Almost a month ago, you received an invitation to participate in the largest meditation experiment on the planet – a 21-day guided meditation challenge. But within minutes more than 5,000 bold adventurers had registered to receive a daily guided meditation and within a few more days more than 20,000 Agni readers had expressed interest. You had no idea what it would be like since it had never before been done. We had no idea what it would be like since never before had hundreds of thousands of like-minded people been invited to a virtual meditation program. But we believe in infinite possibilities and obviously 20,000+ of you also do.
Whenever I teach a class in Primordial Sound Meditation, I encourage my students to live it for 21 days and then send me an email to provide their feedback. Some never reply, others email me every day, and the majority send me an email on the 21st day. The majority of them continue to meditate for at least a full year following the 21 days. Over the past seven years, thousands of meditators have emailed me with their stories, challenges, aha! moments, breakthroughs, and gratitude for helping them awaken to the stillness and silence that rests within.
We’ve experienced a similar phenomenon on our meditation blog. People have posted comments from around the world, sharing their stories about the gifts that opened up in their lives as they meditated for 21 consecutive days . . . gifts that include more restful sleep, less stress and anxiety, the discovery of long-forgotten dreams, healing, the blossoming of creativity, the fading of reactivity, self-forgiveness, and greater intuition.
Here are just a few of the comments shared by meditation participants:
“Thank you for giving me an experiential understanding of what great transformation a regular meditation practice can bring. In just a short time, I felt the peace of meditation spill into my life. I became unstuck in my career path. I brought new momentum to health challenges. . . .With deep gratitude.” ―Chris
“I have a very demanding job and it is easy to spend most of my time on that and very little time on my own spiritual development. . . . The 21-Day Meditation has renewed my focus on both and I am so grateful. The more I meditated, the more I became aware of my body and the more I realized how neglectful I am of giving this wonderful body what it needs . . . less stress and more time to walk among trees and beside flowing water . . . more time just to walk and move and stretch instead of sitting all day at my laptop, working.
I have realized that I CAN make time for 30 minutes of meditation in the morning and 30 in the evening and for one hour a day walking beside the river in the beautiful small town in which I live. Guess what? My organization didn’t crumble because I was not answering emails at 5 am. Thank you for all my meditation revelations, too many to list here. God Bless All of You.” ―K.T.
“What an awesome experience! . . . The biggest impact this experience has had on my life is of improving my relationship with my younger brother. My openness in creativity allowed for me to search for a new solution and what the universe presented was serendipitous!
Also the Chakra meditation rocked! I had to listen to it twice because my body kept interrupting davidji by repeating the sounds. I couldn’t stop till I ran out of breath! . . . I don’t know if you’re supposed to get excited by meditation but that’s what’s happened to me.” ―Joe
“Thank you! Our 21 days together have made a tremendous difference in my life. I originally thought my goal was simply to commit to all 21 days of meditation and follow thru (which I did!!), but along the way I was given so many gifts . . . from the brilliant vibration during my 20th day of meditation to a clearer vision of my life’s purpose.
I am told I look more ‘rested’ and relaxed and I certainly do feel more at peace and grounded. The deep love and compassion I feel every day is being expressed every day in one way or another. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this experience. I will treasure it the rest of my life. Many blessings to all. Peace be with you." ―Sharonlee
Something has happened here. Something really special beyond 20,000+ of us simply hanging out together for 21 days. We have created something – an energy, a vibration, a rippling . . . whatever you want to call it . . . each of us is transforming the world as we ourselves undergo a powerful daily transformation.
It’s been said that 21 consecutive days of performing any behavior creates a ritual. A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. When you combine the symbolism of the ritual with some sort of meaning . . . the result is transformation. We created the ritual . . . you gave it meaning . . . and voilà . . . transformation! No other conscious collective on earth has such global reach and devotion to personal development as this tribe. More than 50 countries around the globe are represented by you – hundreds of cities, towns, and communities. Every continent except Antarctica was represented during the challenge.
Every Moment Was Spontaneous . . . All of the topics of the meditations were selected only moments before each recording; the locations for the videos were decided as we were driving. Every moment was spontaneous, organic, and authentic. There was no calculation or living beyond the present moment. And it felt like that. It felt joyous, and collaborative . . . like we were all on board a magnificent journey together. The sense of community and camaraderie that has poured through these 21 days is one of the most humbling experiences of my life. And I am grateful to all of you who participated for enrichening the fabric of my life. Hopefully, you feel it too.
The Chopra Center believes that people can achieve wholeness in their lives through the fusion of modern Western medicine and the healing arts of the East – through the teachings of Vedanta, Ayurveda, yoga, and Advaita . . . through the practices of conscious choice making, conscious communication, meditation, and living a heart-centered existence while discovering your purpose in life.
We all have connected in a special way. And something unique has happened to us. We have the choice of whether we want to continue and how we want to continue. But one thing is clear: we have ritualized our daily meditation practice and we can keep it going as long as we like.
So I invite all of those who journeyed with us to keep it alive and to all those who weren’t sure what this was . . . when we launch again this fall, please consider coming on board. Your life will continue to blossom and bloom with each day of meditation.
Thank you to everyone who made it possible and that includes you. See you in the gap.
