Do you love stories? I love to hear or read beautiful stories. The stories I like are amazingly full of mysticism and go beyond the mindset of my existence in this world. As we bid adieu to the current year and welcome a new beginning in 2024, I thought I would take you all to the world of spiritual meditation and tell you some of the best stories that will inspire you and let you dive into the most powerful form of meditation to gain some insight into yourself.  

Spiritual meditation is the mindful practice of connecting to something greater, vaster, and deeper than the individual self.

There was a time when I used to sit for hours doing spiritual meditation, and you won’t believe what wonder and bliss you attain in this highest form of meditation. The spiritual form of meditation can be done either by chanting mantras like OM with a yoga technique or by other different methods.

There are many meditation techniques to increase spiritual awareness. Almost all religions practice meditation in different ways, but the goal is the same: to raise self-awareness and to be in a state of permanent bliss.

This form of meditation requires a spiritual teacher or master to guide you until you reach that state where you find total bliss. This journey of meditation starts with basic meditation and progresses slowly. It can take several years for many or a few months for a few to get enlightened.

Also, achieving spiritual realization requires plenty of discipline and practice, but the long-term benefits are incomparable. There is no more worthy effort for those whose spiritual lives are important to them.

Some of the proven benefits of Spiritual meditation help you

• Reduces stress
• Helps with focus and concentration
• Promotes better sleep
• Improves circulation
• Increases self-awareness
• Promotes happiness
• Helps with anxiety
• Regulates mood
• Slows down aging
• Boosts immunity
• Gives emotional stability

In my last blog post, I talked about the best meditation apps you can use for learning or doing meditation on the go. I asked if you experienced anything doing spiritual meditation. As promised, I wish to share some of those very best meditation stories so that you can get positive vibes reading them and feel that power within yourself that we all have, which, by a little effort, can solve most of our life’s miseries and some of the wonderful stories to inspire you.

Before you read further, remember that spiritual meditation, or mantra meditation, is considered the highest form of meditation for enlightening your mind and uplifting your soul.

Such mantras or spiritual meditation are the oldest forms of meditation, and they are found in ancient religious texts from Buddhism, Hinduism, and a few other religions.

The great meditation stories are from India or Southeast Asian countries. I have gathered them from various sources and compiled them here for information on how life is perceived when you meditate.

The power of concentration- Perennial wisdom through stories

A master kept scraping a brick against the room floor where a disciple sat in meditation. At first, the disciple was patient, taking this to be a test of his power of concentration.

But when the sound became unbearable, he burst out, “Can’t you see I am meditating? What on earth are you doing?”

” I am polishing this brick to make a mirror out of it,” came the reply.

The disciple remarked that it was crazy to make a mirror out of a brick.

The Master replied, ” It won’t be crazier than you. You are trying to meditate thinking that you are a mediator. If that is possible, a brick, too, can be made into a mirror.”

Meditation is true when the meditator becomes one with the One in meditation. All other roles are to be dropped.

Flow Like a River- Zen story.

This is the story of a young martial arts student who was under the tutelage of a famous master. One day, the master was watching a practice session in the courtyard. He realized that the presence of the other students was interfering with the young man’s attempts to perfect his technique.

The master could sense the young man’s frustration. He approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. “What’s the problem?” he inquired. “I don’t know,” the youth said with a strained expression.

“No matter how much I try, I cannot execute the moves properly”. “Before you can master technique, you must understand harmony. Come with me, I will explain”, replied the master.

The teacher and student left the building and walked some distance into the woods until they came upon a stream. The master stood silently on the bank for several moments, then spoke.

“Look at the stream,” he said. “There are rocks in its way. Does it slam into them out of frustration? It simply flows over and around them and moves on! Be like the water, and you will know what harmony is.”

The young man took the master’s advice to heart. Soon, he was barely noticing the other students around him. Nothing could come in his way of executing the most perfect moves.

Click here to read more Zen stories, and click here, too,

Two Cats Facing Each Other on the Path – Story By Remez Sasson

Two cats were walking on a narrow path toward each other. When they came near one another, no one was willing to let the other pass first. They just stood there, screaming at each other.

“You let me pass first,” said one cat.

“No! I was first here,” said the other cat.

“No, I must be first, because I am bigger.”

“No, I must be first, because I am more beautiful.”

“No, I am wiser than you, and you must, therefore, respect me.”

“I am stronger.”

