What is meditation? Ask a hundred different people and you will get a hundred different answers. Some will tell you that it is a state of extreme relaxation, others will say that it is extreme concentration. Still another will consider it a transcendent state while another will describe it as an altered state. So in reality, what is it? The answer is that it may be any of the above, some combination of the above, or something else entirely. Just what meditation is and how one goes about it depends entirely upon the person doing the meditation and what they are trying to accomplish. What works for one person may not work for someone else.
Who can meditate? Well, if you are capable of reading this document, you can. And when can you use meditation? Just about any time. And how long should a meditation session last? Well that all depends on a lot of factors. I have at work slipped into a meditative state for just about a minute, and had it do wonders for me. At other times you may want to extend the meditation out to a half hour or even longer.
It is far beyond the scope of this series to tell you everything that there is to know about meditation. Entire volumes have been written on the subject. Besides, I don't know all that there is on the subject myself, by a long sight. Rather, what I will do is to describe various meditation techniques, and their values in enough detail so that anyone from a beginner on up can follow them and practice them. Naturally, we will start with the easiest and most basic method first and work our way up to more complex or advanced methods.
Many of you are very practiced with meditation, so the first lessons may seem very simplistic and basic. But some of you may be completely new to meditation, having never practiced it before. So we will start these lessons with the newest beginner in mind. And I myself occasionally use the first one myself. If you are new to meditation, I strongly urge you to start with the first one listed here and work your way through them, and use each one several times before continuing on to the next one. So lets start with:
A Quiet Meditation
In my personal opinion, this is the best form of meditation for a beginner to start with, and I still use it at times myself.
Start by sitting up straight in a comfortable chair or sofa. Your feet should both be flat on the floor in front of you with your hands in your lap. Crossing your legs or stretching them out in front of you may be comfortable at first, but after a few minutes could cause tensions that will interfere with your ability to get the most out of your meditation. Some people believe that you must get into the lotus position (a yoga position) in order to successfully meditate. If you can get into this position comfortably, and maintain it comfortably for the duration of your meditation, and if you feel that it is necessary, OK. Just remember, it has to be comfortable. If it causes stress, or tension or any discomfort, then I suggest that you skip it.
Close your eyes. Take three or four (or five or six) deep breaths in through your nose. As you inhale, you may find it helpful to picture a white light coming in with the air and filling your entire body. Then exhale through your mouth. As you exhale, picture all of your tensions and stresses flowing out with the exhaled air. Feel the tensions and stresses flowing out. Just let them go.
Now let your mind become quiet and still. If a thought enters your head, don't try to suppress it, or stop and examine it, just let it drift on through. You may find some unusual thoughts passing through your head. You may also find yourself seeing pictures or visions. Or you may find yourself feeling things, unusual feelings or emotions. I have even heard bird songs or even music and smelled flowers or perfume during a quiet meditation. Don't worry about it, just let them pass through. There will be plenty of time to think about it all and examine it later.
When you feel that you have been in a meditative state long enough, start coming back to the physical reality slowly. Take a few deep breaths and direct your attention toward your physical body. It may surprise you to discover that during the meditative state, you may have become completely unaware of your physical body. Don't worry about it, that doesn't always happen, but it is not at all unusual.
When you feel that you are back in the here and now, open your eyes. If you happened to notice what time it was when you started your meditation, you may be in for another surprise when you open your eyes again.
Time doesn't seem to move at the same speed during meditation as it does normally. I sometimes meditate for what seems to be five minutes only to find that actually a half hour to an hour has passed. At other times I may meditate for what seems to be twenty minutes or a half hour and find that only five minutes has passed. You may want to set a timer if you feel that you want to meditate for a certain period of time. If you do use a timer, use a gentle one, any raucous or loud noise can be quite a shock when you are in a meditative state. For this reason, you may also want to turn off the ringer on the telephone during meditation. I have had the telephone ring when I was meditating and it was almost like someone had hit me.
After you are back in the here and now, you may want to examine the thoughts, sights and feelings that you experienced during your meditation. They can often be a source of insight into yourself. And if you are a beginner, I would suggest trying to meditate for about 5 to 10 minutes to begin with.
Although there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, beginners will sometimes become frightened with things that they don't understand. If you are a beginner and are afraid that you may run into something that may frighten you, you can do this. Before you start, make a loose fist with one hand except have the thumb inside of the fist. Then, if you become frightened by something that you don't understand, simply squeeze your thumb and you will be back in the here and now.
