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When you're
short on time, cut down on the length of meditation, rather than
skipping it altogether. Go for quality rather than quantity. Learn
to manage your time a little more wisely. Remember that if you meditate
your energy and concentration powers grow, and you will use all
your time more efficiently.
It also helps
to be creative in finding times and places to meditate. A father
of three young boys told me that it is impossible for him to meditate
once he gets home from work, because his sons are so excited to
see him. His solution was to park his car a block from his house,
and meditate there.
We do what we
want to do. If you are having difficulty finding time to meditate,
it isn't yet a high enough priority for you. Remind yourself why
meditation is so essential by recalling the times when it has transformed
your life. Even a few minutes a day can have a tremendous impact.
A married couple once told me that before they started meditating,
their evenings were somewhat negative, because they were in the
habit of coming home from work and complaining about their day.
Now, with meditation, their evenings were radically different. Even
their 5-minute pre-dinner meditations were enough to dramatically
shift their energy, out of problem-consciousness, to a more positive
and loving approach to life. They said their evenings were now a
joy.
Yogananda said
that the more we meditate, the more we'll want to meditate. Often
we just have to get ourselves started, and in a flow. If it is late
at night, and your regular meditation routine seems like too much
to do, select something from your practice you want to do, and say
to yourself, "I'll just do this." Then do it! You'll often
find, however, that once you begin, you'll want to do more.
Our quality
of life depends on the quality of our awareness, because our outer
lives are a reflection of our consciousness. The more we realize
this, the more we will make time for meditation.
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