Top 5 Changes Meditation Demands From You
There is no substitute for meditation – if someone was to offer me 1 billion dollars, yes with all those zeros, and said that all I would have to do is give up meditation and the treasures of spiritual practice, not even 1 cell in my body would think… yeah maybe. All 10 trillion cells would be laughing at the offer. There is no material equivalent for the rewards of meditation — none. The difference is so enormous that I can’t even come up with a suitable example — and believe me I tried. If life can be said to have any purpose, it is to discover the Truth and at the heart of this mission lies meditation. But, as you move ahead with your meditation practice and the rewards start to flow, you will notice an interesting phenomenon taking place — You Are Being Held to Live at a Higher Standard.
There is really not much choice in this matter. If you give yourself seriously to mastering the Art of Meditation, you will no longer be able to live the way you had been in the past. The practice demands its own discipline, not one artificially imposed, but, a discipline that gracefully emerges as you move deeper into this profound science. Here is what I have found to be the top 5 changes that tend to take place in the lives of passionate aspirants who are being true to their meditation practice. These same changes generally also apply to those who practice other spiritual disciplines such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Reiki, Qigong, etc.
1. More Simple & Wholesome Life: As your progress matures you will notice that you are more and more gravitating towards a simpler, more natural life. You find yourself buying less and less into commercialism and materialism. Its not that you are becoming an ascetic and “renouncing the world”, its just that material possessions are loosing their grip on you. If you have them you enjoy them, if you don’t have them no problem at all. In this way your life starts to incorporate more of what is natural and moves in a direction that is uncomplicated, but, deep.
2. Waste Less Energy: Meditation, Yoga and spiritual practices will make you realize that everything is energy. Energy is the name of the game. You are nothing but Energy and the Universe is nothing but energy. These fields all interconnect and intermingle. At an Energetic level, demarcations loose their definition and everything merges into each other. In addition to this, you start to realize one more important fact regarding meditation. It requires tremendous energy. The energy required for real meditation is available to a human being, but, is not harnessed corrected. It is dissipated in contradiction and meaningless activity. This will have to stop if your practice is to penetrate deep into the mysteries and wonders of Reality. You will start to become more integrated as a person. You will start to stop wasting precious energy in endless gossip, immature pursuits and conflicting desires. You will start be become an charged being, capable of summoning intense energy of the highest vibration when required to penetrate the veil of illusion.
3. Better Diet & Fitness: Along the lines of number 2 above, you will start to shift to a healthy lifestyle. You will realize the profound opportunity life and each moment offers and simply would like to make the most of this blessing of human life. Getting sick, being injured, lacking energy will not be acceptable and you will do what is necessary to have a fit, vibrant body. In addition, certain food groups will not suit you as they will make you lethargic and insensitive, so you will likely start to move to a lighter, more lean diet.
4. Ending Dependencies and Addictions: For those on the spiritual path, freedom is valued above all. Things that make you dependent and bind you down will come under heavy scrutiny and in time be set aside. This goes for all things that make you dependent. Those far on the spiritual path realize their one to one relationship with life and Divinity and eventually embrace complete independence. This independence then allows for love to flow, as now, without dependency, there is no shadow of fear.
5. Becoming a Rebel: It is inevitable. You will become a bit (or in same cases much :-) of a rebel. Especially with regard to tradition and the so called values of society. Society creates the need for so much artificiality and hypocrisy, which simply cannot be sustained under the heat of meditative awareness. In addition, the values that society holds in high esteem are seen for what they are — stupid — so that is the end of that.
Summary:
So there you have the top 5 changes that will be required of you as you move ahead with your spiritual growth. Some of these changes will happen on their own, below the radar of consciousness, while others will be conscious decisions you will have to make, as required by the demands of the meditation and spiritual practice.
I would like to hear your thoughts on this interesting subject as I feel that others will benefit from the map that we draw together. So if you have noticed changes you have had to make in order to enhance your meditation, yoga or other spiritual practice feel free to share that with us. It could be as simple as, I had to watch less TV so I could sleep on time, to as complex as, I had to quit my job that became incompatible with my spiritual evolution.
Dear Anmol, since I started Meditation my Life became so much richer, I learned so much in this 1,5 years, I finally found answers to questions I had for so long. I can recommend to everybody to start integrating Yoga and Meditation in there daly life’s, to be able to see through the veil. Thank you so much for this wonderful site you have created, to assist people like me in our spiritual development. I have had experience with all the 5 changes, today I am a Vegetarian, stoppt smoking, became a Reiki Master and Teacher. In my eyes it is importend to find a group of people how are on the same padge otherwise there is a risk that somebody becomes to much isolated. Ps: sorry for my English it is not my nativ language. :)
Tears came as I read the 5 changes. I am experiencing these over the last few weeks. I’m blown away. You expressed them perfectly. I’m excited about going deeper and learning more from you. Thank you!