If you are going to be doing this, I would suggest that you use each method that I describe on a daily basis for a week to ten days before moving on the next, more advanced method. Also picking some particular time of the day for your meditation would be beneficial. It would be best if you could use the same time every day while you are learning. I would only suggest one no-no concerning meditation. I would suggest that you not use it while laying in bed. The problem here is that meditation is normally a very relaxed state and you could fall asleep. That would start a conditioning that says, "I'm meditating, that means that it is time to go to sleep." And that really is not what you want.
Just a few notes here. Some people like to have music playing while the meditation is going on. There is nothing wrong with this and it works great for some people. Personally, I prefer it quiet as I have on occasion "heard" beautiful music while meditating. Having music playing would interfere with that. Some people like to have incense burning, again, this is fine if it works for you. I usually don't use it myself. If you can set up a certain time every day for your meditation, it would be good. And trying to meditate when you are very tired might not work for you at all, in fact you will likely fall asleep. If you do fall asleep, it does not mean that you have failed, it probably means that you were very relaxed and perhaps a bit too tired. One more note. If you are a beginner, I suggest that you start your meditation sessions with 5-10 minutes and work your way up to about a half hour.
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Hopefully by now you have had some practice with the Quiet Meditation and feel comfortable with the act of meditating. The next form of meditation that I will describe is one that I have not used for many years, and normally do not recommend it. I am including it here because some people do like to use it and I have been asked about it. This is what I call an "Object Meditation" for lack of a better name.
An Object Meditation
In my personal opinion, this form of meditation is not one that I would recommend because the unblinking stare can cause eye strain which I personally find distracting. But you may like it so I am including it here. The first step is picking something to concentrate on. This may be a candle flame, a crystal ball, a cross, a pentacle, an ankh, a Star of David, a rose or anything else that you choose.
For this, you will probably want to be seated at a table or desk with the object of your choice in front of you. Now you may be seated upright with your hands in your lap as in the previous meditation, or you may rest your arms on the table in front of you. Close your eyes. Take three or four (or five or six) deep breaths in through your nose. As you inhale, you may find it helpful to picture a white light coming in with the air and filling your entire body. Then exhale through your mouth. As you exhale, picture all of your tensions and stresses flowing out with the exhaled air. Feel the tensions and stresses flowing out. Just let them go.
Now open your eyes. Stare at the object that you have chosen. If the object is fairly large, pick one spot on it to stare at, don't let your eyes wander about. Again, let your mind become quiet and still. You should soon find that the object of your concentration has become your entire world, your universe. Allow yourself to become totally lost in it. If a thought enters your head, don't try to suppress it, or stop and examine it, just let it drift on through. You may find some unusual thoughts passing through your head. You may also find yourself seeing pictures or visions. It is not unusual to see "things" in whatever you are looking at. This may be another object, a scene or some type of activity or action. It could also be a face of someone that you know or have known or a complete stranger. Or you may find yourself feeling things, unusual feelings or emotions. Don't worry about it, just let them pass through. There will be plenty of time to think about it all and examine it later. When you feel that you have been in a meditative state long enough, start coming back to the physical reality slowly. Take a few deep breaths and direct your attention back toward your physical body.
After you are back in the here and now, you may want to examine the thoughts, sights and feelings that you experienced during your meditation. Pay especial attention to any sights that you may have seen as this is primarily a visual meditation.
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Taking a Trip
Before you start the actual meditation, you need to pick a goal or destination. This may be a garden, or a beach or a mountain stream or a woodland pond or anywhere else that seems peaceful and calming to you. This does not have to be any place that you have ever seen or been to before, or even seen a picture of. After you have chosen your destination, again be seated as in the quiet meditation. Again, close your eyes and take the deep breaths and let go of the tensions and stresses just as you did during the quiet meditation.
Once you have gotten relaxed and quiet, picture yourself rising from your chair and going to the door. As you picture yourself opening the door, and going through the door, you will find yourself on a pathway that leads quickly to where ever you are going. As you travel along the path, let yourself experience it completely. If there are flowers, allow yourself to see their colors and smell their perfume. If there are animals, allow yourself to see them in their everyday activities. If there are birds, allow yourself to hear their songs. If there is a brook bubbling over the rocks, allow yourself to hear the song of the brook, and look closely, there may be fish in the brook. If you end up at a beach, see and hear the surf, smell the salt in the air and hear the gulls. Where ever you end up on your "trip," allow yourself to experience it fully. You may want to just sit quietly and soak up the surroundings, if there is any there, you may want to "dangle your feet in the water." Whatever you do while you are there is entirely up to you, but experience it fully. See it, feel it, hear it, smell it, and if appropriate, taste it.
