Meditation Methods
The following meditation method that is described is a good starting point for beginners to learn about meditation techniques. Some use this as the start of any meditation session.
Find a place preferably away from any distractions. If outside in nature, hopefully you brought a cushion to sit on. If inside, there could be a cushion, a chair, or a bed to use. Just find somewhere to be comfortable.
There is really no wrong way to do this, just do what feels natural to you. Try several poses or postures, try different ones until you feel right. Trust your intuition. So just sit or lie down, assume your chosen pose.
People who cannot do meditation outside, for whatever reason, will often play recordings of nature. A babbling brook, waves crashing at the seaside, a rain shower, you get the idea. This is not all people, some would find it too distracting. Others will play these nature recordings at a low volume for background noise. Whatever works for you to relax more.
Some people will work with yoga and meditation together, using different yoga poses. Others will do meditation and chakra balancing together, using healing crystals. These are just examples of what some people will chose to do, it is not necessary to the process. Let’s concentrate on just meditation right now. The whole concept of meditation is relaxation and expanding your consciousness.
Let your eyes close. Do not make any effort to control your breath. Just breathe naturally, in and out. Concentrate your attention on each breath, just observing each inhalation and exhalation. Let your mind wander as you are breathing. Try to feel a connection to nature, to our earth.
Try to do this method for two to three minutes at the start of each meditation session. You can try it for longer periods if you wish. This is the equivalent of a warmup session.
Concentration Method
The whole idea of this method is to focus on one thing only. It can be something imagined or something around you. It could be an image or symbol that you see in your mind. Or it could be a candle flame or a repetitive sound. Some also chant mantras.
The Tibetan Dzogchen monks concentrate on a symbol during their sessions, but they often also chant the mantra of OMM. This symbol is called a rigpa, which is symbolized by the white A inside of a rainbow circle.
By concentrating on one thing, you are emptying your mind. All scattered thoughts are just released and then they disappear. You are now a lot more receptive to the energies that are all around us. There are three objectives to seek for while in this empty mind state. The first is a connection to nature and our earth for life energy. The second would be to connect to your higher self for assistance and advice. And third would be a connection to our universal consciousness for spiritual guidance.
Your ability to focus and concentrate will improve with this method. This is useful in observing the now. Your understanding of the details around you in this world will likely be expanded.
Mindful Method
This method involves you emptying your mind, and then examine the thoughts that arise from your subconscious. This examination can range from just mentally filing the thought away for future use, or to however detailed you wish to make it. Perhaps the thought is attempting to make you grasp how a concept works. Sometimes your mind will be trying to correlate two different subjects or situations together. These are called insights, and they can be powerful solutions to the questions that we are seeking answers to.
This meditation method actually encourages abstract thinking. Which can solve some of our problems, or let us understand complex concepts. It also might encourage a link with our higher self.
Compassion Meditation
This method encompasses the idea of loving yourself and all others. This is done through acceptance of yourself and others through compassion. You can review the negative events of your life and try to see them from a positive perspective. Sometimes these events occur through forces we cannot control, yet we must ask ourselves, “did I react in the best possible way?” “Did I take actions in a positive and loving manner?”
This concept involves much forgiveness and much acceptance of ourselves and others. We know we are all flawed, we must look beyond that. We must draw upon our compassion to clearly perceive this. One sect of Tibetan monks firmly believe that if we see everything in a loving way, and that if all we have is loving thoughts, then this is the path to light body and ascension.
Health Benefits
The whole idea of meditation is to relax your body and expand your mind. This is something we should all try to fit into our day. Even if it’s just ten to thirty minutes. Once you start feeling the benefits to your body and your mind, most people will start a discipline of meditation.
The improvement to your body’s health will become evident soon enough when you start meditation. This time of relaxation is invigorating to our body.
Easy to breathe, slower respiratory rate.
Slower heart rate, lower blood pressure, and increased circulation.
Feeling less anxiety and less stress.
A feeling of well-being and a deep sense of tranquillity.
Conclusion
Just thirty minutes of meditation. What else would you do for that half hour? Be playing a video game that you have played thousands of times before? Or be scrolling through an endless supply of memes on social media? Why not try to do something to benefit yourself as a person during that time? Try meditation.
However, it is recommended that if you have a job, to do your meditation away from the workplace. Most companies have policies against meditating on their time.
Meditation is such an essential tool for us to evolve in our spiritual growth. We want to raise our awareness. We want to increase our vibration and frequency. And we want to enrich our viewpoint on life.
J is a website designer, graphic designer, and author. He lives in the US and researches the spiritual aspect of this physical dimension.
Meditation Resources – Alternative viewpoints and more details about Meditation.
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