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Learn how to meditate...
General Guidelines for Meditation
Put your expectations aside, and don't worry about the process. There are infinite possibilities and no fixed rules for determining the 'correct' way to meditate. There are, however, a few things to avoid. They are...
Trying to force something to happen.
Over-analyzing the meditation.
Trying to make your mind blank or chase thoughts away.
Putting too much emphasis on doing it right.It's not necessary - or advisable - to meditate on a completely empty stomach. If you're hungry, have a little something to eat before meditating. If your stomach is growling while you are attempting to meditate, you will be distracted. Same goes for starting a meditation with a full stomach and all you can think about is how full you feel. Eat healthy meals at your regular times and all should be well.
Find a quiet, comfortable place to meditate. You can sit in a comfortable chair, on the bed, on the floor ... anywhere that's comfortable. It's not necessary to sit cross-legged. Your legs can be in any position that is comfortable.
Eliminate as much noise and as many potential distractions as possible. Don't worry about those things that you can not control. Once you become accustomed to meditating, noises and outside distractions will no longer affect your meditation. Please keep in mind though that if there is ever an emergency, or someone needs to get your attention, you will always return from your meditation quickly and ready to respond to the situation. Tom used to meditate in a machine shop during his lunch break with music playing over the sound system and presses running. With practice, you will be able to tune out all distracting noises.
When you sit to meditate, sit comfortably, with your spine reasonably straight. This allows the spiritual energy to flow freely up the spine, which is an important aspect of meditation. Leaning against a chair back, a wall, headboard, etc. is perfectly all right. If, for physical reasons, you can't sit up, lay flat on your back. Being comfortable is important so you don't feel the need to keep moving around while you are meditating. Make sure your hands are in any position that is comfortable.
Put your expectations aside and don't worry about doing it correctly. There are infinite possibilities and no hard and set rules. Simply calm your body and mind. Take 3 slow, deep breaths and release them slowly. As you are breathing, concentrate on each breath. We all have thoughts racing through our heads all the time, but just concentrate on each breath and give it your full attention. It is ok if your mind will not quiet down. There are several things you can do to help quiet your thoughts. Imagine a big blackboard and throw all of your thoughts onto the board; imagine a giant sticky note and throw each thought onto a note; throw each thought onto a piece of paper and throw it into a wastebasket. Or even crazier still, you can just choose the most prevalent thought and focus upon it as your meditation.
There's no limit to the things you can direct your attention toward ... symbols, sounds, colors, breath, uplifting thoughts, spiritual realms, etc. Meditation is simply about attention ... where you direct it, and how it alters your consciousness.
If it does not go against your beliefs, call upon a "higher source" for assistance in your meditation. Any form is all right. This can be quite helpful, but is not absolutely necessary. If you read through one of my guided meditations, you will see how I start each of my meditations. I find that it is good to create a pattern to start your meditations, that way your brain will know when it's time to start meditating.
You make up the rules!! This is your time to relax and go within yourself. If you only have 5 minutes to devote to meditation, that is absolutely fine. I have stood in the grocery store and had a 10 second mini-meditation --- all is fair when you are making the rules.
I do recommend one big thing that you should do after each meditation session, however. Keep a journal of your meditations. You do not have to sit and write for an hour or write every detail. It's more important to keep a record of major and minor things so that you can look back and see patterns. This is a very valuable tool and you will be happy to have kept one. You can record images you saw or things you felt. Sometimes you will sense or smell things or just have ideas pop into your head. Make sure that you write them down ... and write the date and time with each entry.
Ok ... that is enough for you to get started!! Just relax, be comfortable and go with the flow. If you need help, check out the guided meditation sections. Once you get the hang of it, you can just go on your own. You can listen to soft music or just have the room quiet. Ask for guidance from your Higher-Self and have fun with it!!
Meditation can be easily learned and practiced. Meditation is only difficult if we become too concerned with doing it correctly or incorrectly. Although staying focused in meditation does become easier with time and practice, it is definitely not a requirement for beginning to meditate. Thinking that we should be good at focusing when first starting out, is essentially putting the cart before the horse.
Purposes and effects of meditation
Learn To Meditate - The OM Technique
Learn To Meditate - The Chakra System
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