Song of Meditation
Interview with Swami Dhyan Giten
The inner being, the authentic self
How can we develop the inner being?Meditation is the way to awaken and develop the inner being. Meditation is about finding that which is already perfect within ourselves. The process to develop the inner being can be described as the process of step by step emptying a room from furniture until the room is completely empty and only a silence, a space and an emptiness, remains.
Meditation can be described as 4 qualities: a watchful awareness, an accepting attitude, a non-judgmental attitude and relaxation. Awareness is another word for meditation. Awareness is the single factor, which can transform our whole life. Awareness is about discovering the beautiful being we already are. In the light of awareness, everything that is authentic and real grows and expands - and everything that is false falls away by itself like dead leaves from a tree during the autumn.
Meditation also includes an accepting attitude. An accepting attitude means to learn to say "yes" to all that arises in our consciousness without evaluation and judgement. It means to include and embrace both the "yes" and the "no", both the light and the darkness and both the love and the fear, that we find within ourselves. An accepting attitude means to lovingly embrace everything we find within ourselves - like a mother embraces her child.
An accepting attitude means that the moment is perfect exactly as we find the moment within ourselves. An accepting attitude means to not have a desire or wish that the moment should be different than it is. It is to embrace the moment exactly as we find it within ourselves with a love and acceptance for how the moment is. This accepting attitude teaches us to love and accept ourselves as we are in the moment. This accepting attitude develops our inner being and creates a freedom and relaxation within ourselves.
A non-judgmental attitude means to learn to love the imperfect within ourselves. Normally we judge and evaluate our behavior, rather than simply be aware of our behavior. Since early we have been taught to judge ourselves, so that it is even easier to not judge others than ourselves. A non-judgmental attitude means to learn to say "yes" to and accept even that which we say "no" to and judge in ourselves.
This watchful awareness, accepting attitude and non-judgmental attitude leads to a deep sense of relaxation. It leads to a rest in ourselves together with a feeling that it is Ok to love and accept ourselves as we are. This relaxation makes us appreciate the beautiful being we already are. We can rest in that which is already perfect within ourselves.
Yes and no to life
Can you say something more about the "yes" and "no"-attitude towards life?Imagine life as a fast flowing river. In this flowing river we have two possibilities. We can either chose to swim upwards in opposition to the current of the river or we can simply chose to let go and allow ourselves to float with the river.
The first choice is a "no"-attitude towards life and the second choice is a "yes"-attitude towards life. The "no"-attitude means to relate to life through our ego, through our separate ideas, desires, ambitions and preconceived conceptions of how life should be. The "no"-attitude means that we separate ourselves from the continuos flow and change of life. The "no"-attitude is a defense and a separation from life.
When we did some practical exercises in a course about the "no"-attitude towards life, one of the participants exclaimed surprised: "This is exactly how I have always reacted to people and situations". She had not been aware before that this was her automatic way of reacting to life.
Our heart is the door to surrender to life. Our heart is the door to a "yes"-attitude to life. Our heart is the door to learn to say "yes" and to allow life to guide us. The "yes"-attitude means to relate to life through our inner being, through the meditative quality within, through the inner silence and emptiness, through the capacity to surrender to life. The inner being is an openness and availability to life.
The "yes"-attitude is a deep acceptance of the reality of the moment without any desire or wish that the moment should be different than it is. It is to move with life in a deep harmony without expecting life to fit with our ideas and expectations.
An awareness exercise we can use in every moment in life is to ask ourselves if we act out of a "yes-" or "no"-attitude both in relation to ourselves, in relation to other people, in relation to creativity and in relation to life itself.
Meditation, relationships and creativity
Can you say something more about the relationship between meditation, relationships and creativity?Meditation, relationships and creativity are the three lifeareas. These lifeareas describes the three areas in life, which creates a rich, creative and satisfying life when all three areas are developed and functions in balance and harmony. The three lifeareas also describes a balance between the inner and outer world, which simultaneously relates to and enrich each other.
The first lifearea is meditation, which is about creating a conscious relationship to oneself. This lifearea is about discovering the authentic inner being, the authentic self, the meditative quality within.
The second lifearea is relationships, which is about creating a conscious relationship to other people. The second lifearea is about learning to relate to other people from the inner being, from the authentic self. This lifearea is about learning to relate to other people in love, joy, trust, acceptance, friendship, playfulness, sincerity, truth, silence and freedom. It is about learning that relationships are not a chain, but an invitation to follow the silent whisperings of our heart. Often we can be when we are alone, but we reduce ourselves together with others. We have forgotten the true nature of love.
Our male and femine sides express themselves in the form of outer relationships. The second lifearea also includes developing and embracing both our male and female sides. It is then that the spark of love is lit naturally within ourselves.
The third lifearea is creativity, which is about finding and developing our inner talents, passions and gifts. The third lifearea is about learning to follow the silent whisperings of our heart in creativity. It is about expressing our love, joy, intelligence, silence and passion through creativity. This lifearea also includes the professional area through which we love to express our creativity and which gives us a deep feeling of joy, meaning and satisfaction. The third lifearea also includes the theme generating and attracting money with the basic understanding that Existence is abundance.
The criteria for how our meditation is growing in our life are that it begins to enrich both our relationships and our creativity. It also means that we develop a balance and harmony between all the three lifeareas. It is to understand that meditation is not a phenomenon, which is separate from life. It is when the meditative presence and quality begins to overflow from our inner being, from our inner lifesource, that we understand that meditation and life are not two separate things. It is then that we understand that meditation and life are one.
Follow Light on the PathSee also Galery Giten
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