DAILY GURU

Friday 4th Of March 2005

Imagine yourself standing on the beach, watching the waves rushing to the shore, and then return back to the ocean. Feel the cool, pleasant breeze, and breath in the intoxicating smell of the ocean's water. Tune in to the feeling of calmness that you experience now. Stay with this image and feeling for a while.

It is pleasant, isn't it? It does not matter that this scene is taking place in your imagination and is not real. You have been successful in invoking feelings associated with being on the beach. You were in engaged in some sort of meditation. Was it difficult?

In the last fifty years meditation has become popular, and people are becoming aware of its benefits. Many erroneously believe that it is only a means to relax the body and mind, when actually it is a lot more than this. Life in the West is full of tension and rush, so meditation has become erroneously recognized as a technique for relaxation. Relaxation is very important, but it is only one of the by-products of meditation, and not the end aim.