“I have many cats that will hurt you if you don’t let me pass.”

After a while, the screams turned into a fight. The cats started fighting, scratching, and biting each other.

A little while later, a wiser cat arrived on the scene. He looked at them and started to laugh.

The two cats stopped fighting and looked at him, amazed.

“Why are you laughing?” The cats asked him.

“I am laughing at you and your behaviour. You are wasting your time and hurting each other just because you won’t let the other pass. The path is wide enough for each cat to pass to the other side.”

“Why are you fighting? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“It is a matter of honour and power.” The two cats said.

The wise cat was amused and said, “Do you need to prove you are stronger? Who cares about this?”

“Someone strong and self-confident doesn’t feel the need to show this to others. He or she feels good about himself, and others feel his strength and respect him, with love, not fear.”

“There is life, good food, wonderful things to enjoy and do, and you are standing here, facing each other, yelling, scratching and fighting. Is this a practical and rational act? Open your eyes and grow up!”

“Is it really important who passes first to the other side of the path? Is it worthwhile to have all these scratches and bites? You are wasting your time, energy and health on nonsense.”

“Look around and see all the animals around you laughing at your irrational behaviour.”

The two cats were bewildered and didn’t know what to say. The wise cat’s words made sense, but their subconscious, programmed behavior and habits were too strong. It was not easy for them to resist. Now you decide.

Click here to read stories from Buddhism

Click here to read tales from Rumi

A Beautiful Way To Understand Life- By Spiritual Satya

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady.

She started screaming out of fear. With a panic-stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away, but it landed on another lady in the group. Now, it was the other lady in the group’s turn to continue the drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behaviour of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behaviour? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It was not the cockroach that disturbed the ladies but their inability to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach.

It is not the shouting of your father, boss, or wife that disturbs you, but your inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting disturbs you.

It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturb you, but your inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs you. More than the problem, it’s your reaction to the problem that creates chaos in your life.

Click here to read inspiring stories from free meditations.

Tips to Start Spiritual Meditation

Now that the above stories show how people face circumstances and how we live life, you might be interested in achieving something similar in the new year, making yourself a better person and creating a better world. Here are a few tips to start spiritual meditation.

Spiritual meditation doesn’t involve physical exercise like yoga but may require breathing exercises or breathing techniques.

Spiritual meditation is for those who want to know themselves, want to reduce their anxiety and know some of the answers to their very own existence in this world. With spiritual meditation, acknowledging and accepting who you are is the first step to truly making friends with yourself. The meditation master

Before you begin, you need to be pure in heart and mind, which means you need to release any grudges you’ve been holding, forgive others, respect others, and stop talking ill of others. You can train your mind to let go by practising mindfulness and wishing for others’ happiness. It may take time, but letting go is the obvious antidote to holding on to the pain of resentment.

True spirituality focuses on benefitting others, but you must start with yourselves first. As the spiritual master of the Buddhist faith, Dalaï Lama, says, “I often joke that if you want to be selfish, you should be very altruistic! You should take good care of others, be concerned for their welfare, help them, serve them, make more friends, make more smiles…” It may seem contradictory, but we can clearly see that the more energy we devote to others, the happier we become.

When practiced it will maintain the core spiritual foundations of kindness, openness, and connection, they can lead to experiences of spiritual awakening that transcend the mundane.

Remember, you need to accept even an ugly insect. All living creatures are connected by certain universal needs and experiences. They all look to secure well-being and avoid suffering, and none of us could possibly exist without others.

Find a good teacher to learn spiritual meditation. As in this form of meditation, every step needs guidance and encouragement. The attributes of a genuine spiritual teacher are wisdom, kindness, spiritual power, and humility.

Self-styled gurus who toot their own “spiritual enlightenment” horns tend to be misguided and easily lead others astray, whether their intentions are good or not. Also, many teachers only crave money and can take you to nothing.

There are very few true spiritual masters left in this world to guide you on this journey.

Do not indulge in spiritual meditation if someone says it will help you achieve “superpowers” such as telepathy, the ability to heal oneself and others, knowledge of past lives, visions of the future, or levitation.

Remember, these things will be achieved if you find the true master who will even take you beyond such gains. Those who say will let you achieve this are themselves far from the reality and truth for those with such abilities will never disclose to you.

Now, join a meditation class near you. To begin with, follow the basic steps if you have never meditated before and feel the difference.