As a lifelong meditator, I love to hear people’s experiences of how meditation has helped them. Here are a few such stories which, taken together, show a broad spectrum of benefits that meditation can bring.

The spiritual path can sometimes seem like an endless struggle up a steep cliff, with little to show for our efforts along the way. But the ability to find the strength to keep going is what separates the dilettante devotee from the true seeker. Deep commitment is the secret to drawing God’s presence into our life.

The spiritual path can sometimes seem like an endless struggle up a steep cliff, with little to show for our efforts along the way. But the ability to find the strength to keep going is what separates the dilettante devotee from the true seeker. Deep commitment is the secret to drawing God’s presence into our life.

Ananda has a dear friend, Sri D. R. Kaarthikeyan. Swami Kriyananda considered him to be “my Indian brother” and, indeed, their camaraderie made them seem like two brothers. Kaarthikeyanji is a pivotal member of the Board of Directors of not only Ananda in India, but many other spiritual and humanitarian organizations as well. One of the ways this compassionate soul helps mankind is to send out inspiring and uplifting material to his vast mailing list. Here is an inspiring piece we received from him last week.

Why is it that people can feel so close and trusting with a stranger? There are several factors at play. First, as I mentioned about our Australian friend, his expansive heart quality touches people on some level. Through the practice of meditation and devotion, we naturally begin to project our love to everyone and everything around us. Others sense this love, and although it isn’t directed towards them personally, they are drawn to it.

It was near the end of a long race. The spectators in the stadium rose to their feet as the two leaders entered, the Kenyan slightly ahead of the young man from the Netherlands. Mistakenly thinking that he had finished, the Kenyan stopped a few yards from the finish line. Instead of racing past him, the Dutchman stopped and shouted that there were still a few more steps to go. The Kenyan was still confused, so the Hollander pushed him across the finish line.

Our life’s experiences, with all their joys and sorrows, mesmerize us with a sense of their undeniable reality. Yet, in truth, everything is only a thought in the mind of God. Paramhansa Yogananda (who related the story above) explains it this way: “This world seems real to you only because God dreamed you into existence along with His cosmic dream. You are a part of His dream. If, at night, you dream that you bump your head against a wall, you may get an imaginary pain in your head. The moment you awake, however, you realize that there was no wall there to hurt you. The pain you experienced was in your mind, but not in your head!

A common problem is carving out time for meditation. This challenge isn’t exclusive to novices—even seasoned meditators can find it tough to dedicate as much time as they would like.

As I write this blog, it’s a few days before the anniversary of Swami Kriyananda’s birth—May 19, 1926. To honor his life, I felt to write him a personal letter of appreciation (that I’m sharing with you as well).

Often we live locked up in self-focused goals and desires. Yet, as we depart from this incarnation, goals must be relinquished and desires discarded. Those desires we fail to abandon will inevitably pull us back into another incarnation, and another, and another. The solution is disarmingly simple: Expand our heart’s energy by directing it toward God and the benefit of others.