First Steps
People often have one of the following reactions when they start meditating, also known as “inner work”:
- I tried it and it works!
- I tried it and I’m not sure it works.
- I tried it and didn’t feel anything.
Before you plunge into this material, a word of advice. If you try any of these techniques and “don’t feel anything”, relax. It doesn’t mean that your efforts are for naught. In fact if you keep practicing for only ten to thirty minutes a day, the chances are very good that within a week or two you WILL begin to experience the benefits. Keep an open mind and don’t try too hard.
The secret is in the “effortless effort” — getting the energy flow started with the thought, then letting it happen. Most of us are conditioned to try and make something happen. In the case of inner work, that often blocks our means of perceiving what IS happening. So again, just think the thought, let it happen, and be open to observing and experiencing whatever you perceive, no matter how subtle.
Take your time. One of the most important parts of this work, if not the most important, is to “assimilate” your experience. For example, you wouldn’t eat three dinners at one sitting, you would take time to digest. The same is true for this material. Each chapter is meant to be read, then practiced, so that you move from the idea into the experience. As you do so, each tool or technique becomes more and more an integral part of your consciousness and then begins to express in behavior. This process is also known as “earthing” — bringing spirit into form, and translating changes in consciousness into action.