| When creating a meditation practice, you need to | | | | clean, pure place for meditation. Carve out a small |
| make space for it both temporally and spatially. | | | | corner of your bedroom; convert an underused |
| Most of the information that I provide about | | | | closet into a meditation cave. We have done both |
| meditation comes from the philosophy and culture | | | | in our home (and currently we have three |
| of Siddha Yoga Meditation, most particularly the | | | | meditation spaces); they can all work equally well. |
| scriptural traditions of non-dual Vedanta and | | | | Whatever space you choose, make sure it is |
| Kashmir Shaivism. My knowledge and advice | | | | cleaned first, and if possible, make it a quiet space |
| therefore are not based on Buddhist meditation; in | | | | removed from the flow of household traffic. |
| fact, I know very little about Buddhist meditation, | | | | Again thinking back to my earlier example, for |
| but I would venture to guess that there is some | | | | several years, my meditation "space" used to be |
| overlap. I recognize that there is not much new | | | | the rocking chair where I nursed my children to |
| to share on the subject of meditation, a custom | | | | sleep. |
| that is thousands and thousands of years old, | | | | To further enhance your meditation space, you |
| other than to put it in terms of my own lived | | | | can use a woolen or cotton blanket as a |
| experience. I hope this may be helpful for others | | | | meditation asana and a woolen, cotton, or silk |
| who need practical ideas of how to implement a | | | | shawl for a meditation shawl. In Sanskrit, the |
| new meditation practice or invigorate an old one. | | | | word asana translate as "comfortable seat" and |
| In the realm of time, I find that it is best to | | | | refers not only to the meditation cushion used to |
| simply schedule time for your meditation, just like | | | | sit on during meditation but also to the postures |
| you would your daily intake of vitamins or your | | | | or exercises of hatha yoga often used before |
| evening meal. Set a time for it each day, mark it | | | | meditation to open the body and prepare it to sit |
| on your calendar or Smartphone and stick to it. A | | | | for meditation. Try to use only natural materials. |
| few years ago, when I had two small children at | | | | These items will accumulate the power of your |
| home, one of whom I was nursing, I found that | | | | meditation over time and they also serve a |
| the best time to "schedule" my meditation was to | | | | reminder to the mind, when you take them out |
| do it each night as I nursed my daughter (and | | | | that "yeah! It is time to meditate!" This energy will |
| previously my son) to sleep. My meditation might | | | | enable you to enter meditation more easily with |
| consist of approximately three minutes of mantra | | | | each successive day. |
| repetition as we both dozed off to sleep, but that | | | | Finally, make your place a sacred space. Create a |
| was good enough. | | | | small altar using a coffee table or a covered |
| During that period of my life, that routine is what | | | | crate. In our house, one altar uses my parent's |
| was available to offer myself. Now that both of | | | | old coffee table from the 1970s, another uses |
| my children are in school and I am home in the | | | | small wooden crates, and the other uses a |
| mornings, I find that I can start my day with | | | | Rubbermaid storage bin. Each of them is covered |
| meditation, after I walk them up to school, and I | | | | with silk cloths that we have gathered over the |
| can sit for 30-40 minutes each day. Whatever | | | | years, so you cannot even see the table |
| works for you at this time in your life is what is | | | | underneath. All you notice is the striking material. |
| appropriate for you right now; you can alter your | | | | You can set up a little altar for yourself with any |
| schedule as your life adjusts. The important thing | | | | items that bring beauty to your space and inspire |
| to remember is that the benefits accrue from | | | | you: candles, photos, rocks, gemstones, figurines. |
| the repetition of the meditation practice and the | | | | Create an auspicious time and place for your |
| development of your commitment to it over | | | | meditation practice to flourish and grow. Watch as |
| time. | | | | your life begins to mirror the beautiful space you |
| In the realm of space, it is essential to set aside a | | | | have created! |