1. Towards fulfillment. Mediation initiates the process of change as if you have planted a seed of change within yourself. Like any seed it needs nurturing and time frame to grow. Meditation brings self awareness to all areas of life, and the choices for your needs, abilities and qualities to support your personal development will be become different. This personal fulfillment brings satisfaction and a sense of purpose in life. Visualize sitting beside a water pool covered with lotus flowers. Some are in bud, some are just opening. Which one are you? You will notice the transformation. In India, Lotus bloom represents spiritual flowering, its different petals represent the unfolding of your inner qualities, human potential and aspirations.
2. You are what you eat. Your choice of food reflects your values of life. Once these choices are modified, you will eat with more awareness modifying your life values. You can question like:
a. What you can learn from the choices you have currently made about food?
b. Has your food been procured in a way that is harmful to the animals or the environment?
c. Do you choose over sugary or fatty foods, tobacco, cigarettes, drugs or alcohol that may be harmful to you?
Your eating habits will change and your mission of life too will change bringing in freedom from eating and drinking habits as you evaluate the result of each decision you make about them.
3. You are what you think. Be aware of the power of your mind. It is a powerhouse of ideas, for failure or success. Remember, "Energy follows thoughts". Stubborn and habitual patterns of negative thinking can make you less efficient and mould your life out of shape. Ask yourself, what kind of thoughts fill your mind? Meditate, switch on your awareness and break the mould. Even long standing patterns can be changed. Change is vital and essential.
4. Positive Choices. The test of being truly alive is making fundamental choices. But a big decision may be difficult when options are similar. Think in the state of meditation, and let your intuition and intellect decide rather than your emotions. Use meditation to choose. Regular meditation may change your goals and their fulfillment. Your decisions will reflect new dimensions. Constructive life choices contribute to your spiritual growth, emotional wellbeing and physical energy levels. Make choices to minimize stress, and create more time to pursue your own interests as well.
5. All Universal Beings have a purpose. Human life is just one miniscule thread in a much greater universe. The plants, vegetation and also animal life interconnect to create a living ecosystem. Eating and exploitation of animals for profit has led to a great deal of damage to the ecosystem. Many spiritual traditions teach compassion and respect for all life, as all life has its own purpose. Choose an animal, butterfly or a bird and meditate on its life. Try considering the value that is insignificant to you.
6. Finding connections in the natural world. Through meditation you find a real sense of connectedness with the world. Develop on this idea when you meditate, reflect on many people who invisibly touch your life in many ways. Like bees on a hive, everyone has something to contribute to the greater whole. Think of the people who are helped directly or indirectly by your work. Reflect on how others help you in both these ways. Be aware of all the goodies that come to you. Every time you make a cup of tea, eat an orange, or wear cotton or silk, you benefit from this interdependence.
7. The Power of Now. Living Now is unlike living today. Living in Now is living fully every moment, but with the lively awareness of the continuity between the past, present and future. Make "time-factor" as your associate. Plant the seeds of the future in the NOW, the present, as per your aspirations. If you wait for tomorrow to start something new, you may never do it. Do it Now. The future is yours only when it has become the present, so try to let every moment of your life to be mindful in now.
8. Each moment matters: You can start living consciously right this moment. Tomorrow never comes. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. In India and to Buddhists Mahakala, the demon reminds of the passing of time. Who can stand against him? Don't try to waste time by dwelling on what is past or trying to imagine your life in the future. Do you feel that months and years go by with no real sense of purpose or achievement? Bring your awareness back to living in the present. Mahakala, is depicted as a demon. Your past or your future commitments can easily rule your life, if only allowed. Visualize time differently; it affords you many opportunities in the present.
9. Welcome new Ideas. During your journey in meditation, you will encounter many new ideas unknown to you, some thousands of years old. These have stood the test of time and served generations of seekers well. Consider what kind of person you wish to become? Be open and receptive to new thoughts and ideas and many other ways of looking at the world. View information through insight. Try to develop both intellect and intuition. Read widely, think deeply, and retain your sense of discrimination. The practice of meditation has survived centuries of change.
10. Question yourself. As meditation becomes part of your everyday life, ask yourself if your personal values and aims of life have become clearer. It is all too easy to be carried along by other people's values and goals. Your regular meditation practice will help you to identify what is important for you. But if you are unable to identify long-term aspirations, get into the habit of asking yourself what is really important for you, on a daily basis. This will keep you focused.
11. Change yourself and Change the world. Meditation produces change. As you change, so the world is changed. Although you might think that you personally make little difference to the wider world. But when many people think in the same life-affirming way, positive results always take place. Countless people worldwide regularly practice meditation of some kind, and you are not alone in your interest but one of this alliance. You must join a class with a realized person to pursue your future.
12. Visualizing the Big Picture. During your meditations you may see a lot many past life associates of yours and Guru. Like-minded people join together to express their hope and shared commitment. Meditate visualizing globe or universe in your activated divine eye, and think of the worldwide community of mediators. You will see the globe in a network of multiple lights. This is the BIG PICTURE. Meditation brings the light inward, into your life. Mental clarity, insight, mindful actions, awareness in every moment illuminates all areas of your daily life and relationships.
13. Meditations and Enlightenment. Enlightenment is an experience that can happen as a result of meditation. It is as if you are suddenly awake. Meditation can create a breakthrough in the way you see everything and achieve in your life. Many a times it is a very dramatic and special moment, "The Divine Light" of one or many types going on in your divine eye, depicting new dimensions in life. With the help of your Guru, there will be revelation; new ideas and breakthroughs will happen all the time. Every time you discover something new, you bring light into your life. Life changes from the first day. Once you meditate on a regular basis, from the first day, you will always be moving towards enlightenment.