METHODS OF MEDITATION
Before pursuing any form of meditation one must first be protected and grounded. Various forms of meditation are listed after the grounding exercises.
GROUNDING
Grounding is very important - when you are not grounded there is a very thin connecting thread between the physical body and the spiritual body. This can be quite dangerous especially if you were suddenly interrupted or startled while meditating - and for various other reasons. When you are grounded you have a greater awareness of what is happening with your spirit body and you have greater control over your energy field. Being ungrounded results in a 'spaced out' or 'unreal' feeling. You know you are not grounded when you put your shoes in the fridge, walk into a room and forget why you went in the room, feed the cat licorice instead of cat food, can't find your eyeglasses only to 'find' them on top of your head, etc.
One method of grounding is to eat; unfortunately this also puts on calories.
A second method is to picture yourself as a tree, roots grow out from your feet down into the earth for as far and wide as you wish. You may also picture the negative energies leaving your system where ever rock or lava appears - and you gain positive energies from the earth where ever soil and water are.
A third method [you are sitting on a chair] is to picture your spine extending down from your body down into the earth. Your spine extends through the layers of rock, strata, lava, soil, water, minerals, etc. until it reaches the very core of the earth itself - there you will send all the negative energies into the core in exchange for all the positive energies.
A fourth is to get in touch with nature. When walking in, or observing, nature we are more connected and grounded than when we are simply in our cramped environments. Even sitting in a favorite room filled with plants, or water, or stones, has a wonderful calming effect.
Some people find a form of exercise [either mild or strenuous] to be very grounding. Dancing is also grounding.
Walk in the rain, crunch through the snow, splash in a pool, be warmed by the sun - all have grounding effects.
In grounding you automatically become more aware and more real.
CHOOSING A MEDITATION
How do you choose a meditation? The method of meditation which you choose is the right one for you as an individual, at this specific time in your own development. The best one for you is the one that leaves you feeling better and more relaxed when you do it. After a while you may notice that you find yourself addicted to feeling good and you will continues the pursuit of this 'addiction'.
BREATHING
There are varied methods of breathing: rapid breathing [shallow]; slow deep breathing; breath counting [counting each breath as you inhale or exhale and making it last as long as possible]; spasm breathing, and more.
BUBBLE
Picture yourself sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor and watch a bubble of air as it slowly forms and rises off the sea bed. Watch its path as it slowly rises up within your line of vision until it passes you and is up and out of your line of vision. Don't count them but do them one at a time. Variations: smoke puffs as they rise from an outdoor fire; clouds as they roll by; logs in a river as they float by - but always one at a time from start to end.
CHANTS
The saying of one word, over and over again, has a tone of its own and it can be any word that you choose. For example, you could make the sounds: 'ohm', 'one', 'love', 'peace', etc.
MANTRAS
Much as a chant, it is the repetition of a group of words that you choose. For example, you could say: 'jai-ma-ma-ma', 'God is love', 'ohm-mei-shi-via', 'peace on earth', 'Mother Earth, Father Sky, Love be with me, 'til I die', etc.
COUNTDOWN
This form of meditation will also take you to a deeper level and it is advisable that having once 'descended' that you 'ascend' when you are done. Pick a place where you feel safe [real or imaginary]. In this example I'll use a stairway - start at the top of the stairs and as you take a step down each stair you will say a number [counting backwards from 10 to 1] - it stands to reason you will only use ten stairs for this exercise. Do this without haste and pause as long as you like on each step - you may add affirmations in or expectations as you descend with each stair. When you've reached the bottom step you may specify where you wish to be when you step onto the landing, or simply just be.
TUNNELS
You picture yourself going through a tunnel of your choosing and at a speed of your choosing. Your tunnel will bend or straighten as you choose, but always you will be moving. Your tunnel can be coloured or black & white. Your tunnel can vary in size. You will notice you do not walk so much as glide or fly through. Your pace could be slow or of a racing speed. You may have 'exits' in your tunnel leading you to various locations of interest. The choices are yours.
SELF-HYPNOSIS
Staring at an object for a prolonged period of time with 'nothing' in your mind. Stare at a picture, a plant, an object, a landscape [watching the waves on the beach and the sounds of nature], etc. Some find the flickering dance of a candle relaxing while others will watch fish in an aquarium.
BLANKNESS
Discipline is a key in all meditations but especially so in this one. Treat yourself as you would an energetic child whom you love very much. Each time you stray from the blankness, firmly bring yourself back to this nothingness and stay with it.
THOUSAND-PETALED LOTUS
Chose a word [love, peace, colour, house, etc.] and place it in the center of your meditation and softly sit there and wait - a word association will come to you - observe it for three or four seconds and release it [you may not understand the relationship of this word with your center word]. In either case you wait patiently for the next word to come [the association] and continue on in this method [much as building a flower - one petal at a time, no limits]. If you run into associations you do not understand continue anyway for they will clear up.
RELAXATION
Simply start at one end of your body [either your head or your feet] and work your way towards the other end while contracting and releasing one muscle group at a time. Tighten each muscle group consciously and then consciously release it - feeling it relax and let go - then move on to the next group until finally finishing at the other end. The head 'muscles' should be relaxed by not thinking about anything outside of what you are doing. Lying in an aroma scented bathtub, staring at something or resting with your eyes shut while playing soft music, burning candles and incense - is a relaxing experience all by itself and often leads to a sensation of 'floating'.
GUIDED MEDITATION
This is a meditation in which you simply relax and try to follow the speaker as you a led through a series of events. Do not worry if you cannot follow the speaker and go off on a path all of your own, this is quite all right.
NATURAL MEDITATION
This 'natural' meditation is so called because the person meditating needs no preparation - they simply think it's time to meditate and their body instantly responds and quickly goes into a relaxed and receptive mode. Few indeed are those with the ability to do this ~ everything 'shifts' naturally without any need to prepare beforehand.
MEDITATION - Chakra Colour Visualization
MEDITATION - House of Guides
MEDITATION - Positive Programming
MEDITATION - Paradise Bridge
MEDITATION - Peaceful Garden