When time comes to end the meditation, return in the same manner that you went on the trip, that is, use the same path, you should see the same sights coming back as you saw going.
Again, come back to the here and now slowly, deliberately. It is even more important than during the quiet meditation. You don't want to leave part of your consciousness "out there" somewhere. And after you are back in the here and now, examine any thoughts, feelings or visions that you might have had during your meditation. If something that you would have thought should have been pleasant was unpleasant, question this, why? For instance, if dangling your feet in the water was uncomfortable, why was it uncomfortable? Again, you can gain insights into yourself that you didn't have before.
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Soul Trip
Again, seat yourself comfortably as before and close your eyes. Now repeat these words, "I call to my Guardian Angel. Please surround me with protection and be with me." You may either speak the words aloud or merely think them. The exact wording is not critical, you are just trying to avoid a "bad trip" and you may replace the words "Guardian Angle" with "Spirit Guides". Again, take the deep breaths and visualize and feel the white light filling your body and surrounding you. And as you exhale, feel the tensions and stresses leaving your entire being.
After you have gotten relaxed, repeat the following words, either aloud or in thought. "I speak to my Guardian Angel. Please lead me on a trip to some place that will have significance to me and be at my side." Again, the exact wording is not critical. Or you may say, "Please lead me on a trip where I can find something that is important to me."
Now, as you feel led, visualize yourself getting up and going to the door, just as before. Only this time, you will be going where ever you are led to go. Again, let yourself experience it fully. Don't try to analyze anything that you experience during the actual meditation, save that for after the meditation. Again, as you are returning to the here and now, come back via the same route that you used to get there.
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Spiritual Meditation
Prepare for this just as you did with the soul trip, i.e. take the deep breaths, fill and surround yourself with white light, etc. Ask your Guardian Angel to surround you with protection and to be with you. Then, when you are ready, ask your Guardian Angel to lead you to a high spiritual place, such as a temple. Again, don't try to analyze anything as it happens, save analysis for after the meditation.
Incidently, during your trips, particularly during the soul trip or the spiritual meditation, don't be surprised if you should meet someone during the meditation. And if you do meet someone, do not hesitate to talk to them. I have an amusing story to tell concerning this meditation. Once, years ago right after my ex-wife and I had just gotten married, we were meditating together. I explained to her how to get to a temple that I knew of and more or less led her there. Then I went there myself. For the first and only time that I have ever been there, the front door of the temple was closed, so I went somewhere else. After the meditation, I mentioned to my ex that I had never seen the door to the temple closed before and she replied, "Oh. I closed it."
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Regression Meditation
This meditation also uses the help of your Guardian Angel. Ask for the protection and the Guardian Angel's presence. Then use the relaxing deep breaths with the white light filling and surrounding you.
Then, when you are ready, repeat the words, "I ask my Guardian Angel to take me back in time to some incident that is having an effect on my life today." Again, the wording is not critical, just so long as you get the meaning across. Don't be surprised if you relive an incident from your childhood that you had completely forgotten.
If you are a beginner, I would not start out with this meditation until I had become very practiced with the other forms of meditation that I have explained. I have even known people using this form of meditation to experience things that had happened in a previous lifetime. It has happened to me. Earlier in my life, I have had some irrational fears. During a regression meditation I have seen things from previous lifetimes that had caused them. Interestingly, once I became aware of the cause, the fear evaporated.
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Active Meditation
I have never used this meditation because it simply does not work for me. However there are some people for whom getting quiet simply does not work, or perhaps they are looking for something that might be described as "higher energy." These people, and even those for whom the "Quiet Meditation" works can try a Dance Meditation. Try dancing all alone, either to music or to the music in your mind and let your mind and thoughts flow where they might. Or you can try chanting. Pick a word or a phrase and repeat it over and over in a monotone. Again, let your mind go where it will. And if you are dancing, who knows, you might find yourself dancing among the stars.
Happy meditating!
~Joyce
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