When I was a counselor, I used to teach clients the basics of meditation. And this is what everyone said:
"I can't do it!"
"I have tried before and it doesn't work"
"There is no way I can completely clear my mind"
"I'm not good at visualizing or imaging things"
"I don't have time"
"I have too much on mind to focus on something else!"
"It can't be THAT great for you"
Any of those sound familiar?
The Good News is there is no one way to meditate, so finding a way to meditate that suits you is paramount to your physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Set the Space
As humans, we are sensing, and feeling creatures.
So lets play to that!
I like to create a little ritual so my body and mind know it's time to chill out and be centered.
I like to spray Love is in the Air to feel warmth and joy before I get down to it.
You can lie down or sit up straight with you feet on the floor. If you lie down you might fall asleep, if you're cool with that, then by all means. When you sit up straight you are allowing your Prana energy to flow through up better. Or you can just get cozy with a blanket.
Chose a space where you can be alone and uninterrupted. I love to be outside and meditate so I can hear some white noise or even the birds chirping. Other times I need complete silence and dim light in my room.
If you're really into foreplay (wink wink) make a cup of tea first, and sit in zen while you slowly drink and enjoy before getting into meditation.
A pre-meditation ritual will help you settle in better and better every time you engage in the ritual. So pick a ritual that speaks to you and is easy to stick to.
DIFFERENT MEDITATION STYLES AND PRACTICES
Mindfulness
This is the type of meditation most people think about when the fear pops into their head about closing their eyes, and closing their lips. Mindfulness is simply the practice of observation and being present.
Observe your body and its sensations, be present with what is happening around you, rather than what your mind is asking you to engage in.
An easy mindfulness practice and emotional deescalation tool is the 5 Senses Exercise: Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can physically feel, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste.
Another tip for mindfulness is with your eyes closed, count your breaths without engaging in your thoughts (that one can be difficult) and make it to ten breaths without interruption.
Or imagine you are sitting on a river bank and any time a thought comes up, acknowledge and validate the thought, then send it on down the river.
My favorite is to follow my heart beat, often with my hand over my heart.
Walking Meditation
A sibling of Mindfulness, Walking Meditation is great for people who feel the need to be active and aren't ready to be completely alone with their thoughts.
Great for beginners!
Ditch the earbuds, headphones, and speakers, and just head outside for a walk. The key word of this type of meditation is notice. Be fully engaged and immersed in your walk: Notice what flowers are blooming, what colors, the style of houses around your neighborhood, what animals you hear, if you can hear or feel the wind.
The possibilities of what you will notice is endless. So even if you do the same walk many times, the meditation is to notice different things.
When you are actively trying to notice things, you are not getting inundated by your thoughts and judgements and worry.
You will notice as you are walking, that you mind will start rattling off thoughts and sometimes you'll get lost in them. Don't fret, just start to notice things again.
Loving Kindness Meditation
This is one of my favorite types of meditation because it allows your mind to be active, while directive. Sitting with your eyes closed, or laying down (you may fall asleep in this position), think of someone you have a lot of love for, imagine them in front of you, then wish/give them Health, Happiness, Safety, and Abundance.
*You can give them what ever benevolent qualities you wish, those are just things I wish for myself, so I try and impart them to others. These people I place in front of me, I often hold their hands or hug them while I bless them; imagining physical contact helps me focus. I also send these qualities to them energetically. Like if I know a friend is struggling emotionally I will put them in my loving kindness meditation and imagine sending them love with a warm green hue (heart chakra color), and watch it wash over them. Or if I know someone is doubting themselves, I send vibrant yellow (solar plexus chakra color). Get creative with it! Make it your own! Adding personal twists to meditations will ensure you continue doing them.
*I also love love love this meditation because increasing your frequency of love will strengthen you aura in love and bring more love to you. It's a win win!
Mantra Meditation
Super simple and effective meditation is chanting a mantra, in your head or out loud. It keeps you focus on a specific intention and allows your mind space to feel and experience what ever thoughts or visions come up while you practice with the mantra.
Here are some examples for you to try:
-Om (sound of the Universe) Shanti Shanti Shanti (peace, peace, peace)
These are actual Sanskrit mantras. Sanskrit is a unique and ancient language where the sounds and vibrations of the words are in complete alignment with the thought they express. So chanting in Sanskrit does double duty of chanting the word, as well as channeling the vibration of the word.
Or you can try affirmations as mantras:
-I am love
-My heart will guide me
-The Universe supports and guides me
Visualization
Also great for an active mind is visualization meditations. Before you start, form an intention or desired outcome for the meditation. Here are some examples: getting the promotion, finding a lover, confronting my anger, talking to my higher self, going to the grand canyon. You can also create your "happy place"; a place where you can go when things get rough to decompress. My happy place is in a forrest on the south side of the Grand Canyon, where my black horse and dog chill with me in the lazy afternoon sun.
Then close your eyes, and tell a story! Have an adventure! Talk to your angels, or use your visualization time to manifest a trip to Italy!
The key to this type of meditation is to employ all of your sense. If you take your visualization to Florence, what do you see? How does it feel under your feet to walk on cobble stone? Can you hear church bells or choirs singing? What is the texture of the gelato you are eating?
It may be difficult at first. I used to get upset that I couldn't clearly "see" the things I was imagining. But like a muscle, you will get better and better at it.
Have fun, get creative.
WHY MEDITATE
It is a radical thing, to carve out a few minutes a day to sit in silence, with your eyes closed. Especially with all the distractions, TV, social media, work, emails, gym, tan, laundry, etc. we 'need' to be doing.
When you are constantly thinking every waking moment, and you are not practiced at controlling these thoughts, you are not only wasting opportunities, you can even do damage in your life.
When you are able to control you thoughts and slow down your mind, you are more able to chose more beneficial thoughts, therefore actively engaging in the co-creation process of the Universe
The less time you have for meditation, the more it will benefit you to meditate.
Here are some scientifically proven ways that meditation is actually a natural medication
1. Stress Less. Less stress means living longer, less aging, and better health. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453014000584
2. Increase Positive Emotions. Forget the relationship, or the promotion, or the new TV, siting with yourself in silence will literally make you a happier person with what you already have. Imagine that: free and lasting happiness. woah. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18954193
3. Emotional and Physical Healing. Meditation has been shown to reduce depression, anger, chronic pain, and mental illness. Just goes to show, all things are possible, and reside within us. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16049118
4. Increase your Mental Acuity. Training your brain a few minutes a day to clear out the unnecessary clutter will improve your focus, ability to recall and memorize, and increase decision making abilities. It's no wonder big companies are setting aside time for their employees to meditate. https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/how-to-boost-brain-power-iq-memory-intelligence/
5. Improves Heart Health and Immune Function: Grounding, and calming effects of meditation will reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, which lowers blood pressure and increases the fighting power of your immune system. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12883106
Survey Says...Just Do It.
Leave a comment about how you like to meditate or any barriers you feel that prevent you from meditation!
Don't forget to use your Zen Master essential oil blend to feel grounded and centered before you meditate
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