If none of these is the case and yet you are falling asleep, there could be two reasons. Your mind doesn’t want to meditate and tries to escape by going to sleep. If this is the case, the solution is a mere intention to stay awake.
The other reason is your meditation session may be too long. Keep it to 20 minutes to begin with, and over time build it up to about 30-40 minutes. Better to do half an hour twice a day than an hour at one go. Don’t be ambitious about meditating more. Don’t turn meditation into another competition.
Olive, one of the Bach Flower Remedies, could help in dealing with tiredness. More about these remedies is outlined in Appendix 5.
25. What percentage of time does the mind wander during meditation? What is ‘normal’?
This depends a lot on how your life is at the time you are meditating. If you are relaxed, have eaten light, are feeling happy and in your favourite meditation chair, there typically won’t be too many thoughts and your session can be very deep.
If you have just been to a noisy place, eaten junk and feeling stressed, then even a few minutes of calm that you experience during meditation would be wonderful. In my experience, there is really no ‘normal’. There are days when everything is fine and I hardly meditate, and other days when there is so much stress and I have really deep sessions.
Don’t worry if your mind wanders. Let it. Just don’t get involved with the thoughts.
26. How to remain motivated to meditate?
Take a short-term vow. For one week or ten days, I will meditate, come what may. When you pull this off, take another vow—this time for a month. Within a few weeks meditation becomes a habit and you will not even think of starting your day without that special time to yourself.
It’s helpful to attach meditation to some habit you already have. For example, if you check your email every morning before doing anything else, make sure you meditate just before you do that. A rhythm emerges, first meditation, then email. Or meditate right after you brush your teeth. Or just before your morning walk. Latching on meditation to an already existing habit will turn it into a routine and you won’t need motivation any more.
27. Should I work out, then meditate? Or meditate first, then work out?
It’s best to go from gross to subtle. Physical workout, Yoga asanas, Pranayama, Meditation and then Prayer is a fantastic sequence to follow. Be aware that if your workout is too intense and you become physically exhausted, you may fall asleep and not meditate.
For me, meditation after workout removes much of the tiredness I feel and enhances the high that I got from the exercise.
28. Is painting/knitting/cycling/dancing/playing a musical instrument/singing or any such activity a form of meditation?
Meditation is utterly effortless. If you are absolutely adept at a particular activity, there may be times when you just get into a zone. If you are a pianist, it could happen that you merge with the music. You are no longer there; the music is being played all by itself. That, too, is meditation. This is a gift bestowed on you by nature. For this to happen, it requires tremendous effort and years of dedicated practice.
Meditation is much much easier than this.
29. Can meditation help me lose weight?
It definitely lightens the mind. It relieves stress, which is one of the main reasons for weight gain. So yes, meditation can help you lose weight. However, if you eat a slice of chocolate cake every time you meditate, you will not be losing any weight any time soon.
A good exercise routine, a sensible diet and enough sleep combined with regular meditation would be a killer combination to become really fit. Art of Living’s Yogic Fitness course is based on these principles. If you haven’t yet done this course, do yourself a favour and enroll as soon as you can.
30. Will I look younger and age slower by meditating?
A resounding yes to that. Your body ages much slower than the body of a person who doesn’t meditate. Don’t take this as an excuse to binge on sugar and skip exercise. Meditation brings a smile to your lips that reaches your eyes, a glow on your face and warmth in your heart. It makes you young and. . . irresistibly attractive!
31. What to do when an amazing thought pops up while I am meditating?
A thought is just a thought. You get involved in thoughts, and in a snap, you are very far away from meditation. However wonderful the thought, let it be. Relax and meditate. The ‘good’ thoughts usually disturb you much more than the ‘bad’ ones. Just know that you will remember them when you come out of meditation. It would be nice to note them down as soon as you can. . . thoughts, especially the good ones, don’t have a very long shelf life.
If you truly want to remember a great insight that occurred to you during meditation, a gentle intention that you will remember it when you finish is enough to bring it back to you later.
Don’t try hard to remember it after meditation. It will only cause you frustration. Rest assured that sooner or later it will come back.
32. Can meditation be dangerous?
For the vast majority of the population, research and my personal experience say: absolutely not. For most people on the planet, meditation is totally safe and life enhancing. There could be a very few people who have very strong bipolar disorders, ADHD or schizophrenia. Certain types of meditation could intensify their symptoms. If you have any doubts, ask a trained teacher to teach you, and consult a doctor, preferably a doctor who himself meditates.
33. Will I get Enlightened if I meditate?
Yes. Eventually.
34. If it’s natural to meditate, why do I need a teacher or a guide?
To drive from one place to another, we use Google maps or ask for directions. Don’t you think that to deal with something as complex and subtle as the mind, it would be a great to have someone who knows all the routes? I reiterate, find a good teacher to initiate you into meditation. That’s where all the magic really is.
