Just as appearances in life are deceiving, so what we see in within ourselves during our meditation can also be deceiving. While we have two eyes to observe the world around us, we have a third eye through which we can see our inner world of beliefs, experiences, memories, traits and tendencies. This is the eye of the intellect which is designed to give us insight (sight inwards). It is a vital aspect of our consciousness which we need in order to understand ourselves and others. This insight alone reminds us we are responsible for everything we think, feel and do, and that we have the power to choose how we experience and respond to life around us. To someone with a victim mindset this one insight represents liberation. As meditation sharpens the focus of our inner eye, a thousand other insights are possible and enlightenment is never far.

The modern myth that if you get your body well then your mind will follow, is fast fading. While the general health and well being of our body will ‘influence' our mental state, it is the quality of our thoughts and feelings which primarily effect our physical well being. This means real relaxation begins within our consciousness. It is helpful to remember that watching the match or the movie is not relaxation but stimulation. They are mental escape activities which will eventually result in the atrophy of our mental strength and an increase in our emotional instablility. A quiet mind, a slow mind, a mind that has positive thoughts created by the self is a relaxed mind. And a relaxed mind leads to a relaxed body. Meditation is not about stopping thoughts, it is more about seeing our own patterns of thinking, correcting our thought process and consciously practicing the creation of right quality of thoughts as we learn to become the masters of our own consciousness.