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People are drawn to that rest state. But real meditation offers a very deep peace 

and blissfulness. When we start to experience the joy, the bliss, the inner states 

that arise in meditation, we want more. We get a taste, sometimes spontaneously 

and sometimes as a result of our effort, that is vast, joyful, and peaceful—some-

thing inside us the sages call bliss. It is really the allure of the vast Beingness 

inside us calling us home. 

Rev. O’Brian:

 We are uncovering our innate radiance—discovering that this bliss 

is part of our own nature. 

Sally Kempton:

 The five sheaths model is one of the great ways of looking at the 

human organism. This model tells us that, like an onion, we are built in layers. 

The innermost layer, called the bliss sheath in the yoga texts, is the aspect of 

ourselves that is very deep and restful. The bliss you experience in this sheath can 

actually permeate your whole life if you learn how to rest there. This is one of the 

great benefits of daily meditation. 

Rev. O’Brian:

 One of the things you address in your book is to take stock of our 

practice. It can be easy to allow our meditation to become rote. We know it is 

useful but perhaps the aliveness has gone, so a kind of dullness pervades our 

practice. How do we bring more energy to our practice?

Sally Kempton: 

The real key to vital meditation is to see your meditation practice 

as a relationship with your inner Self. When I say inner Self, I mean not just the 

True Self, but all the layers of my Self experienced through the sheaths. When I 

began looking at meditation as a relationship with my Self, I could see how there 

were days when I really was deeply present and days when I was disengaged. 

You know how you sometimes do with a relationship. You come in and say, “Hi 

honey,” but you’re not really present. 

The energetic aspect of Self, what we call shakti in Sanskrit, responds to our 

attention. It’s shakti that vitalizes meditation. The best way to kindle energy and 

give juice to our meditation is to pay very close attention to what is actually 

happening energetically. 

Rev. O’Brian: 

Sometimes we get married to our meditation technique and after a 

while it becomes like a loveless marriage where you are just living with the tech-

nique but no longer experimenting with it and asking: Where does this go? What 

is happening with it? 

Sally Kempton:

 Once we have entered into the practice through the technique, 

there are many ways to open up the various subtle spaces and states. It is through 

this kind of practice that you find doorways into the Self. At some point you are