I'm chanting and we start off with saying who am I.
When we practice raj yoga meditation we're pointed in the direction of our true self.
I am actually energy that moves this body around.
I'm energy that thinks and coordinates the entire body system and it happens automatically.
We forget how it is that everything's coordinated and we begin to identify with our physical image and we think this is who I am but this is a shell.
This is here to host the energy.
The energy is in the center of the forehead and there comes a time when we become sad,
Worried,
Tired,
Fearful,
Not as strong as we were and we look for everything outside to put that right and up to a point yes it works a little bit but only a little bit.
I cannot be truly reassured.
I can only be reassured when I find out who I am.
The soul,
The point of light,
The energy here in the center of my forehead and within the energy there is all my quality.
But because of not remembering who I am I have forgotten my qualities and I'm using only physical qualities and physical qualities are not as powerful and gradually my physical qualities become weaker and weaker due to different circumstances,
Ill health,
Worry,
Stress,
Whatever,
Age.
All of these circumstances tell me that I'm weaker.
I believe it because it's the rule of the physical world so we believe it.
But when I start to look at the qualities of the self within the self that are forever and eternal and powerful and strong and real and they belong to me so when I practice meditation and I hear all the different qualities that belong to me sometimes we can think oh I don't know because we've not been used to using those qualities for a long long time.
So in meditation we're told that we're strong,
We're powerful,
We have courage,
We have determination,
We have loads of enthusiasm,
We have love and kindness and so who am I?
The essential first step on the path of Raja Yoga is to realize who and what I am and I am the one who sees through these eyes,
Hears through these ears and I'm the one who directs this body to move and so when I begin to understand all that I can observe the results of my actions before realizing I was the energy.
We had a habit to blame everything round about us for our actions.
They made me upset,
They made me do this,
They were not kind to me or whatever and we developed a habit of finding blame.
Oh the weather was dreadful or this happened or that happened or I had no money or I lost my job so all these things we would blame for feeling down and of course you would feel down if a lot of these things happened but when you know you're the energy you go don't go there just everything's fine just keep yourself buoyant don't go down don't let your energy go down keep your energy high so we begin to know that we have a choice so I use this body to experience the changing world I the energy here have awareness of what's going on around me but the physical body doesn't have awareness.
I can prompt this body now that I know that I'm the energy that makes the body move my body and I are separate energies we didn't know this before at first it can take a little bit of thinking about I'm not this face and I'm not this name I'm not made up of matter the body is matter this body is not me but I perform actions and experience through this body I am a spiritual being and I am I am energy in the center of this forehead I am the soul I'm a being of pure energy who thinks and knows who understands what's going on around them after we understand who we are and tune into the energy I feel detached from this physical body before we were like hanging on to the physical body like anything totally totally worried and totally attached but I used to use the body in fact when I become detached the body gets relaxed and it's going to be healthier if I'm detached than if I'm holding on and forcing things to happen but when I know that I'm not the body the body relaxes and it's better for the body so I feel detached from this physical body and an experience of stillness and silence is experienced by me the soul the one who thinks the one who has all my courage and strength and power within body doesn't have that the body just supports me but because I this soul had began to think I was this body I couldn't use my own real energy and therefore whatever complications happened to the body would affect me I'd feel sad I'd feel weak I'd feel tired I'd feel angry I'd feel uncomfortable all sorts of physical habits would begin to grow within me which made me weak because it wasn't the truth so the truth is I am the energy I have all my qualities within me so now I begin to think in that different way a soul a point of living life energy a soul first thing to practice is stillness and peace in your meditation and silence because these are your foundation these are your strengths all your energy comes from peace peace is everything courage happiness lightness friendliness joy laughter kindness determination it's all in the energy of peace so to start with we should practice over and over and over again I am peaceful remembering taking just a minute I sit quietly and reflect on who I am who I really am I begin to remember begin to feel the original goodness and intrinsic positivity that somehow had been forgotten in the quietness remembering this original spiritual selfhood peace and respect begin to flow feeling restored feeling restored rejuvenated I return recharged to the outer world of sound and action a clear mind taking just a minute I turn my attention inwards I silently observe my thoughts each thought a ripple on the surface of a lake I gently remind myself I am like that deep tranquil lake as my mind touches tranquility I allow calmness to wash over me clearing the mind clearing the mind returning me to my true peaceful nature I allow peace to flow into my actions
