I just returned from an enlightening experience at the Chopra Institute. As a Chopra certified meditation instructor – the door is always open to soak in and savor the spiritual teachings of Deepak. He is amazingly gifted at communicating deep spiritual truths into simplistic terms. One profound truth stood out to me: We only have 2 kinds of thoughts 1. The Past 2. The Future. You see when we are fully engaged in the present our attention is captivated. Thoughts are what we do when we process, evaluate, critically think about whatever has happened or is going to happen. But it is in the present moment that true joy, peace, love and life are experienced. How much time, I wonder, do we spend actually being in the present? When our thoughts are anxious or fearful- we can be sure our thoughts are caught up in the future and if we are sad or judgmental we can be certain that our thoughts are prisoners of the past.
Meditation is the simple yet profound practice of stilling the mind & the body long enough to unhook ourselves from the never ending drama of past & future. When we learn to practice the present moment, effortlessly we slip into the expansive experience of being fully conscious… free from all distractions and at peace. It is the simplicity of it all that seems to trip us up. We expect it to be elusive, exclusive and effortful when it is in fact the opposite. It is at our fingers tips, open to all who simply practice and it is effortless when practiced without agenda or judgement. Why meditate? It is the doorway from fear to freedom. It releases us from feeling tethered down by that which detracts from the precious gift of life and awakens us to live more fully each and every moment.
I give thanks for Deepak and his timeless teachings.
He was truly magnificent! I loved being there with you:)