The Meditation Book – 222 guided exercises…

…suitable for both beginners and advanced seekers who wish to explore the world of meditation

Why do we meditate?

Meditation is absolutely necessary for those who want to have a better and more fulfilling life. If you feel that you are satisfied with what you have and what you are, then you need not enter into the field of meditation. But if you feel that there is a barren desert deep inside your heart, then I wish to say that meditation is the answer. Meditation will give you inner joy and peace of mind. Meditation will never take you away from your parents, from your children, from your family. Far from it. Only it will strengthen your connection with your dear ones, because inside them you will see the very existence of God.

If you wish to develop your talents or increase your capacity in any field, then I wish to say that it is obligatory to follow some inner discipline. If you are a singer but you wish to sing infinitely better, if you aspire, I tell you, your voice will become far better. There is nothing on earth that cannot be improved through spirituality and meditation.

If you want to simplify your life, meditation is the answer. If you want to fulfil your life, meditation is the answer. If you want to have joy and offer joy to the world at large, then meditation is the only answer.

If you meditate to forget your suffering or to forget your difficulties, then you are not meditating for the right reason. But if you are meditating only to please God and fulfil God in His own way, then your meditation is correct. When God is pleased, and God is fulfilled in your meditation, then it is God’s business to take away your sufferings and difficulties. But if you meditate to escape from the world or to challenge the world and stand against the world, then you are doing the wrong thing.

Meditation is your conscious capacity that you have to utilise every day and every second to enter into your highest divinity, where the finite is completely lost in the Infinite. The finite existence which you have and which you are, can easily be lost in the infinite and become totally one with the infinite if you meditate. This is what meditation is and what meditation can do for you.

– Sri Chinmoy

222 Meditation Techniques offers a very broad selection of meditation exercises, recognising a widening focus on meditation and mindfulness.

Great source of techniques for:

  • meditation teachers
  • yoga and Pilates instructors
  • wellbeing coaches
  • everyone interested in practicing concentration, meditation and contemplation

This Everyman’s guide to meditation contains 222 exercises, among them:

  • breathing exercises
  • guided meditations
  • the use of mantras
  • special exercises for runners, artists and musicians
  • ways to overcome depression, stress and bad habits, and even losing weight
  • and many others

Selected exercises from 222 Meditation Techniques

The vastness of the ocean

Imagine something very vast, calm and quiet. When you start meditating, feel that inside you is a vast ocean and that you have dived to the bottom, where it is all tranquility. If you can identify yourself with this vast ocean, with this flood of tranquility, then it will be extremely easy for you to meditate.

Rest and sleep

There is a yogic method of getting rest. In one second you can take the rest of fifteen minutes, half an hour or even more. How can you get that kind of rest? When you go to sleep at night, feel that your whole body from head to foot has become a sea of peace. You have become peace itself. Consciously try to feel that you are not the body, but an infinite expanse of peace. When you can consciously feel this peace, you will see that your physical body has merged with it and totally disappeared in the sea of peace. If you can do this exercise effectively, you will need very little sleep.

Breathe in peace, breathe out restlessness

Each time you breathe in, try to feel that you are bringing into your body peace, infinite peace. The opposite of peace is restlessness. When you breathe out, try to feel that you are expelling the restlessness within you and also the restlessness that you see all around you. When you breathe this way, you will find restlessness leaving you.

Breathe with other runners

(Keeping enthusiasm for long distance runners) Another secret way, if you are running long distance, is to identify yourself with ten or even twenty runners who are ahead of you. Only imagine the way theyare breathing in and breathing out. Then, while you are inhaling, feel that you are breathing in their own breath and that the energy of the twenty runners is entering into you. Then, while you are exhaling, feel that all twenty runners are breathing out your tiredness and lack of enthusiasm… The energy, which you will receive, which is nothing but enthusiasm, will let you go ten steps forward.

222 Meditation Techniques in media

We had some media attention for our book and were featured in several yoga magazines. Here are some of the mentions we were particularly happy about.

November / December 2016

September / October 2016

September 2016

You should also make sure that you set up your yoga room nicely. You can place different things in it, but it should not be crowded. A few nice pillows, a blanket and some candles work wonders. You can also work with fragrance.

Above all, light is also important to create a nice atmosphere. So take a good look at the room and try out what you can put in it. There are also so-called „Salzlampen“, which not only produce pleasant light, but also have a healing effect. Once you have your yoga room set up nicely, you’ll find that your exercises are much easier and more relaxing. Because when the environment is right, the body can also relax.

About the author

Sri Chinmoy, a prolific writer, poet, artist and internationally renowned spiritual leader, is recognized throughout the world as one of the foremost meditation teachers of the modern era. For 37 years he was the director of the non-denominational Peace Meditations at the United Nations in New York, and he wrote and lectured extensively on spirituality and meditation.

Sri Chinmoy’s work has inspired spiritual growth, resilience and well-being. His is a voice of reason we all must heed.

Nelson Mandela

I am so pleased with all the good work Sri Chinmoy is doing for world peace and for people in so many countries.

Mother Teresa

Sri Chinmoy enriched the lives of countless others. His legacy of kindness, reflection, and resolve will endure for many years to come.

Bill Clinton