How to lead
A Meditation
How To Lead a Meditation Group for Spiritual Growth - Kriya Yoga Retreat
Sharing buttons:
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
there are these three different kinds of
teachers and this brings me to the idea
of what is a meditation group what is a
meditation group gathering that is right
or healthy or supportive of
self-realization god-realization or more
specifically greater spiritual awareness
and the reason that I wanted to discuss
this is because number one you may have
meditation groups that you that you go
to or not number two I've had a few
people recently asked me how to lead a
meditation group and having had many
experiences in this field seeing what
works and seeing what doesn't work and
as I mentioned yesterday remembering
that mr. Davis gave me very specific
guidelines about how to run a meditation
group and that was probably what
fourteen years ago and at that time I
thought oh well you know he doesn't
really he's not serious it can't do it
that way and then 14 years later I
recognized that if the meditation group
is for self-realization spiritual
awareness what he advised is the way to
do it so I'm going to tell you the way
not to do it and then I'm going to tell
you the way to do it just in case if you
ever have the opportunity to lead a
group or if you have an opportunity to
participate in a group you can recognize
whether it's actually going to be
beneficial for you so the basics this is
it a meditation group where the people
come together quietly they show up they
sit down the leader of the group takes
them through maybe one or two techniques
if it's a guided meditation now the
people already know how to meditate then
you don't have to say anything you just
sit there they sit there you let them
meditate however they're inspired
but if they need guidance then you pick
one or two techniques say for example
from Kriya yoga continuing the lineage
of enlightenment or the book Kriya yoga
vichara there is chanting through the
chakras very basic breath awareness very
simple mantra you pick one or two of
those and once they sit down you
instruct them on how to do it alright
we're going to chant through the chakras
you can read how to do that and then you
say it out loud you take them through
the process once you've taken them
through the process you sit quietly you
meditate then maybe 10 to 15 minutes
later give them time to be in the
silence give them time to experience it
most meditation group should probably be
around 45 minutes to a half hour then
you say alright we're going to refresh
our practice with another technique then
maybe use simple mantra
now we're going to meditate on the
breath on the inhale we hear the mantra
the sound so resonating within us on the
exhale we hear hum resonating within us
and we let this be our anchor we let
this be our focus to sync our attention
in inward for the duration of our
meditation you might remind them one
more time how it's done and then sit
quietly you continue to do the process
personally don't worry about what
they're doing and then when the time
comes you can say let's chant ohm
audibly once and then encourage everyone
to leave silently that is the best way
to participate in the meditation group
to run a meditation group if you're
participating in group it doesn't have
to follow that exact guideline but the
key is that people show up silently they
meditate together they leave silently
yeah but I really want to get to know
these people they share similar
interests with me I would like to be
friends I need community if you need a
community go to it
Church if you need a community join a
club why do I say it like this because
when you get a group of people together
that are clear on their purpose and
their intention is to abide in the
radiant purity of their being or abide
in a pure conscious state and they mean
it and that's really what they want when
you get that group together and that
happens it is then true that the whole
group benefits it makes it much easier
for everyone to access that state if you
get a group together where one or two
people that's their goal and eight
people are nodding off they don't know
what they're doing they're worried about
something they're thinking about these
things I think well I hope there's tea
and coffee and you know
cookies afterwards well what happens
then you have a fragmented consciousness
right just like internally you want to
be aligned and in purposeful and and
focused well when you're in a group like
that you want everyone to be on the same
page because that will up that will
truly uplift the situation in the group
and if you think about it imagine when
you've been in not even meditation
groups just groups of people don't you
tend to actually start feeling and
thinking like the people that you're
around just subtly maybe you've been in
a group and you come away no well I feel
kind of anxious or a little tweaked in
some way because that's sort of the
mentality of the group but if you're
with a group of people that are calm
clear serene it is amazing what kind of
experience the whole group can have but
there has to be that same kind of
solidarity or have you ever been in a
meeting we are really trying to figure
out a problem and someone's over there
watching the game or someone's on their
phone they don't even care what do you
think that whatever like that that that
quality of of the group becomes
dispersed
so for self-realization and spiritual
awareness the individuals need to be
very clear on what that is about and if
they know we're not here to socialize
then that is why they will come you may
never find a group like that but that is
okay because you have it within yourself
when I first started teaching in
Nashville I don't know how many times I
would schedule meditation groups or
teaching sessions and I'm there just by
myself I don't know how many times I
would start something and you know the
initial who it's a Kriya yoga group this
is wonderful it's full and I do it just
like I said next time three people show
up those three people come back again
hoping I'm just kidding next time two
