Teacher's Path

MEDITATION COURSES
• THE FOUNDATION COURSE
• FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION
• MIND AND ITS CONTROL Kriya
• MINDFULNESS MEDITATION COURSE
• VIPASSANA Insight Meditation
• MAHARISHI DIPLOMA IN MEDITATION

INTRODUCTION
Like a monkey jumping from branch to branch is our stream of consciousness. But we have the power to stop the antics of this 'monkey mind' and achieve the quiet or still mind that is essential to develop our spiritual nature. The practice of systematically vacating and unifying consciousness releases a state of mind, structured differently from the ordinary waking state, nonetheless accompanied by awareness and characterised by an unusual degree of lucidity. Concentration is necessary. Holding the mind steady..ensuring that you and not the mind determines the content and activity of your consciousness...going from one-pointedness to no-point...ceasing from active thought.

Meditation has been the central focus of many spiritual traditions. It is not a social activity. It is an inner journey that takes place in silence and alone. Its practice is the first step towards a calmer life, greater clarity of mind, release of strength and wisdom in our lives and the direct realisation of a wellspring of strength and space within. The quiet depths, untroubled by the agitation and churning on the surface of the ocean of mind, reveal the source of all that we are. Meditation is where it’s at. Meditation affects your life…and your life shapes your meditation. It goes both ways. Less busy-ness in life brings greater richness in meditation. This richness makes you content with less of the trimmings of outer life. As this process continues, less is more.

The Meditation Institute has a policy of freedom of thought and everyone is encouraged to read broadly and study deeply so that each may be capable of reaching a deepened understanding. We offer courses from beginner to advanced practices. The theory which lies behind the various forms of meditation will be studied as well as the historical context in which they arose.

Nothing is presented as dogma but in the hope that friends and members may be encouraged to continue further study. Eastern meditation traditions, historical context and theories on quietism, asceticism, the psychology of meditation, the mind in religion, spirituality and altered
states of consciousness, the relationship between meditation and social action that lie at the heart of Hindu and Buddhist traditions will be emphasised.

MEDITATION: THE FOUNDATION COURSE

Purpose. Benefits. The effects
Three stages of The Training: Ground, Path, Fruition
Meditation in the major schools of yoga and world religons
Guided meditation and Spiritual healing
Mantra, sacred words of power. Japa
Bhakti, devotion, ritual and ceremony
Meditation upon mind and body
Mingling practice with daily life
Meditation as a channel for spiritual energies
Lotus ocean: Meditation as an aid to world peace

FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION

General introduction, progressive path, deepening the practice
Gateway to knowledge: Body posture and breathing
Empowerment: Ethical restraints
Mind control: clarifying the natural state
Meditation on an idea
The nature of the Self
Meditation in the heart
Devotional meditation
Stilling the mind
Development and completion unified: Experiencing wholeness

MIND AND ITS CONTROL

Meditation in motion
What are we? What is thought?
The creative power of the mind
The subtle glamour of the psychic world
Present, fresh, wakefulness: Looking, seeing, letting be and being free
Dealing with Emotions
Transforming our compost.
Self-directed thinking
Healing by thought
Collective thinking and world currents of thought
The quiet mind. Fearless simplicity. Carefree dignity.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION COURSE
The Maharishi Diploma Course is conducted over two years. In the first year you are introduced to the time honoured practice of meditation to enhance the quality of your own life and in the next year to impart meditation in the community. The courses can be taken as weekend residential retreat programs, inclusive of accommodation and Ayurvedic vegetarian meals.

First year includes the meditation theories and practices that lie at the heart of the Buddhist traditions and include:
- The road to Nirvana
- The heart sutra
- The lotus sutra
- The diamond sutra
- Vipassana and Maha Sati Pattana Sutra

i. Calm abiding
ii. Conscious Breathing iii.
Touching Peace
iv. Taming the Mind
v. Opening the Wisdom Eye

- Lojong. The art of Love in action and Training the mind
- The twilight language: explorations in Buddhist symbolism and meditation.
- Yantra, Yogic symbolism & spiritual mathematics
- Becoming a being of light
The second year includes the meditation theories and practices that lie at the heart of the Hindu traditions and includes:

- One river, many wells
- Eternal values for a changing society
- Begin with the body, heal with the mind
Shine a torch on the physical being as you start to unravel
brain chemistry, body toxicity, addiction & the rational mind
- Breath, the movement of the spirit
- Emotions, prana and the energy body
- Chakras, power centres of a complex energetic database
- Kundalini shakti, Raising energy, raising consciousness
- The path of fire, light, sound and paranormal powers
- Vibration: the essence of the universe
- Mantra - sacred words of power. Mantra is an exact science
- Maha mudra and developing the witness
- The seven stages of psychospiritual growth in Yoga
- Touching Ultimate Reality:

Experiences and the Real VIPASSANA MEDITATION RETREATS (2007)
Feb 9-11 Mindfulness and Heartfulness
April 5-15 10 day Easter Vipassana retreat. Maha Sati pattana Sutra
June 8-10 The Heart Sutra
August 10-12 The road to Nirvana
Sept 21-23 Lojong, training the mind: the art of love in action
Sept 21-28 Lojong. Training the mind. 7 nights detox week.
Oct 19-21 The Lotus Sutra
Nov/Dec 30-2 Dec The Diamond Sutra