Meditation Intro

As we start our exploration of meditation, here are some initial things that will help us get into a meditate state. These are general practices that should be adhered to every time we meditate as it will help the progress the experience.

1. Have a quiet location where you can meditate undisturbed.

-This should be a personal space.  One where you feel personally comfortable.  It does not always have to be the same place, as we are mobile, but having a familiar location is a good idea.

-Having something near you that is calming can also help.  For some people this may be a certain gem or crystal.  For others it may be another object that belonged to a loved one who had a positive influence in their life.  Anything that creates a more peaceful atmosphere and has a positive energy attached to it will aid us, even if just slightly.  If you have nothing, that is fine too.

2.  Be Comfortable in Your Attire.

-In meditation we want to be as still.  Thus being comfortable is very key.  This will include the clothes that we are wearing.  Something that constantly needs to be adjusted will not serve us in any way in getting into a serene state.

-It is recommended you remove contacts and eye wear.  For most meditation practices it will not matter.  But as we progress and want to get deeper, especially if we want to move into methods of speaking with our spirit guides, removing our eye wear can help us form a bit better connection.  Also, it is simply another thing which may need adjustment, but which is not required during meditation.

3. Find a Comfortable Position.

-Often we see people in books or in movies in uncomfortable positions for meditation, and this deters some people from meditating.  I don’t really believe it matters too much.  The most important thing is being comfortable and not falling asleep.

-Sit upright in a chair or on the ground against a wall.  I usually sit against my bed or against a wall, with a blanket over my legs.  Legs pulled in comfortably and soles of the feet flat on the floor.  My arms are wherever (normally laying in my lap between my stomach and thighs) and I either keep my head back comfortably or allow it to fall forward.

-Lying down to cause us to easily fall asleep, so sitting up is recommended but if you prefer lying and don’t fall asleep, then lay flat on your back.

-If you are sitting up, keep your feet flat on the floor.  This is good for “grounding” practices which will be discussed later.

4.  Don’t drink alcohol and be drug free.

-No alcohol is a must.  Alcohol sends our minds spinning when the purpose of meditation is to quiet the mind.  Don’t bother trying to quieten the mind when intoxicated.  Wait till you have no alcohol in your system.  Even one drink can disrupt our level of meditation.

-When we drink we are not quite ourselves.  This can attract to us energies which align with our current state and are not good for us.

-Don’t use prescription drugs when they are their peak levels within us.  If possible don’t use any drugs (including aspirin or over the counter medications) around the time you meditate.  These too cause energy changes within us.

-Avoid natural drugs such as marijuana or other more intense drugs unless you are very sure of what you are doing.  I don’t think it is needed for most people, so avoid it before meditating.

5.  Remove Your Everyday Worries

-This is actually kind of what meditation is – a quietening of the mind.  But I add it in here because this process is required for further steps in meditation.  If you never quiet the mind you will never reach deep peace.

-This is a “cleansing” process where we allow our daily worries, fears and anxieties to float away.

-We can do this by visualizing ourselves vividly standing in a warm rain shower, under a waterfall in a calm river, etc.  Anything that is peaceful gives us a feeling of peace and can take our worries away.  Image your worries flowing away with the water.  Alternatively, you can image your anxieties and persistent thoughts as a physical form in any shape you imagine.  Then dissolve it in any way you feel.  This could again be through calm flowing water, burning or watching it dissolve.  Do not make this process violent.  It is a free flowing release in a serene mental environment.

6.  Breathe

-Meditation is about breathing.  While going through these mental exercises, and when in deeper states, always breathe.  Feel your lungs filling air.  Feel a connection to the air and its life giving force.  Always breathe.

-Proper breath is when air is taken to the lower part of the lungs.  Often we breath taking shallow breaths and have a sensation we are just filling the top part of our lungs.  When breathing in a meditation, and at all times when we remember, visualize the air coming in and filling the bottom of the lungs.  The stomach should rise or push out, and as we exhale it will fall back in.  Watch a baby.  They normally do this well – the belly rises and falls as they sleep.  This is how we should breathe, taking relaxing long inhales into the abdomen area.

7.  Don’t Meditate While Stuffed

-If you are full of food your body will be focused on digestion and not so much on allowing you to enter deep states of peace.  Wait til your food has fully settled before meditating.

8.  Cleanse

-This is an optional step and is an addition to the cleansing above.  The above cleansing removed our unwanted thoughts.  A further cleansing would be to imagine ourselves bathed in a white light.  This light protects in our meditation and restores us.  We could also imagine our self being bathed in gold.  This creates a mental protective barrier around us and prevents any energies which are not good for us to move on.

-Imagine for a few moments this light.  It is cleansing your body, your mind and creating a shield around you.

-If you are a positive person, you don’t really need to do this.  Your positive energy has already created a barrier around you.  If you are negative or feeling a little off that day, then include this technique.  That said, it doesn’t hurt and a little rejuvenating cleansing light can do anyone good.

9.  Come out of Mediation Slowly

-This meditation was our time to renew our self.  If we get up and start running around immediately we may feel a little disjointed.  Relax.  Get up slowly.  Wait a little bit before doing anything strenuous.  It is not that anything bad will happen if we start running around, but meditation is there to slow us down.  So don’t rush out of it.

-As we learn more techniques and meditation for different things, our answers or additional information we were seeking may come through after we have started to wrap up the meditation.  If we start rushing off this information may be missed.