people show up but what I found is is
that by not worrying about that but as a
meditation group leader instructor just
Ange I'm just there from I'm just there
to hold the space and if no one shows up
I'm just meditating as I would at home
what I found was is if a dedicated
teacher can persist and hold that vision
and hold that that kind of focus in time
that group that was once 35 that went
down to three then down to two and maybe
just you for three weeks eventually
starts to one or two people come in to
think well this is really what I want
and then a few more people come in this
is what I'm looking for and then more
people come in so by holding that space
of this is what the purpose is this is
what we're doing you weed out all the
individuals that show up and say well
how many people come here that's the
question that they ask and that always
bothered me because you know they're not
coming there to learn meditation
they're coming there because they want a
community which please understand I
understand
I'm not saying that there's a problem
with whining community being involved in
unity helps you live longer it makes you
happier it allows you to feel more
joyous and sharing but the yogic path is
not about this world it's not about this
world when last week the idea came up
and it popped up again today as I was
eating breakfast and when I was thinking
about the meditation group idea you know
when people come in and they don't want
to they don't want to just be quiet but
that is the yogic path to be quiet and
you try to say no this is what we're
doing is well you know that group is
never going to go anywhere because
you're not being friendly it's not about
being friendly it's about releasing your
addiction to external circumstances when
people want a big group where there's
lots of people for the sake of there
being lots of people there or for having
a community they are still trying to
define their spirituality through others
when people are showing up and they know
we're holding the space together and
we're going to mutually benefit from
this deeper level beyond the personality
I don't care what Joe's doing afterwards
I don't care what's happening tomorrow I
know that this person is is is focused
on clarity I am focused on clarity we're
going to meet there and that will
amplify it and then afterwards we go our
separate ways into our roles in the
world whatever they are that starts to
do what the yogic path is meant to do
which is break down even further that
addiction to personality to break down
that addiction to feeling a sense of
contentment and clarity without the
world's support do you follow what I'm
saying okay so for you while I
personally recommend that you simply
meditate alone on your own in the same
way that mr. Davis spoke about in the
the video that we watched last night if
there are groups to participate in this
is how I would advise that you determine
if it is a group worth participating in
maybe you go to the group and it's a
mostly silent group and you think this
is it
but then you recognize that half the
people are snoring that is another key
indicator that they are not there
they're taking a nap it's not a nap
group it's not nap time and if you
yourself are inspired to support this
work in your own community not because
you want to be seen as a meditation
teacher not because you think you're
going to change anyone's lives not
because you want to get involved in a
group but because it deep down you feel
it is necessary to provide space for
people everything i've done with with
with teaching and doing online trainings
and things it is because it's hard to
explain
but there's a sense of responsibility
that someone has to do it that's what it
feels like that is why you know after
mr. Davis passed even though I discussed
with him about letting go of astrology
and focusing primarily on meditation
when he passed all of the sudden there
is this gravity that all right well now
we have to do this he's not around
anymore and can inform so now it's up to
us to continue this lineage of
enlightenment in the world and so it's
about a sense of duty and by duty I
don't mean like a heavy responsibility
like oh I mean I've got to pay my child
support not like that
I mean just a sense of yeah this is this
is what this is this needs to be here
somehow you understand if you are not
inspired to have to be any kind of
meditation leader or teacher that's also
perfectly fine because not everyone has
that role and you should never force
yourself into that role just because you
think it's gonna save the world or it's
the right thing to do
the people who know that is their role
just do it
they don't doubt it they don't
deliberate on it they don't have any
other idea it just is what happens but
your role then is to simply embody this
clarity within your life on your own
because that will go into the world and
that will benefit the people around you
silently it will be like a silent
blessing and that that helps to uplift
and change consciousness on a impersonal
level on an impersonal level there's a
reason that over the last hundred years
you can say hey do you know what
meditation is and probably 80% of the
people in the world I'm going to guess
that's probably an exaggeration but a
lot more than there used to be well know
what it is
whereas 100 years ago if you brought
that up they might look it up in the
dictionary but they don't they didn't
have a sense of what it was it's because
there are more and more people who are
doing it on their own which allows the
impersonal consciousness it allows them
to kind of pop through easier when
someone does finally develop an interest
in it so you doing your own little work
what you consider to be a little work is
actually pretty big but it's impersonal
you always got to think about as though
it's impersonal
so remember there are these three
different kinds of teachers and to
benefit you can benefit from someone who
has instruction who gives instruction
you can benefit from someone who reminds
you and in time you can benefit from
someone who simply awakens you
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
you
