One of the greatest meditation techniques for making progress in your spiritual evolution, is surprisingly not very well know, or widely practiced. In fact it does not even have a good name, but I call it my Daily Accounting Meditation Technique. This meditation technique is a remarkable tool for self-study, which is the key to self-realization. So what does it mean to do your daily accounting?

Daily accounting meditation means to meticulously, at the very end of the day before going to sleep, review the entire day from the time you woke up to the present moment. During this recall of the day's activities, the following two aspects should be attended to, as reviewing them carefully is the key to understanding the ego-self in action.

1. Emotional Behavior:

As you chronologically go over the day from the time you awoke, pause and reflect upon any episodes that were emotional in nature. See which ones created in you positive emotions and which ones elicited a negative response. In particular, pay attention to those episodes that forced in you a negative emotion.

What made you get angry, jealous, upset, fearful, etc? Think carefully about the situation and especially how it relates to your ego-self. What was it that you wanted and did not get? What was it that you were afraid of losing? What is it that another had, which you wished you possessed? Try and find the root cause of this reaction and study it carefully.

During this contemplation, make sure you do not judge yourself harshly or criticize your behavior. That has no benefits. Instead look upon it like a scientist. An outside, impassionate observer. Just carefully examine what took place. In this way you will start to understand your attachments and understanding your attachments is the first step in being free from them.

As you delve into these episodes, ask yourself if you could have done things differently. In fact, even replay the entire episode with yourself behaving in a more positive, relaxed manner. Practice this way so that the next time you are in a similar situation, you will perhaps be able to handle it will greater composer and poise.

2. Pretentious Behavior:

Again as you replay your day mentally, pause at any episode where you did not behave absolutely honestly. This may not be easy to spot initially, as putting on a false face and manipulating reality has almost become second nature to us. But as you practice this meditation technique, you will be able to better recognize all the pretentious behavior you participate in throughout the day.

Learning to give up this dishonesty, even if it goes in the name of diplomacy, is a very key factor in helping you with your spiritual growth. All the energy you waste in building and keeping up an image of yourself is freed up, as now you are simply going to be who you are, regardless of the consequences. You will find this simple change, to not only be liberating, but also a catalyst for propelling you forward in your spiritual evolution.

Summary:

So there you have the details of this very simple, yet powerful meditation technique to assist you in learning about the ego-self. As the great teachers that have come before us have time and again emphasized, be a light onto yourself. The daily accounting meditation technique is a potent method to shine the light of awareness onto the dark corners of your being, thus leading to eventual illumination and awakening.