I seem to get
lots of questions on Twitter about the basics of meditation so I thought I’d
make an entry covering a lot of common questions and concerns about meditation.
Meditation at its core, is about simplicity so try not to overcomplicate it
even though I may give many different perspectives and meditations in the
passage to follow. Try things out and see what works for you.
The Basics
At its most basic
form, meditation is simply closing your eyes, sitting with a straight back, and
focusing on your breath. That’s it. Let your mind and body relax and simply
focus on your breath. If your thoughts wander, simply bring your attention back
to your breath.
Posture
The most
imperative part of posture is a straight back. Any slouching causes stagnance
of energy flow. Traditionally, the posture is Full Lotus, which is having the
legs crossed over each opposing thigh. If this is uncomfortable for you, then
don’t do it. Comfort is also important to the process of meditation. Half Lotus
is resting only one foot on top of the opposing thigh and is much less
strenuous. You can also just sit classical “Indian style” as well. If you have
a weak back, then you may lean against something to keep it straight. Sitting
up straight ensures you don’t fall asleep during a meditation. You may also lay
down to meditate, but be aware you will sleep into deeper wavelengths of the
mind and you’re very likely to fall asleep if you haven’t trained the will to
focus on staying awake. One work around for this is laying in a position where
you know it is nearly impossible for you to fall asleep in. Keep in mind
though, the straight back is paramount, no matter which posture you choose. Don’t
strain to keep an overtly rigid posture, just a relaxed, upright posture with
no slouching.
In terms of
fidgeting, if you’re uncomfortable and its beginning to fill your mind, just go
ahead and shift into a more comfortable position. Generally, as a meditation
progresses, you’ll not need to shift as much and will settle into a comfortable
posture. The tongue is best touching the roof of the mouth so that saliva doesn’t
gather excessively becoming a distraction as well.
Observe everything
When you first
begin meditation, it is best to simply OBSERVE everything. Don’t alter
your breath, but observe your natural breath. Don’t alter your thoughts, but
simply observe your thoughts. The trick is to not let your mind get too swept
away by a string of thoughts. Let the thoughts arise, then let them go. The
breath will always be the anchor of your focus and a point to return to. It is
ok if you get caught in a long string of thoughts because it shows that you
found those thoughts interesting. Observe that and return to focusing on
breath. By observing ourselves in a detached manner, we take ourselves out of
the driver’s seat of our thoughts and into the passenger seat so we can analyze
them from a 3rd person point of view.
Breath
The purpose of
focusing on breath, according to yoga, is to raise prana levels. Breath is our
primary source of gathering prana and it is available at all times. By being
more mindful of breath we revitalize our mind and our body. Also, the other
purpose of focusing on breath is because breath is the bridge between mind and
body. The reason we focus on breath is because if the mind shifts or the body
shifts, the breath will shift as well. By maintaining focus on our breath, we
will immediately notice if we have lost our balance and focus by noticing
shifts in breath or losing focus of breath.
Optimally, when you want to start doing
work on breath technique, diaphragmatic breathing is best. If you don’t know
what that is, it’s “belly breathing.” You want to breath from the stomach
region expanding outward on the inbreath, and pulling the stomach back in on
the outbreath. This breath stores prana better as it sends it to a region known
as the Dan Tien, a storehouse of chi in the abdomen.
Entire books can
be written on breath technique alone. There are many variations that activate
certain energy channels and invoke certain bodily sensations or mindstates. For
the sake of keeping this simple, focus on your natural breath and deepen it
into a rhythmic belly breath.
Training the will
Another
requirement to go deeper into meditation is being able to keep the will focused
entirely on one activity, concept, or state of being. If one practices the
breath mindfulness exercise, this will develop naturally over time. There are
other ways of training the will though. The eyes seem very central to focus, so
many focus exercises involve meditating with the eyes open.
One technique is
to have an object that will become the center of your focus. Some refer to
these as “totems.” It can be anything from a candle to a religious symbol. It
can even just be a coin. It can honestly be anything you desire. The goal is to
make this object your complete focus. I prefer the candle personally for this.
Light a candle in a dark room so that it is the only source of light and thus
much easier to maintain focus on. Meditate on the flame and keep your focus on
the simple image of the flame gently swaying as it burns.
Objective Oriented Mediations
When one learns
to enter a basic trance by relaxing and breathing with mindful focus, objective
meditations may be established. These are meditations with a particular goal or
objective to accomplish such as healing, balancing chakras, astral projecting, etc.
A technique which
you may find useful is the Written Intention Technique. Whatever you
want to focus on, learn more on, explore within your mind, attract or even to
channel…. Write it down on a piece of paper and place it in front of you.
Meditate with your eyes gently gazed downwards at what you have written. This
serves as an anchor to bring your mind back to the intent of the meditation.
When the will has
become sufficiently trained to focus, you will no longer need to write down
intentions. The best mental process in training the will is repetition. Repeat
your intention as often as possible in the mind and it will anchor it in. After
it is set, you may let go and dissolve into that intention in a more
free-flowing manner.
Imagination
Once an intention
is set, it is good to actually flow with your imagination. There is actually a
lot of power within our imagination. I hold the belief that our imagination is
the context on how our higher self communicates with our physical mind. Use
imagery which is powerful to you personally for healing, focus, or energizing.
If the imagery is strong enough to evoke an emotional reaction, you will actually
notice physical shifts because of it. Remember, all is illusion, and your
imagination is a useful tool for redirecting the mind into a state which can
heal. Use it in a positive manner.
Detachment
One of the factors in transcending into
higher planes is detachment. The more you can detach from the dense physical
forms of reality, the more the subtle and super-subtle levels of reality will
be perceived.
Think
of it this way, Do you think it would be easy to do Calculus on a treadmill?
No, because the body needs to be still for the mind to begin critical thinking
efficiently. The mind works in a similar fashion. There are dense physical
thoughts of the conscious mind, and then there are the subtle thoughts of the
dreaming mind or the unconscious mind. The more that the loud thoughts
are quieted, the easier one can hear the subtle thoughts. This is one of
the truths of meditation. It is actually quite hard to ever reach a completely
quiet mind because there will always be subtle thoughts which can be heard once
the conscious mind is quieted.
Even
once one manages to silence the dreaming mind, the thoughts of the collective
can be heard. Psychologist Carl Jung postulated this, and mystics like Edgar
Cayce actually demonstrated this phenomenon. If one can enter deep enough into
the mind, there is a point where all is connected and information flows freely
between all minds. Detachment is key to getting there because what we cling to,
we identify with. If one is to roam the realm of complete interconnected
thought, you must refrain from thinking what you experience there came from
you. It comes through you, and there is a big difference.
Infinite Possibilities
There is
literally no end to what you can do within meditation. There is an entire
micro-cosmos within you to explore. The more you become comfortable navigating,
the more pathways and styles will open up to you. Daily practice is the best
way to make progress. Even just 10 minutes a day makes huge progress. Best of
luck in your journeys. Namaste~
Follow on Twitter – The Spiritualist @Trancewave21
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