(Please note, the following entry is here-posted exactly as received; it has not been altered or edited in any way from the author’s original)

I first became acquainted with Puti Meditation in the fall of 2006.  I was driving by the Studio on Alderbridge Way in Richmond, and noticed the big red sign “Puti Yoga Studio”.  I was feeling stressed at the time and was thinking that yoga or some kind of relaxation method would benefit me.  When I got home from work that evening, I looked it up on the internet.  It turned out to be a meditation college.  Good, so much the better I thought.  I called the phone number and it turns out there was an introductory class coming up that very week-end.  I signed up.  I had a great time, and there were translators available, as this class was taught in Mandarin and I am English speaking.  It worked well and I had some profound experiences right away.  I did practice on my own after that, but, found, due to my expectations from that week-end, that I was becoming a bit frustrated and disappointed with my progress.  I was expecting the meditations would just carry on from there, and get better and better.  I was wrong, and this is normal and a common problem for beginners.  I would practice once in awhile, as deep down, I knew that this was going to benefit me a great deal someday, but I didn’t practice with consistency. 

In the fall of 2008, there was a ceremony at the Chan Centre in Vancouver.  It was to honour the Medicine Buddha’s birthday, and was sponsored by the Puti Meditation Studio.  I went to the ceremony, and saw some people that I knew there from 2006.  I met up with one of my translators from the beginning.  She gave me her e-mail address and phone number.  She has since given me a great deal of encouragement and answered all my many questions.  I began meditation in earnest then.  There is so much help available from the volunteers at the Studio and the drop-in sessions.  I realized that this was no easy ride, and to benefit I would have to discipline myself.  I was never really one for self-discipline.  I was also the great procrastinator.  I would let life just happen to me.

I discovered that self-discipline is actually the path to freedom.  I know this may sound contradictory, but, consistency in practice is vital.  It is the letting go that is important.  I learned to have no expectations and just relax and allow things to take place as they will.  “Trying” to meditate is self defeating.

Since I have just let things be with my meditations, and happen as they will, I have achieved some true progress!  Life seems to get easier.  Meditation does not prevent challenges in your daily life, but it gives you calmness and the realization of your own loving center.  This will help you overcome anything much more effectively and without so much emotional distress.  I have found that I don’t worry as much and don’t spend so much time just reacting to happenings.  I am now able to be more pro-active with my own life.  I am overcoming my shyness and lack of self-confidence.  For me, it hasn’t happened all at once, but has been a gradual and gentle progression.  In fact, the other day I was considering something that had just happened (I won’t bore you with the details), and it dawned on me, that if this had happened to me before the practice, I would have been launched into a spinning orbit of emotions and anxiety.  Not now though.  I thank meditation for this.   

My health has improved.  I have more energy and it has helped me cope and start healing a major carpal tunnel problem which was a great concern as my job involves mainly working on the computer.  I was suffering from depression, as I realize now that it has lifted.  This is because of the meditations.  It is like a fog has dissipated and the world looks much friendlier and more positive than before.  No drugs involved!

I have witnessed some seemingly miraculous things at the Studio.  I have seen people who were desperately ill and through meditation have cured themselves.  I have experienced a few little ones myself.  I have learned that there are no miracles here.  It is simply that the Master has given us the tools to heal ourselves.