Turning Inward
   Even those of us who’ve had no personal experience with meditation can at least conjure up a mental image of what a meditator looks and like. Possibly, that image is of a rather kooky person sitting  bolt-upright on the floor, petrified in a weird pretzel-legged position, lost in some kind of trance or chanting an eerie pagan tune, oblivious to everyone and everything around. It’s true that meditation does involve some tactics which at first glance may seem absurd or meaningless; even experienced meditators often do not appreciate the full significance of the techniques which they themselves employ. As we examine the mechanics of meditation in this section, we will discover that the practices which Yoga recommends are neither bizarre nor arbitrary, but based upon solid practicality.
   Over the past several-thousand years, countless writers and teachers have elaborated upon the terse instructions laid down by ancient Rishis. Rather than improving upon these already perfect yogic precepts, however, the endless embellishments have only served to obscure the firm practical foundation upon which Yoga is built. This is why the beginning meditator today is often faced with a hodgepodge of contradictory information regarding the correct method of practice.
   To eliminate this problem, we need merely get back to basics. In the brief sections which follow, we will emphasize only those aspects of meditative technique which are essential, explaining exactly why Yoga recommends them. Once we understand the solid practicality behind the yogic precepts, we will then know how to apply them creatively to our own practice for maximum benefit according to our specific needs.

The Golden Rule of Yoga
   Yoga is a science. As such, its researchers are expected to examine its merits with a genuinely scientific attitude, meaning that we should be neither so gullible that we believe with blind faith everything we’re told, nor so close-minded that we automatically reject ideas which seem new or unusual.
   The Golden Rule of Yoga is this: Use Your Discrimination. In applying this rule to the technical aspects of meditation, we must understand that there is never just one right way to fulfill a condition recommended by Yoga; the bright way” is simply the one that works best for us, and it may change from time to time as our practice progresses. The Rishis advise us to never do anything which seems wrong to us, and to always try to accomplish the most with the least amount of effort.

The Inner World
   When we enter a dark movie theater on a sunny day, for the first few minutes our eyes are so accustomed to the bright light outside that we cannot even discern which seats are occupied and which are vacant. Learning to perceive the Self is a bit like this, because our inner realm is very subtle compared to the solid physical world we’re used to dealing with each day. When we begin to turn our awareness inward, some time and patience are required until our senses make the necessary adjustment.
   Just as our outer world is easier to perceive than our inner world, the physical and mental aspects of our being are easier to experience than those which lie deeper. So, when we first begin to practice self-awareness, we might well be led to falsely assume that there is nothing more to us than just our body and mind. In ordinary states of consciousness, our self-awareness is mostly limited to our body and mind because their normal state is agitation, neither can keep still for very long, and their constant activity easily draws our attention away from the deeper, more quiet part of us. This incessant fidgeting becomes a great distraction when we attempt to experience that which lies beyond our body and mind.
   In the initial stages of meditation practice, our primary goal is minimize these distractions. Technically speaking, meditation is simply the process of learning to do nothing at all—to completely still both body and mind—so that the Self can be directly perceived. Each and every meditative practice is designed specifically to aid us in this endeavor.