Deepak Chopra Instagram – #AskDeepak “A few questions about meditation please: What is the best way to meditate?  One that will give me access to touching the universal intelligence inside myself in the most direct and quickest way?  How does one know if one is meditating correctly?  When it comes to using the Mantra So Hum – Is it correct to say SO with the in-breath and Hum with the out-breath?  When I think of the Mantra it’s as if I am saying it mentally but am not thinking it such that in the moment when I am distracted by thought it appears that I am focusing on my breath, saying the mantra, and thinking about something else.  This then leads me to wonder/think whilst I am meditating if I am doing it properly and whether it’s working.  And all of this is happening whilst I am meditating – is this normal – is this still meditation?  And lastly, meditating by focusing on my breath and becoming totally absorbed in the awareness of my breathing acts as a meditation – even if I do it for less than 20 minutes – does it have any positive effect of connecting me to the cosmic intelligence inside myself?” My response: Your essential nature is that universal intelligence.  So you don’t need to do anything to access your true self.  Simply being aware of your breath allows you to be that universal intelligence.  Nothing could be quicker or more direct.  Adding the sounds ‘so’ with the inhale and ‘hum’ with the exhale helps align attention with the breath.  But if instead of helping, the mantras feel distracting, then go back to only paying attention to the breath and let the mantras come automatically and effortlessly whenever they naturally occur.  Complete ease of the mind is essential to meditation. Love, Deepak