Meditation Sessions 2019 via Audio Stream
Gurumayi Chidvilasananda chose the title and central teaching for each Siddha Yoga Meditation Session to support the study and practice of her Message for 2019. The meditation sessions are led by Siddha Yoga Swamis and other Siddha Yoga meditation teachers.
To participate in Meditation Sessions I—IX, click on the links below.
Session I: Discover the Network of the Mind
Taught by Siddha Yoga Meditation Teacher Swami Vasudevananda
In this session participants will learn about the nature of the mind. They will also put into practice the means Gurumayi has given each of us in her Message to bring the mind to rest in its source.
Session II: Study the Landscape of the Mind
Taught by Siddha Yoga Meditation Teacher Swami Akhandananda
Through the study of Gurumayi’s teachings and the scriptures of India, participants in this session will deepen their understanding of the structure and activity of their own mind in order to recognize its divine source.
Session III: Take Hold of the Reins of the Mind
Taught by Siddha Yoga Meditation Teacher Ami Bansal
Guided by a specific teaching given by Gurumayi for this session, participants will explore what the reins of the mind are and what it means to take hold of them.
Session IV: Shepherd the Mind Toward Its Own Light
Taught by Siddha Yoga Meditation Teacher Yawu Miller
In her Message talk for 2019, Gurumayi invites us to use a gentle approach to the mind. In this session, participants will explore the light of their own consciousness and practice engaging with the So’ham mantra to gently guide the mind to stillness during meditation.
Session V: The Breath Is the Pathfinder
Taught by Siddha Yoga Meditation Teacher Mehul Joshi
In her Message talk for 2019, Gurumayi teaches us about the power of the breath to guide the mind towards its true nature. In this session, participants explore the breath and practice ways to follow it in meditation.
Session VI: Enrich the Worth of the Sadguna in Your Life
Taught by Eesha Sardesai
In this meditation session, Eesha Sardesai guides participants in their exploration of the sadguna, the virtues, and how these virtues relate to the practice of Gurumayi’s Message for 2019. The session features meditation with the So’ham mantra.
Session VII: Be Present with the Fullness of the Pure Mind
Taught by Siddha Yoga Meditation Teacher Swami Ishwarananda
This session will examine how understanding the mind’s true nature is essential for establishing a practice of meditation. It will also explore the many significant ways a regular practice of meditation enables one to open to and stay ever more connected to the fullness of the pure mind.
Session VIII: The Miracle of the Mind
Taught by Lilavati Stewart Sutcliffe
This meditation session will support you to deepen your practice of Siddha Yoga meditation and to further your study of Gurumayi’s Message for 2019. Participants will learn about the significant role the mind plays in the pursuit of their ultimate spiritual goal to recognize divinity within and to live anchored in this awareness.
Session IX: The Mantra, Bestower of Divine Protection
Taught by Siddha Yoga Meditation Teacher Paul Hawkwood
This meditation session will support you in deepening your practice of Siddha Yoga meditation and your study of Gurumayi’s Message for 2019. Participants will learn about the grace-filled nature of the mantra, and practice absorption in the Self by meditating with the So’ham mantra.
About Eesha Sardesai
Eesha was introduced to the Siddha Yoga path by her parents in 1991. She has been serving on staff in the SYDA Foundation since 2014, offering seva as a writer and editor, and as a speaker in Siddha Yoga teaching and learning events. She has written various pieces that have been published on the Siddha Yoga path website, including the Stories on Gurumayi’s Message for 2019 and the monthly introduction letters in 2018.
Eesha graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in creative writing and communications. She has experience writing in many genres, including creative non-fiction, short story, and poetry. Prior to serving on staff in the SYDA Foundation, she worked as a food writer.
About Swami Akhandananda
Swami Akhandananda began practicing the Siddha Yoga teachings in 1974, when he was a teenager. Two years later he made the commitment to offer seva full-time— first in the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland, California, and later in Gurudev Siddha Peeth and Shree Muktananda Ashram. In 1982, he took monastic vows to become a Siddha Yoga Swami.
An experienced Siddha Yoga meditation teacher, Swami Akhandananda inspires students with his dedication to Siddha Yoga study and contemplation, and his great love for the Siddha Yoga practices, especially chanting. Swami ji has taught extensively in Siddha Yoga Shaktipat Intensives, satsangs, courses and retreats around the world.
About Swami Vasudevananda
Swami Vasudevananda has been following the Siddha Yoga path for more than forty years. In 1980 he took monastic vows to become a Siddha Yoga Swami. Throughout the decades, Swami ji has been widely appreciated as a thoughtful and compassionate teacher, and a wise and inspiring mentor of other teachers, writers, and speakers.
He is the author and co-author, respectively, of two year-long courses in the Siddha Yoga Home Study Course—The Power of Siddha Yoga Meditation and The Power of Siddha Yoga: Path of the Heart. In 2015 and 2016 he was the teacher overseeing the series of Siddha Yoga Meditation Sessions via Live Audio Stream on the Siddha Yoga path website.
Swami ji is also author of the book Darshan: The Presence Within. He continues to share his deep understanding of the Siddha Yoga teachings in his role as an educational content developer for the SYDA Foundation.
About Paul Hawkwood
Paul Hawkwood has been following the Siddha Yoga path for twenty-nine years. From 1982 to 1992, Paul and his wife Achala Woollacott hosted a Siddha Yoga meditation center in their home in Eugene, Oregon. Currently, Paul offers seva as a writer and editor in the SYDA Foundation. He also serves on the leadership team for the Siddha Yoga Meditation Center in Eugene and as a Siddha Yoga meditation teacher in Sadhana Retreats in the United States and Europe.
Paul has a bachelor’s degree in religion and English from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, and a master’s degree in composition and rhetoric from Eastern Washington University. Paul recently retired after teaching English at Linn-Benton Community College for thirty years. He lives in Eugene with his wife, Achala Woollacott.