conducive for a meditation session.
MT: Explain to my readers what they will learn over this seven-week course.
S: Participants of the course will have an opportunity to learn how to meditate starting with 10 minutes a day. You learn the basics of meditation, how to get started, and how to apply meditation toward creating what you most desire. The intention is to develop your own daily practice. The course includes meditation coaching, the combination of meditation and life coaching. When you're in a calm and centered state, and contemplate life's most important questions, you can receive further clarity and insight.
In this course you'll also learn how to open yourself to receiving a clear vision of what you want to create. Through meditation practices you'll develop your intuition and tap into your true purpose and passion. In this course, you'll learn how to listen deeply, define your goals, and take action on your inner guidance. The course is really about having the courage to be you. It's about being brutally honest. The more "you" you allow yourself to be, the easier it becomes to create and manifest. Each of the seven lessons has a video and a 20-minute audio guided meditation, along with homework if you choose to do it. The guided audio lessons are longer in nature and include powerful coaching questions. It can take time to sit with these deeper questions and truly distill your life vision and intention. These meditative practices can bring up a lot of emotions, energy, and potential change in your life. The key to receiving the most from the course is to give yourself space and time to reflect on life's most important questions. Unplug from usual daily activities and take time for an inner retreat. Also, take time to journal daily about your experience. It's vital to nourish yourself with self-care practices so that you feel balanced throughout the course. This includes rest, downtime, and play!
MT: Have you received any feedback from students you can share?
S: Yes, it's wonderful to see that the feedback from the course has been positive and affirms that people are looking to go deeper with meditation. One person mentioned that he really enjoyed the content of the course, but that it took him six weeks to complete the first two lessons. He wanted to take his time and focus first on his daily practice so that he could organically discover his life's intention. I thought it was wise for him to choose to go at his own pace to receive the most from the course experience. Another woman mentioned that she listened to the guided meditations, found herself crying during her practice, and didn't even really know why. Meditation practice can be naturally healing and move energy on different levels, including the emotional plane. It can be deeply cathartic, clearing the space for new energy and inspiration to flow into one's life. Oftentimes we have to let go of old or unprocessed experiences to make space for the new creations in our life. There is a lot of content in the course, which includes guided meditations, video lessons, and writing exercises. A few people who were just starting out with meditation have expressed concern that the course was too advanced for them. In the first lesson, we have an easy step-by-step guide, which teaches beginners to establish their own meditation practice in 10 minutes a day. I've encouraged people who are just beginning to focus on just this--a simple daily practice. It's possible that one could practice the first lesson four weeks in a row just to feel that they have a steady seat in their own practice before moving onto the guided coaching meditations.
MT: Would you be willing to share your own personal journey?
S: Meditation saved my life. I started learning meditation during a dark period in my life when I had lost my desire for life and wanted to die. That's when I stumbled upon a hand-lettered book by a Zen nun who had tried to kill herself. Her story inspired me to begin meditating. I started by reading a book that taught me to count my breaths from 10 to one. Sitting on the cushion felt like coming home. It was deeply healing. I cried many tears and eventually discovered joy again. It so drastically changed the quality of my life that I decided to leave my job in New York to study meditation in Asia.
Cultivating a calm inner state is instrumental to realizing your deepest goals and intentions. By starting your day grounded and centered, you'll experience more balance and flow throughout your day and into each evening. The practice of meditation helps you raise your energy and self-awareness. By expanding your consciousness, you create a clear, inner space that allows you to move towards the center of your creations. It's from this place of grounded awareness that you'll really focus on what's most important to you. Through guided meditations designed to help you relax and center, you'll have an opportunity to hone in and refine your inner vision. You'll also get to experience meditation coaching; the combination of meditation and life coaching, to help you receive further insight and clarity. These practices include topics for contemplation with action steps to move you forward on your life path. In this unique 7-week course, you'll learn how to begin your own meditation practice--and your daily practice will nurture your ability to create through deep inner-listening.
Starting today, you will receive a new lesson every week for 7 weeks (total of 7 lessons). Each lesson is yours to keep and you'll be able to refer back to it whenever you want. And if you miss a lesson or are too busy to get to it that day, each lesson will conveniently remain in your account so you won't have to search for it when you're ready to get back to it.
We are offering this course with the option of selecting how much you want to pay. No matter how much you pay, you'll be getting the same course as everybody else. We simply trust that people are honest and will support the author of the course with whatever they can afford. And if you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund your money.
Thank you, Sura, for sharing your passion for meditation with my audience. I know that the word meditation can sometimes be intimidating to people, and I think you beautifully share how meditating can help us find our true intention and receive clear vision about what we want for our life.
Be well,
Madisyn Taylor
Cofounder, Editor-in-Chief
DailyOM
