Learn the

Foundations
of Spiritual Practice

Foundations of Spiritual Practice is a free, self-paced meditation course introducing the teachings of meditation master Mark Griffin (1954–2018). It was created for anyone who feels called to begin—or deepen—an inner journey through meditation, contemplation, and direct spiritual practice.

Through guided audio teachings, written materials, and questions for contemplation, the course offers a clear entry point into Mark’s approach to sadhana, meditation, and awakening. Each module invites you to turn within and begin exploring the deeper dimensions of consciousness through practice and experience.

Whether you are new to meditation or returning to an established practice, the course is designed to meet you where you are. You can move through the lessons at your own pace, taking time to listen, reflect, journal, and integrate the teachings into daily life.

A Free, Self-Paced Meditation Course

Foundations of Spiritual Practice is offered freely through the Awakening Archives. There is no fixed schedule, and you do not need previous experience with meditation or Tantric philosophy to begin.

The course is organized as a progressive sequence of seven modules. Each module presents an aspect of spiritual practice through Mark Griffin’s recorded instruction and accompanying written material. Questions for contemplation encourage you to examine the teachings directly and discover how they relate to your own experience.

You may complete a module in a single sitting or remain with it for several days. The purpose is not to move through the material as quickly as possible, but to give each teaching sufficient time to become part of your practice and understanding.

What You Will Explore

Throughout the course, you will be introduced to foundational principles and practices that appear across Mark Griffin’s teaching system. These include:

Establishing and sustaining a meditation practice
Understanding sadhana as a disciplined path of inner development
Working with breath, attention, and awareness
Recognizing the relationship between practice and consciousness
Reflecting on spiritual teachings through contemplation and journaling
Bringing meditative understanding into everyday life

The course approaches meditation as more than a method of relaxation. Practice becomes a way of refining attention, examining the mind, and discovering the awareness present beneath changing thoughts, emotions, and perceptions.

Who This Course Is For

This course may be especially helpful if you:

Are beginning meditation and want clear spiritual instruction
Are returning to practice after time away
Want to establish greater consistency in your inner work
Are interested in Mark Griffin’s teachings but are unsure where to begin
Want to explore meditation within a broader path of awakening
Prefer to learn independently and proceed at your own pace

No particular belief or previous training is required. The essential preparation is a willingness to practice, reflect, and engage the material with openness.

Begin Foundations of Spiritual Practice

Move through the course patiently and allow the teachings to unfold through experience. Listen carefully, practice regularly, and return to the material whenever deeper reflection is needed.

Begin your meditation practice today.

How to Use This Course

Learning Through Practice and Reflection

Each module combines listening, study, and contemplation. The guided audio allows you to encounter Mark Griffin’s instruction directly, while the written materials provide an opportunity to revisit important ideas at your own pace.

The contemplation questions are not tests, and there is no single correct response. They are invitations to slow down, reflect honestly, and allow intellectual understanding to develop into personal insight. You may wish to keep a journal as you proceed, recording questions, observations, and changes in your meditation practice.

Consistency is more important than intensity. Even a modest amount of regular practice can establish the foundation for deeper spiritual work.

A Foundation for Deeper Study

These practices prepare the ground for exploring the larger body of teachings preserved in the Awakening Archives. The course introduces principles that connect with the five core topics of Meditation, Kundalini, Tantra, Guru Lineage, and Consciousness.

As your practice develops, these subjects can be approached not merely as philosophical ideas, but as different dimensions of an integrated path. Meditation refines attention. Kundalini concerns the awakening and transformation of spiritual energy. Tantra provides a framework for working with body, mind, and consciousness. Guru Lineage explores transmission and grace. Consciousness teachings point toward recognition of the Self.

Foundations of Spiritual Practice provides an accessible starting point from which these deeper areas of study can gradually unfold.

Course Modules

Module 1 · Duration: 36:57

Why Do Sadhana?

In this foundational talk, Mark Griffin emphasizes that sadhana—spiritual practice—is the means by which the aspirant moves from discursive knowledge gathering toward wisdom itself, from potential to realization.

Module 2 · Duration: 1 Hour

The Breath Meditation

In this powerful one-hour discourse, Mark Griffin reveals the breath as one of the most potent and accessible tools for spiritual realization. Drawing from classical yogic and tantric systems, he shows how breath is not just a biological function—but a bridge between body, mind, and consciousness.

Module 3 · Duration: 1:18:34

Prana, SoHam, and the Four Bodies

This module is a technical talk that dives into the yogic use of breath (prana), the mantra SoHam, and their relationship to the four bodies (physical, subtle, causal, and supra-causal). Mark Griffin opens the talk by establishing the breath not just as a tool for meditation, but as a primary vehicle of consciousness itself.

Module 4 · Duration: 1:17:18

Listening to the SoHam Meditation

In this meditation, Mark Griffin offers a detailed and experiential guide to the practice of listening to the SoHam — not just as a mantra or technique, but as a cosmic frequency that is always present in the breath.

Module 5 · Duration: 1:17:01

The Space Between the Breaths Meditation

This practice leads you into one of the most subtle and profound experiences in meditation: the still point between inhalation and exhalation. In that quiet, suspended moment, the thinking mind has not yet reasserted itself, and something luminous begins to emerge. Mark calls this space a doorway—a threshold into the awakened nature of Mind itself.

Module 6 · Duration: 54:07

What Is Shaktipat?

In this profound teaching, Mark Griffin demystifies the sacred and often misunderstood subject of Shaktipat—the transmission of spiritual awakening energy from guru to student.

Module 7 · Duration: 46:03

Bodhicitta Meditation

In this culminating module, Mark Griffin offers a deep, experiential transmission of the Bodhicitta—the awakened heart-mind of compassion and wisdom. He presents Bodhicitta not as an abstract virtue, but as a stabilizing force during the most intense inner transformations, particularly when one is navigating the “tempestuous waters” of purification.