Meditation is one of the simplest, yet most effective practices that you can learn to improve your life in just about every way imaginable.
In fact meditation facilitates:
– stronger focus and concentration
– reduced tension, anxiety and stress
– clearer thinking and less emotional turmoil
– lower blood pressure and cholesterol
– supporting kicking addiction and other self –defeating behavior
– greater creativity and enhanced performance in work and play
– increased self-understanding and self-acceptance
– more joy, love and spontaneity
– greater intimacy with friends and family members
– deeper sense of meaning and purpose
– glimpses of a spiritual dimension of being
– …and many others
All you have to do to meditate is to sit down, be quiet, turn your attention inward, and focus your mind. That`s all there is to it.
Do nothing, just be.
There are numerous types of meditations and they all have the same purpose, which is to quiet the mind and to empty it, so to speak. It seems like a difficult thing at first but with practice becomes possible.
Usually we focus our attention on one thing only at first, it could be the breath, a candle flame, the point (third eye) in the middle of the forehead, something we visualize, a sound (a mantra) that we repeat over and over again or whatever else we choose.
There is not a better way to meditate, but just different ways of doing it. After a while, mind and emotions are transcended and the superconscious is experienced.
There are also ways to meditate actively by walking, exercising, washing the dishes, or doing anything else.
We are in a meditative state every time we are completely absorbed in what we are doing, so much so that we totally merge with it.
The main reason why it is useful to meditate formally, i.e., sitting down, is because the mind and body are so intrinsically connected that when the body is completely still, the mind will slow down as well.
In so doing we train the mind so that we are able to listen to what is going on inside of us.
That is when we can consciously experience the essence of our being, the eternal one that we could call our soul or spirit, although it is not important which name we choose.
There is a constant flow of energy that is always flowing through us. We can block this flow or we can allow it to get through. When we meditate or when we are totally present the latter happens.
We are energy being and when we meditate or are totally present we have a direct experience of it, which is why we usually feel so different whilst and after we meditate. Every time we practice it we accumulate energy that comes from what seem to be empty space, the field, from Life itself.
That is why after a proper meditation session or when we are totally present we often feel high, calm and “loved up”. It is because we have had a very intimate moment with our higher self and with Life itself; we have been connected to pure Unconditional Love. (Love is just another word for pure energy).
While we are in a meditative state, we produce a chemical substance called serotonin that makes us feel happy.
The more we meditate or are able to be present, the more we produce this chemical easily and frequently.
The most appropriate times to meditate are early morning and before going to bed in the evening. Any amount of time is beneficial. It has been proven that 20 minutes of proper meditation is equal to about 2 hours of deep sleep.
The benefits that derive from meditating are not only experienced while and soon after we do it but also afterwards. Every time we still our mind with intent we erase the conditioning that we have accumulated in the past and we realize who we really are and what really resonates with our innermost truth.
Our subconscious is like a hard disk of a computer that has been programmed by outside stimuli and inputs. By meditating these “programmes” come to the surface and we have the opportunity to find out what suits and doesn’t suit us and the ones we like.
In other words, by meditating we became aware of the subconscious so that everything becomes conscious.
All this is possible because the most powerful part of us, the one that we connect with while we meditate or when we are totally present (which could be called the super conscious) enables us to do that.
One of the things we learn when we meditate is to truly listen. That is in fact what we do; we sit in silence and listen. Once we start being good at listening with all our being, Life starts to be real fun because Life itself is going to show us all we need to know to fulfill our desires. Things will begin to happen faster and we will experience many synchronicities.
We can not control Life or others but we can choose how we react to what happens to us. Meditating or by simply being away and present, gives us more control over our own thinking and consequently of our emotional state.
By meditating we train our self to be present and focused on the now, as a consequence, we are more able to enjoy Life and be fully immersed in whatever whatever we are doing.
When we are fully present in the moment everything is more intense and enjoyable. Our senses come alive and experiences seem to be purer and clearer because our mind is not filtering as much as before.
Our experiences are filtered by our belief system and becoming conscious by practicing meditation, we experience Life without a story attached, without filters, allowing us to become less judgmental and more objective about what happens around us.
Every time we meditate or are more present, we not only raise our vibration and speed up our evolutionary process, but we also help everyone else to evolve and be in a higher state of consciousness.
In 1993, a group of 4,000 people meditated together in Washington DC for a period of three weeks. All 4,000 people spent an hour twice a day focused on sending peaceful thoughts out into the city.
The rate of violent crime in the city fell by 20 per cent.
This is because we are all one, we are all one energy field.
Every time we alter ourselves energetically we alter everyone else as well.
During the Self-Awareness course that I facilitate, I introduce participants to different ways of meditating so that one can choose a style that suits you and your lifestyle.
