How life has changed in minutes, it's unimaginable.

When the earthquake hit, I was working at The Lotus-Heart in Cathedral Square, we were having a very busy lunch rush and had a full house. Fortunately nobody on-site was hurt. The experience of the earthquake, my own story is written below, really showed me how fleeting and fragile life is, and how impermanent and transitory our outer possessions are. I personally feel resolved to discover life's true purpose and the secrets of everlasting happiness - which cannot be turned into the rubble as my home has! I truly belive that the ancient, yet timeless practise of meditation is the most powerful way to do that and also to help with worries and anxieties at this difficult time.

My earth-bound life Is fleeting.
But inside me is another life - My Heaven-free life -
And that Heaven-free life Is immortal.
~Sri Chinmoy

I run to exercise my physical
And meditate to tone my spiritual.
I run on hills, paths and beaches,
Meditating there too, but usually seated.
I run and see new faces, places
And meditate enjoying inner races.
I run with friends and sometimes alone
And meditate with bliss, reaped and sown.
I run for a time and distance goal
And meditate for the destination of my soul.

Inside Himalayan Caves,

Over monestry walls,

Across the hill tops of Tibet,

One can hear those syllables.

In the quaint street of Salisbury,

Down a conservative lane,

Those mantric sounds too,

Could be heard all the same.

Susan had sat apon her cushion,

Rearranged herself again,

Stilling the mind for meditation

Was difficult to attain.

Remembering that mantras,

Were an ancient technique.

In the corner of her bedroom,

Released the power of speech.

I have just returned from Bangladesh, what an incredible experience!

Reading is really beneficial to meditation especially if you sit down to meditate and your mind is reeling from the events of the day. By reading inspirational books, it settles the thoughts and puts you into more of a meditative space.

There is a wealth of inspirational literature available these days; from biographies of Spiritual Masters, positive affirmations and of course my own meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy's writtings, who has written over 2000 books! Books on poetry, prose, stories, anecdotes and more.

Aspiration-Ground began as Sri Chinmoy's tennis court, surrounded by bleachers, near his home in Queens, New York. Through the years, however it has evolved into a sacred ground, used by thousands of Sri Chinmoy's students and friends, to pray and meditate.

'Twas once a tennis court of clay
Where footsteps could be traced,
'Tis now where aspirants come to pray
And court markings since erased...

This year I spent the summer in New York on what almost one could almost call a modern day pilgramage and resolved to keep a Haiku dairy, which I must admit was harder than I realised! This is what I started with...

I've got writers block
It's too heavy to build with
I will chizel it

'Tis not the case for all,

But I know it is for me.

The dryness of life was painful

Without spirituality.

Around everything seemed transient,

So I began to seek

And to make sense of it all

With different groups I began to meet.

I was fourteen years old

When I started to meditate

And with Sri Chinmoy's philosophy

I could relate.

What had been missing in my life

Was such a simple thing

Peace, divine love, truth, light.

All qualities that were already within.

When I Meditate

When I meditate
I want to levitate
But sadly to my cushion I gravitate
Although not to say I still do not celebrate
As meditation allows for other capacities to cultivate…

Why I Meditate

Proven from ancient time from date
Negative emotions erode and eliminate
Stress and tensions crumble and degenerate
By meditating, peace one starts to emulate

How I Meditate

Vigilantly I begin to concentrate

At 5:15 in the morning
My alarm begins to ring,
Although a little groggy
I feel a beckoning within.
 
I glance out my window,
Darkness presses on the panes,
My bed feels soft and warm
But I get up all the same.

Blurry eyed I grab my towel
Down the passage to the shower,
Then sit in front of my shrine
Adorned with candle, picture, flower.

I sit with my back up straight
And start to breathe in peace
And with my first inhalation
Anxieties release.<