8 Limbs: Limb 7: Dhyana

“To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.” ~Lau Tzu

Dhyana is the effect from (a dedicated practice) of concentrated focus (dharana) that leads us to meditation without attachment. Dhyana is effortless focus, like walking down the street but in a way that nothing, absolutley nothing, has an effect on you because you are the “flow”, a state of pure perception and inner peace. Dhyana is part of the progressive states of meditation that leads us to samadhai (illumination) as these limbs all move more and more inward and rely on our own personal responsibility to work on and achieve. Nobody is going to know what your internal state is and that is the beauty of how the limbs speak to us on a personal level as we progress towards deeper states of being.

Consider this: It is said that we have around 60,000 thoughts every day and about 59,000 of them are the same as we had yesterday. The mind is so powerful that it can create throughts, vrittis, that dissolve in an instant, or whirlpools and fluctuations that cut deeper grooves in our phyche. All of our thoughts, good or bad, are made of the same stuff. We are an ocean of energy and thoughts. People suffer because they believe the same (recycled) ideas. When the mind is clear, life is simple and flows freely.

Meditation is a tool, not a goal and definitely not the final destinatino. The act of meditation is more powerful than the thoughts that arise. Intention to sit is more potent than the outcome. Thank yourself for showing up today and being present for yourself.