35. You say meditation is not concentration. Isn’t taking attention to different parts of the body concentration?
Think of an apple. There. You have it. There is no need for an analysis of what the apple looks like. Is it ripe or not? Is it green or red or yellow? Where is it from, etc. I say apple, and you get it. There is no effort involved. No visualising or anything. This is the kind of relaxed awareness that you are taking to different parts of your body while doing Yoga-Nidra. It is effortless attention. Taking your attention to different parts of your body is simply, effortlessly being aware of them.
36. Is it better to meditate in a group or all by myself?
Both are great. The collective energy of the group can take you much deeper than you may go by yourself. Meditating alone is that special time I create for myself, an expression of the love that I feel for myself.
When I can love me, I don’t require others to praise me. It’s when people can’t love themselves that they become obnoxious in their need for recognition and appreciation.
Your regularity in your practice can be a direct indication of how much you truly love and value yourself.
36. What is a mantra? Do I need a mantra to meditate?
A mantra is a sound that induces a deep and profound state of meditation in you. In my experience, you cannot pick a mantra to meditate. The mantra has to be given to you by your teacher or Guru. It is the Grace and Power that your Guru embeds into the mantra that makes it work. Learn the Art of Living’s Sahaj Samadhi Meditation technique for more on this.
38. At what age should one begin to meditate?
Eight years and above. In Indian tradition Lord Narayana, the Highest Guru, is married to Goddess Lakshmi who presides over Wealth. Even rudimentary knowledge of wealth creation will tell you that great wealth comes by investing small amounts of money over a long period of time. The same goes for meditation. Start as soon as you can. Consistently meditating 30 minutes to an hour a day, every day, for many years will give much better results than trying to cram in 8 hours each day, for a few months, when you are 70.
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br /> 39. Does meditation work if you are an atheist?
Of course! You don’t need to believe in the existence of God to meditate. Indian spirituality has it all. There is actually an entire treatise of Vedic philosophy called Vaisheshika which is devoid of any mention of God and could be a superb read for an atheist. Just as you can be awake, sleeping or dreaming as an atheist, you can learn and practise meditation as an atheist. Being in meditation is as natural as being in any of the other three states.
In my experience, though, once you do learn and practise meditation, it will become very tricky for you to deny the existence of a Higher Power.
40. Should I meditate when I am ill and don’t even have the energy to sit up?
Yes. Please meditate even when you are not feeling all right. If you don’t have the energy to sit up, it’s perfectly fine to lie down and meditate. You may fall asleep and that’s okay too.
The first step of Ayurveda is Yoga. Giving medicines is the second step. Ayurveda rightly believes that healing happens only when you meditate. The medicines are administered to balance the body, so that it becomes easier to meditate. It’s the meditation that brings about rapid healing, not the medicines. Meditation provides a huge boost to your immune system and you will be pleasantly surprised at how difficult it is to fall sick and how quickly you heal if you are a meditator.
41. Can one do too much of meditation?
Don’t stretch it beyond an hour a day, unless you are under expert supervision or you are an adept yourself.
42. I exercise and follow a healthy lifestyle. I am successful and happy. Do I still need to meditate?
Short Answer? Yes!
A stressed mind will make you impulsive, reckless and thoughtless in a challenging situation. When life goes well, it will make you take things for granted.
A trained meditative mind is calm, poised, confident and alert. It’s an asset in any situation. When life gets tough, a meditator will be able to make rational and intelligent choices, ones that he will not regret later. When life is wonderful, a meditative mind can enjoy it even more. Meditation magnifies the intensity of whatever you feel through the senses.
You are already happy? Fantastic! Meditation will make you happier. I hope you are not allergic to that!
For people who exercise, meditation will enhance your time in the gym or on the field. The same exercises and routines will produce faster, better and longer-lasting results.
Every year, we get a free trip around the Sun. Meditation allows you to totally enjoy that journey. It enriches your experience of almost everything on Earth.
For those who don’t meditate, life can often be pedestrian and mundane. For those who do, life is almost always a miracle!
Chapter 4
FOOD
The ancient rishis called a human being Purusha. Literally translated, this means one who lives in or presides over a city. City?! I rule a city?
Did you know that our bodies are a whopping 90% bacteria and just 10% human? One can think of the body as a city and the bacteria as the residents of that city. You and I rule cities!! The ancient rishis did it again!
Microbiome
The trillions of microscopic organisms that reside in and on our bodies make up what is called the microbiome. Just as the quality of a city depends upon its denizens, recent research has almost conclusively proved that our own health is a function of the different kinds of bacteria that are a part of our bodies. . . especially those that live in the gut.
These guys don’t just digest the food we eat, they hold sway over our appetite, our metabolism and our immune system. They influence our moods and can determine how our brain feels—sharp and laser-like, or fuzzy and woolly. They impact the health of our hearts and how our bones develop. They are a source of critical vitamins and minerals. They know how to create natural antibiotics for us. Their job description is endless.
Microbiome
Create an environment where the ‘good’ bacteria can thrive, send the right type of nourishment their way, and they, in turn, ensure various aspects of our bodies function smoothly, resulting in great health for us. Create an environment that is beneficial for the ‘bad’ bacteria, feed them what they want and our city becomes a nightmare. Our health is compromised and life becomes an ordeal.