Thoroughly enjoyed the reading, looking forward to the vids :)
Dear Anmol,
I have been meditating for about a year and a half, and I have naturally done many changes in my daily routine that helped and keeps on helping and improving my meditation practice. Starting from a complete change of diet (vegetarian) to creating a specific place in my house for meditation (and yoga), not watching TV, cutting down on internet specially Facebook :) and many other things. One particular thing i’m struggling with is that I’m currently unemployed, and I don’t want to go back into the hospitality work which was what i did for the last 9 years. I am looking ceaselessly for a job that will go with my own nature and that will accommodate the changes I made in myself and that will be conducive to the practice of meditation. I would appreciate suggestions from you and other people on this site, hopefully it will help me to figure out which path I should take in life.
Dear Anmol,
I consider myself lucky that I found your website, which is not only rich in perfect video demonstartions but also the write up.
I just getting addicted be on your website and learn as much as possible.
Also the best part is that, you have offered a lot, lot of things and information Free!!.
God bless you and your family with peace, prosperity, health, wealth and wisdom in abundace.
I have a question-
a) I have been doing meditation for last 3 months now. However before I sit for meditation I do Kapal Bhati, then Anuloma viloma. But I observed that my concentration is not so nice when I do this breathing excersise as compared to when I dont do them? Or is it just that I have just now started to meditate so thats why my concentration is not build up, and its still in porgress?
b) what about celibacy in meditation? I find it very difficult to control it !
c) How to push the seminal energy up the sushma?
Can you suggest something and guide me on this?
Regards,
Shashank.
Please see that I am a novoice in this field…
It’s very interesting to me to read these 5 changes that happen as a result of meditation because many, if not quite all of these are changes I have noted about myself over the past year even though I have never meditated. And so it feels right that I am beginning this journey into meditation. My life has been set into order and it feels like this is the next step that I need to take so that the changes that I have incurred over the past year or so have meaning.
I have had to all of the above consciously. Each has been a tough decision except materialism which I have never bought into. I have also change my diet thanks to “The Kind Diet” book by Alicia Silverstone. Going Vegan has been a difficult thing, but so rewarding. ;)
Hi Anmol,
What about diet? Do you encourage vegetarianism? Many thanks, Guna
Wow! I do feel at home here. Thank you for helping me understand why I’m a rebel! Not done TV or mass media for 3 years, went veggie two years ago (and keep some hens to make it easy!) get all my clothes from the recycling depot!… Trouble is, I haven’t done regular meditation practise for nearly a year. I’ll get back to it. Thanks for the reminder. I’m looking forward to trying out the yoga ideas. Deepest gratitde.
Hello Anmol!
So, you say about independence and freedom that valued over all, i`m understand this and do not even why – when i`m reading your amazing articles i`m realizing that i`ve folloved a right way! I`m now trying to end dependancies, everyone of them. But what about love? Yes, i`m 18 years old but i`m saw almost 5-6 years ago that the life is more than society tells us. I loved one girl in 11th class when i`ve studyed at school, but i do not allowed myself to say this to her, i was under the cage of awesome insane fear that everyone will laugh on me, i`m packed this inside myself and allowed to self discipline take furious control over me, but only thing i`ve found that it hitted only me, hitted me hard, and i`ve started to rebel against such feelings, to one day say this to her, despite the fact that we study in different institutes and i saw her every day. I`m very sorry for overload you with this… But after that article or perhaps much earlier i`ve decided to fight, i`m tired of getting included in this physical life that brings sometimes pain like this, pain that you carry sometimes through your life. This was a final point when i`ve decided to fight, i`m tired of this cages about meaterialism stupidity. I`ve began my meditations a month ago, and as you say began the SM meditation cource, facing everything with a smile, passion, will to learn a truth and in some day, collect enough courage to say her everything i`ve wanted to say long ago, that pressure i`ve tolerated for years, being almost enslaved by “self-discipline” that has not allowed me to say this, self-discipline that was controlled by others, several times i`m almost was an “exile” in my class beacause of my progress in different areas, everyone used every chance to hit my nerves. All that moral, psychological cage that held me for years. I`ve started to learn spiritual things, and follow this way, and have some advanced i want to say about in my next posts, and meditation has helped me – and in suddenly in one of the meditation i`ve thinked about life, all that i`m holding and for what? this was after i`ve an experience with light as i`ve described in Opening the 3rd eye topic, but in one moment i`ve felt how much energy and happy time i`ll lose if i will live and keep it, at one moment i almost began to cry, but when this cry come to me, something changed inside of me, like great stone was kicked off, tored apart, blasted to lot of pieces and this awakened inside me how once you`ve said – “righteous anger” or even something more than the anger, and sudenly said to myself – it`s my life, and i`ll not keep something that destruct me and inflicts a pain to me, and i`ve released every bad, every painful thing that was under the broken stone. I`m fulfilled with passion to seek truth, advance in spiritual way that keep me away from destructive self-discipline that once hold something that was more precious for me than anything else. And i`m going to say to this girl everything i`ve wanted to say, but this is 2nd priority target for me, the main target is to seek the truth, master meditations and yoga.
