Awakening Archives

Learn the

Foundations
of Spiritual Practice

Foundations of Spiritual Practice is a free, self-paced introduction to the teachings of meditation master Mark Griffin (1954–2018), created for anyone who feels called to begin — or deepen — their inner journey.

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

Whether you are new to meditation or returning to practice, this 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.

These foundational practices prepare the ground for deeper study in the Awakening Archives, including the topics Meditation, Kundalini, Tantra, Guru Lineage, and the nondual nature of Consciousness. Most importantly, they support the essential movement of spiritual life: from knowledge toward understanding, from understanding toward wisdom, and from wisdom toward direct recognition of the Self.

Begin your meditation practice today.

How to Use This Course

Take your time with this introductory course. We recommend spending a week or more with each lesson—listening, reflecting, and practicing regularly. There is no rush. These teachings are living transmissions, meant to unfold within you at your own pace.

At the end of each module you will find four questions for contemplation. Contemplation is a mode of focused mental activity that allows us to “feel” into a subject as we move beyond the strictures of discursive thinking.

Once you’ve completed this course, you may wish to deepen your practice by exploring our members-only archive, which includes hundreds of hours of teachings, meditations, and retreats from Mark Griffin’s 30 years of teaching.

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 deeply technical and esoteric 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).

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

In this meditative teaching, Mark Griffin invites practitioners into the subtle and sacred space between the in-breath and out-breath. Known in yogic and tantric traditions as the “juction” or “sandhya,” this twilight-like space is not merely a pause but the opening of a doorway to awakened awareness.

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.