There are two ways of disciplining a dog. One way is difficult, the other easy. Run after the dog, try to catch it and then tie it down at the door - this is one way of controlling the dog. Do not run after it, do not try to catch it, do not try to tie it at the door; rather, leave the dog quite free to go anywhere it wants, only put some food outside the door, just what the dog likes to eat. The dog will be found always at the door and as often as you wish.
—Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
In our practice of Vedic Meditation, we favor the easy way.
We don’t focus, concentrate, or strain in any way to discipline the mind. To do so would be like chasing after a dog, and it would prevent the mind from resting, which would prevent the body from resting, which would prevent it from releasing stress, which is the whole point.
Instead, we simply allow space for the mantra to enter our awareness on its own. Having been prescribed by a teacher to be uniquely resonant with our psycho-physiology, the mind is naturally attracted by sound vibration of the mantra in the same way the dog is attracted by the food outside the door; it’s attracted by fields of greater happiness.
Outside our practice, we favor the easy way there too.
When we find ourselves straining, chances are very good that the object of our strain is not meant for us.
As I’ve described in previous letters like knowing what to do in any situation or struggling against the universe, Nature’s infinite intelligence makes that which is most evolutionary for us not only charming to us, but frictionless for us. When we move with charm, events tend to unfold our way, and things seem to just work out, even sometimes inexplicably.
Here, we are the dog, charm is the delicious meal, and Nature is the protagonist. Like the dog, we move toward fields of greater happiness.
And the more we meditate, the more attuned we are to our inner charm compass.
In the way our lives intersect with others’, we favor the easy way there too.
The more we meditate, and the more attuned we get to the charm compass, the more skillful we become in our relationships.
It can be difficult to resist trying to change or manipulate those around us into behaving how we feel they should, especially as we’re expanding our own consciousness and seeing the world more clearly. Our intellect has been conditioned over a lifetime to believe we can use it to get people to do what we want—and quite often, it has worked, at least in the short term.
But trying to control the world is a wonderful recipe for stress incursion, and insomnia—because eventually, we have to go to sleep. And then who will take over the reigns of the puppet strings we’ve attempted to attach to everyone around us? What if one of them should get up to doing something we don’t approve of? How could we ever sleep?
In the same way the food moves the dog toward the door simply by being delicious, and our mantra moves the mind effortlessly inward beyond thought simply by being more charming than thought, and Nature moves us effortlessly toward that which is right for us by making it most charming, we can inspire those around us instead of attempting to control them simply by being our bright shiny best selves, thereby offering them a glimpse of “greater happiness” that’s possible for them and waiting for them to ask how we manage to do it so effortlessly—at which point, they’ll be eating out of our hands.
Let’s discuss these and other ideas during Collective Effervescence, our online group meditation series, this Sunday February 25 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET / 6PM CET. Drop in for meditation only (first 30 min) or stay for discussion + Q&A on this and other life topics from the Vedic perspective. Join the WhatsApp group to receive reminders 24 hours before each session, or use the below links to have all upcoming dates automatically sync to your calendar.
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Music today is Black Dog by former Weeknd cohort Black Atlass.