And thank you for your articles and advices, they finally have broken those furious control of self-discipline that inflicted a pain to me, i`m now even more human and even more alive than i was, such a lightness is felt, i`m feeling better than ever.
All the best,
Andrew
Wow….yes. I quit smoking 3 years ago, after struggling with it for such a long time. I had quit many times, even for more than a year once, but always slipped back into the old habit. Nothing worked, and I thought I was doomed to a life of filth and disease. Then I started a yoga routine and a daily sitting practice, and without even trying, I just stopped smoking. I just didn’t like it anymore, now that I had an understanding of how good my body could feel again. I haven’t smoked since, and I often try to explain how I quit to others who are struggling with little luck. So, to see it mapped out like this is very exciting for me. thank- you.
Hey Karthik,
Welcome to the Mastery of Meditation website. I am glad to hear you are taking up meditation and I think it will benefit you greatly in combating stress. Here is a link to online guided meditation and kundalini yoga classes which may be of interest to you….
https://anmolmehta.com/classes-online/
Let me know if I can help further.
Hi Rod,
Great stuff. My wife absolutely loves every single morbid crime scene drama show on TV… the more morbid the better LOL. At least she doesn’t watch the news as it can’t get any worse than that!
The “Do the best you can, sincerely” is really invaluable in the later stages, specially when it comes down to the advanced meditations of comprehending the moving mind from moment to moment…. but yes it can be used as a convenient refuge as well by “the foe” :-)
Will put together an article discussing breaking deep seated habits and dependencies, I think that will be of benefit to others as well, as that issue has come up in my yoga classes also.
Thanks for contributing to this discussion.
Hi Winter,
Fantastic list. Many of the items on your list are not easy for people to do. I am sure you have inspired many with your contribution. Thank-you.
Hi man.. Nice post. This is the first post I have read and I am starting out fresh on the path of meditation, though I learnt it a few years back. Your insights into the changes demanded is pretty interesting to know, since I might face them in the future. And the reason I took up meditation is ofcourse for stress release (stress from excess worry), which has been troubling me a lot lately. Will read your other posts and frequent your blog. Keep blogging.
Ah indeed, this is a topic I’m going through at the moment.
When I was a student, I got involved in a Christian sect, and as the saying goes amongst the antagonists, “When you let Jesus into your life, you let the devil in too”, and indeed, I spent more time thinking about the devil than about Jesus. As I didn’t want to be doing that, I stopped the whole thing.
Now that I’m meditating and reading the Buddhist scriptures, the whole question comes up again, and the devil is … me. This time, since I can see the foe much more clearly, there’s less confusion and I can see the way to proceed.
Since I already thought social conventions were pretty stupid before I started meditating, that step is already pretty much completed. Simple and wholesome is already a fair way along too (relatively speaking).
But the energy, and the dependencies and addictions are going to be tough issues. The Buddhist scriptures offer a list of things you really need to do, and one of them is ‘doing your best, sincerely’. Immediately the foe takes refuge in that, saying “I’m doing my best with everything else, so I don’t have to talk to my wife about serving less meat. Maybe later.”
However, one area of wasted energy that I gave up very quickly was reading unhappy books about various wrongdoing, and taking an interest in morbid crime reporting on TV. Somewhat unwillingly I watched ‘Hotel Rwanda’ a short while ago and resolved not to waste a moment more on such fare.
Oh, and my posture has improved. Even when I sit in a chair with a back to it, I prefer to rely on my spine. I was going to buy a very expensive Aeron chair since my work involves sitting all day. Instead I bought a balancing ball for 1/10 of the price and have enjoyed less back pain as a result.
Anmol, perhaps you could talk some more about dealing with one’s deeply embedded and once-cherished habits and dependencies. That would be very helpful.
gosh I love your blog posts!
I completely agree on all accounts (rare ; )
Well to be brief my meditations practices of gone through and ebb and flow throughout the last 15 years but now that Im doing it more regularly I have:
1) Completely stopped watching tv
2) Could never work another day job in a mundanely structured company
3) Threw out all my make up, dreaded my hair, threw away all of the clothes I wore that were only purchased b/c they were fashionable as opposed to ones I truly identified with
4) completely stopped spending $ on frivolous things
5) value yoga and meditation over social gatherings
6) disengaged from gossip
7) am hopefully much more in harmony with my authentic self and compassionate towards others even if they are not on the seeker path
I could go on but I guess to sum it up..completely alienated myself from those that choose to remain asleep ; )