We made our way upstairs and soon found the correct rooms for us to set up our booth in. Upon entering the correct room, I noticed another vendor setting up their booth and my immediate thought was “Oh, there’s my people!” The thought surprised me considering that I didn’t know those people, but also it was interesting to notice that the whole vibration of the room was different from the convention downstairs.

I reflected a lot on that moment and tried to tune in to exactly what made it so different from the experience at the gambling convention downstairs. I realized that it was a wonderful illustration about the power of energy and consciousness. Where we put our energy and focus creates waves of vibrations and magnetism. More than we may realize, when we interact with others, we’re responding to their energy and consciousness, not just their physical body or the words they say. In the casino convention the energy was all about how to get people to spend more money at their casinos. The energy was entirely on outward pleasures and addictive gambling.

The contrast was immediately palpable when we made our way upstairs. Those first people I saw upstairs in the Mindfulness Expo it turns out were selling yoga clothes they had very creatively designed. As I reflected on it later, the thing that made them feel like they were “my people” was that they were tuning in to something deeper of themselves and finding something of what they were looking for inside. Maybe they simply enjoy the feeling after a good yoga class, but that feeling itself emanates from their own center, deep within.

Every thought and action has behind it a direction of energy that creates a certain flow of magnetism. I reflected that the difference of the two magnetisms that I noticed that day could be boiled down to the simple question: What are you seeking? Are you seeking your happiness in things of this world that glitter and shout for your attention, or are you finding your fulfillment inside yourself, in the stillness of your own soul?

First, the zafu must help the meditator maintain a good meditation posture. While there are lots of meditation postures out there, the essential part is that the meditator should be able to sit calmly and relaxed in an upright position. Essentially a zafu needs to be able to create a good foundation to sit on and create a slight forward tilt to the pelvis so that the spine can remain upright with virtually no effort required from the muscles in the back.

The second aspect is the zafu should be built well enough to give many years of service to your meditation practice. This includes the stitching of the fabric, and also the fabric of cushion itself. The outer covering should be sturdy, yet also comfortable and breathable. 

The most important part of a zafu is of course the filling inside the cushion. Too soft, and the zafu will lack the density necessary to provide adequate support for your meditation posture. Too hard, and it will be so uncomfortable you won't want to use it!

I've used many different cushions over the years and very few seem to "cut it". Cotton fiber is perhaps the most common meditation cushion filling. It's not a bad filling, at least initially, but it quickly compresses in to a solid block and doesn't provide much in the way of cushioning or comfort. It is also makes for a relatively heavy zafu cushion, but that really only matters if you're going to take it on retreat or to a meditation group and so on. 

Kapok is a common filling that behaves similarly to cotton. It is heavy and compresses quickly. It has the added problem though of being highly irritating to some people's skin as well as to the lungs and throat, if the fibers ever get airborne. 

Some folks will fill there "cushions" with either a dried bean or grain. While either of these will shape to your posterior, I find in using them that pretty quickly my bum has gone numb, and I want to get up from my meditation! The "hard truth" is that they don't provide any cushioning at all and most folks will quickly find them uncomfortable to sit on. 

Buckwheat hulls are a comfortable filling for a zafu, but the problem is they breakdown very quickly. Within a year of regular meditations a buckwheat hull filled zafu will start to feel deflated and soon be unusable.

What we've found to be the best filling for our zafu is a lovely wool batting from sheep on beautiful pastures right here in Northern California. It is comfortable and supportive, breathable and resilient. It doesn't pinch off the circulation like some fillings will, and it being "breathable" means there's a little more air for your derrière so things don't get too moist down there. Finally it maintains its cushioning ability for a good decade or two. 

Last, but not least, it's a real win if it's eco friendly. Organic cotton covering, an eco-wool filling that isn't processed with the typical harsh chemical process - you get the idea.

Everyone is different though and may have different preferences, so the best way to tell what will work for you is to try it! One thing to keep in mind if you're trying different zafus is that it is best if both "sit bones" should be on the cushion (rather than hanging off the front) to give proper support for your meditation posture. One strange fact I learned recently is that even with all the different shapes and sizes of humans on this Earth, there is very little variation in the distance between our "sit bones". Weird right? 

Anyway, I hope that this dive in to zafu cushions was helpful for you. Let us know if you have any questions!

I recently heard an inspiring story from a friend. He and a friend were keeping company with Swami Kriyananda, founder of the Ananda Church of Self Realization. They were sitting together in Swami’s apartment, while my friend was massaging Swami’s knee with a new device that was supposed to help soothe his pain. (Swami Kriyananda almost always had a physical ailment, from a young age.) On this tranquil occasion, as my friend rubbed Swami’s knee to soothe his pain, he felt as if he had always been performing this action, and as though that was the only thing there was ever to do for eternity. At that moment, the other gentleman sitting with them quietly put my friend’s feelings into words, expressing exactly that awareness of having always been there together in this present moment for eternity. Swami felt it too.

Now, how can we tap into this “eternal now”, and stop postponing our happiness and inner peace for the future?

Here are a few tips that I find very helpful if not essential:

1. You guessed it! Meditate! This practice is vital to help us develop a focused mind and learn to calm the energetic currents in our spine and brain that keep us ever engaged with the events of our lives and the world around us. Even if you are new to meditation, don’t give up! Concentrating and stopping our minds from thinking is not an easy task for most of us. But if you persevere, you will eventually find a deeper sense of peace, and fulfillment in yourself.
2. Cultivate the habit of being aware of your breath during the day, especially when you are faced with a challenging situation.
3. Find joy in everything you do. It takes courage and enthusiasm to sincerely enjoy everything you do, everyone you meet, being alone or whatever it is that tests your patience and pushes your boundaries. However, if you start enjoying just one aspect or one person in your life that is difficult to enjoy spending time with, you will find it easier to bear the rest of them.

Don’t delay your happiness one more day, if you postpone it, it will never come. Happiness depends solely upon us, on the attitude of our minds to help us grow and to do so joyfully.

Wishing you eternal happiness in the now!

Because I can only speak from experience, I often share something I have been through or am experiencing at the moment. Accepting what is has been a big lesson for me for a long time now, one I am still learning. But it wasn’t until about a year ago that somehow I started to be more aware that there are some things I just cannot change, and therefore, there are two options I am confronted with: to suffer from the fact that I don’t like how things are going and I can’t change them; or to accept it (whatever “it” may be).

Mysteriously enough, once I accept what is in front of me, not only do I feel freer, but I start seeing the options I do have within that circumstance, and sooner or later something shifts. That which seemed a challenge or an unwanted situation, in the beginning, becomes a fluid process. A process that I can be open to enjoy without focusing on how many small steps I still have in front of me, but focusing on the present moment, knowing that what I do have is the choice to be happy now. The journey now stops being the means to get to a destination, and the way I experience the journey becomes my “state of mind destination.”

Now, I need tools to help me remember all of this along the way. What are these tools? Yes, meditation is number 1. However, we can’t only be angels during our meditation practice. We need to be able to shift our awareness at any given moment, while we work, study, connect with our family, work colleagues, and so on.

Find your set of tools that help you remember to be happy now! Maybe it is going out on a walk in nature, listening to inspiring music, a reading you enjoy from your own path or a teacher that inspires you.

Here is a helpful affirmation you can repeat mentally anytime during the day:

"I accept with calm impartiality whatever comes my way. Free in my heart, I am not conditioned by any outward circumstance."

Wishing you a joyful journey!