As many of you know, I have spent a good amount of time during the last year focusing on writing. Having said that, towards the end of the year I began to feel the pressure to start doing some teaching work and was forced to put my writing projects on one side.

My first project - Meditations on Pain was almost completed and just requires a little more work before it is ready for editing. So I have decided to dedicate my time in February to completing this. At the same time, in the back of my mind, a second project is taking shape - this is developing into a companion to the first - Meditations on Bliss.

I have come to feel that in the practice of meditation one has two options - one can look at the obstacles and attempt to remove them, or one can look at the target and get merged into that.

The first book is a meditation on getting rid of what stands in the way of meditation - pain, tension, distraction etc.. The second book is a meditation on the target, which is freedom, bliss, realization. In analysing the first, one can only do so by comparison to the second. You can only recognize pain, unfreedom etc. in the light of its opposite, so the second book is a natural outgrowth and companion to the first.

It is also born out of my reflections and meditations on the first chapter of the Yoga Sutra - the chapter on Samadhi which I will be sharing in a series of online classes starting in March. I have been reflecting on this text, especially this first chapter, almost exclusively for the last 30 years.

This course of study will explore the text in depth, with reference to some important commentaries and a practical application of the insights we can gain from them in a meditation practice that will follow each reading of the text.

I will also be offering a companion course on Friday mornings on Yoga Sadhana - the Art of Practice, that will explore all the techniques and supportive practices that constitute the practice of Ashtanga Yoga. 

I intend to have the first book ready for editing by the end of the month. Those wishing to support my writing are invited to make a donation and will receive a free copy.

https://www.integralashtanga.com/pay-online/support-my-writing

Those interested in my second project are invited to participate in the online course offered starting in March. My writing will be based on the teachings offered during this course so by participating, you will be supporting the development of this second book.

Samadhi Sadhana