Learn to meditate with the Meditation Society of Australia


Learn To Meditate - Meditation Podcast
This beginners meditation course features a variety of meditation techniques including mantra, meditating with the breath and music, concentration and meditation on a object. Each class includes a discussion topic and a guided meditation exercise. The Meditation Society of Australia (http://meditation.org.au) has no religious, political or financial affiliations, it is a community organisation designed to help people meditate.

Meditation - the new common sense
27 Sep 2006 at 3:00pm
Most people find that after some time, the benefits of meditation are revealed in their life, even before they fully understand what meditation is. This is normal. Remember that meditation is an experience of the heart and not of the mind, for us to learn how to meditate, we need to trust the messages of our heart. This is a short video introduction to meditation. It speaks of a new common sense that puts the sacred art of meditation aside from just the religious traditions of the past, and involves meditation with every day and every endeavour of our lives.
Class 1 - Meditation for Beginners
27 Sep 2006 at 3:01pm
Meditation is an extremely simple process. It follows three distinct steps; we start with the superficial, scattered mind, we then progress by virtue of our hearts concentration - to deeper, analytical thinking and finally from this very deep thinking we enter into intuitive states, revelations, "I know this is right" feelings or extremely vivid goals or intense creativity or spiritual dreams. When thinking stops and intuitive experience takes over, this is meditation.
Class 2 - The Meaning of Life
27 Sep 2006 at 3:02pm
How are we supposed to have clear life goals if we do not know why we are here? Wisdom requires not thought but experience, it always feels very simple as it is a revelation of our real self. It is a meditation experience.
Class 3 - The Path of the Heart
27 Sep 2006 at 3:03pm
Simply put, if we allow ourselves to be thinking negatively, to be caught up in hate or anger or restlessness and worry, then we are going to view the world through that state of mind. It is as if we are wearing a pair of glasses that warps our vision in a negative way.
Class 4 - The Path of the Heart (cont)
1 Nov 2006 at 2:00pm
It is a journey of the opening heart and the letting go of all that binds it. For our journey a vehicle is necessary. This vehicle has four wheels and they need to be perfectly balanced. The wheels of our vehicle are our body, vital (emotions), mind and heart.
Class 5 - Learning to learn
2 Nov 2006 at 2:00pm
A valuable person is one who believes that he/she can do anything. With no fear of new tasks there is enormous potential and the possibility to learn quickly, quietly and efficiently. This is the basis of ?Positive Learning? and lies at the heart of a meditation lifestyle. ?Positive Learning? utilises ?chunking? or designing a simple step-by-step process that paces a skill into smaller achievable tasks. For example if you were learning to play the guitar, you might begin by learning how to place your fingers on the fretboard for two simple chords. Then with practise you might try a few more, until eventually you would be able to play a com...
Class 6 - Loving, Learning and Laughter
9 Nov 2006 at 2:27pm
Sometimes we wonder about the decisions we make. Are they from the mind or the heart? We might ask - 'Is this a decision that is unveiling my highest possible destiny or perhaps just an easy, comfortable solution that fits into my outer life?'
Class 7 - The evolving thought
18 Nov 2006 at 2:27pm
The journey for every thought is from gross physical or material desire to love in all its flavours: from romance to real wisdom or truth.  
Class 8 - Praise and Gratitude
22 Nov 2006 at 2:27pm
Topics include: 'Praise and Gratitude'. The great masters have always talked about gratitude as the great opener of the heart. That by offering gratitude we actually increase the heart?s receptivity. What a wonderful opportunity we have with such a simple dynamic as a ?thank you?.
Class 9 - Constructing Heaven
9 Dec 2006 at 2:27pm
As we release ourselves from the outer constructs of ourselves what naturally radiates from the inmost recesses of our existence is the lightness and freedom and joy of the real ? the kingdom of heaven within us ? that defines our real and eternal nature. Is it not also uncanny the fact that when we are in the dark we feel ourselves imprisoned, enslaved ? that even though our conditioning usually paints freedom as the ability to have any material or physical need immediately fulfilled ? the reality of the darkness is that far from freeing ? it enchains us.
Class 10 - To Be
11 Dec 2006 at 2:27pm
It is very easy to philosophize and talk and muse about all kinds of deep spiritual perspectives, but from the point of view of our actual spiritual progress, what we ?be? is the most important thing. That is, how we live our spirituality.
Class 11 - The Ego and the Soul
30 Jan 2007 at 2:27pm
Topics include: 'The Ego and the Soul'. In this class you will understand the roles of the ego and the soul and learn to discern your inner voice. The single most asked question we have come across is "how do I tell what are the messages of my ego and those of my soul?" To be true the ego and the soul have an existence within each other and so there is a measure of blurring between their realities but for the purposes of this class, let's separate them at their poles, so that we might more easily understand their nature and where they overlap.
Class 12 - Offering and Receiving Love
1 Feb 2007 at 2:27pm
Topics Include: "Offering and Receiving Love" - It is impossible to feel unhappy when we are offering love for real joy is the result of the flow of love. There is no more 'in-nature' a state, no closer to heaven, in fact, heaven's singular characteristic is the constant offering of love. To be sure, heaven wishes nothing more than to flow through each of us, empowering and inspiring us with the infinite, spiritual force of the universe.
Class 13 - Work
1 Feb 2007 at 2:47pm
Topics Include: how to work easily with no stress and high efficiency and how to direct your spiritual life effortlessly to more and more of your so-called "outer life" Often in doing these classes, a common problem is the management of 'outer' work activities and our spiritual lives. The overwhelming complaint is that all this meditation and spiritual activity is fine for the time that we are not involved in our jobs and ?outer? lives, but what do we do then? Obviously, the goal is not to create two separate lives, but rather to blend a much more holistic sense of self.
Class 14 - Oneness and Humility
5 Mar 2007 at 6:47am
Topics Include: Understand the difference between intellectual belief and spiritual realisation and how to practise humility. The human ego is a wonderful tool, but can also leave us in a wonderful mess. It is very common for those studying spiritual philosophy to feel that their intellectual understanding is a spiritual truth, but this is a particularly dangerous trap! Everything understood must also be realised.