What I found amazing is that these bacteria influence how our genes express themselves. I have often heard people say: I have a tendency to gain weight, it’s genetic. I just look at food and a centimetre manifests itself on my waist. This genetic ‘tendency’ to gain weight is the handiwork of select bacteria in the gut with a twisted sense of humour. So are many other tendencies: skin issues, high or low BP, migraines, anxiety, depression, congestion, frequent colds and infections, various aches and pains, to name a few.
The good news is that getting rid of these bacteria will often result in these tendencies to miraculously vanish! There will be no one in there to switch on that gene and hence the effect disappears. That’s not all—the tendency to not gain weight, and to be lean and muscular, is switched on by another type of bacteria.
In an experiment, when scientists replaced the microbiomes of obese mice with the microbiomes of lean and muscular mice, the obese mice started losing weight and gaining muscle!
If we could only evict those yes-to-a-fat-belly bacteria and replace them with yes-to-good-looking-abs species, those workouts and walks would show lightning fast results. That would only be the beginning. We could similarly substitute the high or low BP bacteria with healthy BP bacteria, the migraine bacteria with no-pain-in-the-head bacteria. . . You get the drift?
And how would we do this?
It largely depends on what we eat. You really are what you eat. When we eat, we are feeding all those trillions of bacteria that make up our microbiome.
A good diet needs to create a benign environment for the friendly critters living inside us and to feed them well. The bad fellows would be tightly constrained, and the good fellows would rule. Result? We smile more, suffer less, don’t fall ill as often, and generally have a better quality of life.
The Perfect Diet?
It is quite bewildering when you think about how much we eat. Each day, on an average, around 2 kg of food goes through that opening in our body we call the mouth. This works out to around 60 kg a month, which is a little shy of a tonne a year. That’s the weight of a giraffe! Keep eating like this for 50 years and you would have consumed the weight of 10 adult African elephants!
There is an assortment of diets and fads that have been created by all sorts of people for all sorts of purposes. There is too much information out there, a lot of it contradictory and quite a bit goes against my principles of being a vegetarian.
Dinesh and I devoted a few years to seeking the perfect diet. We read stacks of books and tried all kinds of food. We finally realised that there is no such thing as a perfect diet. We are all different, our microbiomes are different and what may work for one person wouldn’t for another. In fact, what may work for an individual in a particular place, during a particular season, may not work for the same person if they move to another place or during a different time of the year.
Of course, you can consult a qualified dietician, but finding one that suits you, your gut and your principles can be quite daunting and expensive.
The only way to figure out the perfect diet for you is to educate yourself about food, listen to age-old grandmothers’ advice and combine that with your own intuition.
Eventually I am pretty sure I will write a full-fledged book on this subject. Until then, here are a few crucial things you should know about food.
Food can be divided into three major groups:
Macro nutrients: Carbohydrates, fats and proteins;
Micro nutrients: Vitamins and minerals;
Water.
Energy
Carbohydrates aka carbs are the quickest, most efficient and preferred source of energy for the body. Carbs or sugars are molecules composed of carbon, hy
drogen and oxygen. There are two types of carbs: simple and complex. Simple carbs are those that have just one or two molecules of sugar, complex carbs have longer chains—three or more molecules of sugar. The simple ones are bad for you, while the complex ones are really good for you.
White carbs, especially white sugar and white flour, are the food super villains.
Let me explain. . .
When you eat carbs, they supply you with energy.
Energy = Sugar.
One of the requirements for the brain to function optimally is a certain concentration of sugar in the blood stream (a minimum of 70-110 mg/decilitre). If this increases, then the brain signals the bouncers, called insulin, to end the party. These bouncers politely escort the excess sugar to various parts of the body where energy might be needed. First, they check with the muscles and ask if they have any energy requirement. If you are an average, typical human being, then your muscles will say we need a tiny bit in the fingers to keep them supple for pressing buttons on the remote control. The sugar is next escorted to the liver which usually has enough to keep it going and will refuse any extra. Finally, the party reaches the fat cells and they greedily agree to absorb all the sugar.
Simple carbs are easily assimilated into the blood stream and cause what we can call a sugar spike.
You relish a rich sugary sweet and suddenly there is way too much sugar in your blood. The brain commands the insulin to end this crazy bash and the insulin goes out with all guns blazing to get the sugar out of the blood, mostly into the fat cells. Unfortunately, the insulin does its job too well. It clears out all the sugar and now there is a fall in the blood sugar which jeopardises the normal functioning of the brain. The brain then desperately calls for sugar. Some simple sugar please, don’t have time to process it. So you gorge on sugary sweets which again spikes the blood sugar and the brain reverses its order and calls out the insulin yet again. This vicious cycle continues, confusing your brain, playing havoc with the systems in your bodies. This is the reason why it is almost impossible to stop at just one small bite of a dessert.
Happiness Express Page 9