Deepak Chopra Instagram – #AskDeepak “I’m wondering what my mind should be doing when I’m meditating. Should I be saying the mantra the whole time or should my mind be clear? I can’t seem to concentrate on the mantra. I don’t know if I’m getting the gist of meditations. I’m a beginner and it’s just not making sense.” My response: The gist of meditation is that it is a way to experience your core awareness beyond the confines of the active, conceptual mind. You don’t need to concentrate on the mantra. Concentrating just makes the mind more active. Let your attention easily be with the mantra, and when it drifts off to other thoughts, don’t resist that, or discipline your mind. Only once you realize you are no longer thinking the mantra, you can gently return to it. The aim of meditation isn’t about the mantra or thoughts, it’s about cultivating the awareness that resides between the mantra and thoughts. That simple, quiet consciousness is your true self. It exists between thoughts and is also the background of all thoughts. It is like the computer screen on which all possible images are projected. As you practice meditation daily without expectation or judgment, that silent self naturally begins to emerge and that is what brings the benefits of a clearer mind, healthier body, a loving heart, and a luminous spirit. Love, Deepak