AUM Shree Ganeshay NamaH I pray to lord Ganesha in the morning with devotion and a sense of surrender to dispel obstacles to meditation in the form of mental vasanas.   Shree Gurubhyo NamaH. I salute the saints and sages of the world who blessed the mankind with the wisdom of yoga. Preparation for meditation is as important as the meditation itself. Sthira sukhamasanam . Be aware of the posture, see if any adjustments are needed as you sit cross-leged, the heels must be closed to the body, as close as you can manage. Obviously one of the leg is on other theigh. The hands are kept in the bowl created by the legs, or in front of the two legs. You choose which position of the hands balances the posture well. There may not be any gaps between the hands and the sides. In fact, you try to sit in the compact position, occupying the minimum space. Just be with the posture that develops inner awareness. In meditation, don't allow the rush to move forward, to go to the next step. Mind has that quality of ever hurring , next, next like that. That is the quality of time, try to overcome it by abiding in the present, by avoiding the rush. Remember the instruction given by Shree Krishna about the sitting posture samam kaya shirogrivam dharayan achala sthiraH. That is the communion between the devotee and Ishwara. I remember the instruction of Ishwara and follow it. There is always a joy in remembering Ishwara, for whatever reason. As per the instruction, I keep the back, neck and the head in a straight line. The head may not be tilted either upwards or downwards, it is just held straight. Sport a smile on the lips and see its effect on the muscles of the face. You can clearly see the effect, the muscles deeply relax. When you entertain an undesirable emotion, the muscles tighten, whereas, when I smile, the muscles nicely relax. And see the affect on the mind, the mind certainly loses some of its rush and also some of its general unsatisfactoriness. Slowly become familiar with your interiority this way. This smile can be termed 'the inner smile'. Outwardly it is very faint but it is very profound in the inner.This is the classical Buddha's smile. Just make it your own. I love to maintain this inner smile, always, in spite of the world with all its contradictions. Don't allow the world to boss over you, inner smile is the way. Learn to focus on the eyes, another milestone in meditation, the focusing on eyes, netra dhyanam. See that the eyelids are not pressing. Be kind to the eyeballs, irises, by avoiding the pressing of eyes. Focusing on the eyes is the simplest way to make the mind silent. Silence of the mind, which means, I am not thinking of the world, I am not thinking of God and I am not thinking of myself. That is the silence of the mind. You achieve it by focusing on the eyes. Be informed that the silence of the mind is the supreme sadhana, worship of Ishwara. As you focus on the eyes, a tiny movement of eyelashes is not uncommon, don't be distracted by that. The mind wants content, it doesn't like silence, the mind is addicted to content, it doesn't like silence. You overcome that addiction by trying to love the silence, you say to yourself, ' I love silence' and become silent. Even while being silent, remain alert, don't become sleepy. As long as the back is straight, you remain alert. If the mind digresses, don't be disturbed, bring it back and focus it on eyes. Aum ShantiH ShantiH ShantiH. Relax, sit at ease, keep the eyes closed, massage the legs if necessary. Don't look for any results of meditation, just leave it as such, it is an offering to Ishwara. Slowly open the eyes.