calmkate

Basics of Meditation

Sacred Space: Set up a seat with a picture that calms you, one where you can retreat as life permits. Use incense, flowers or light if it helps. Some use calming music in the background. Devices should be in another room, preferably OFF!

Relax your body and mind
but keep your spine straight and mind sharp!

Time: Try to do this first thing each morning before life gets busy maybe while others still sleep. Set a fixed time each day and don’t deviate even if you’re away! Do ten to fifteen minutes max each time you sit … if it’s good you can extend or repeat; if it’s not good it will pass soon. But each time return to the ten minutes until it is an ingrained habit for at least a year … this is a lifestyle not a fad!
                         Enjoy any longer sessions but don’t increase your time cap yet.

Expectations: If genuinely trying to tame your chaotic mind, rubbish will come up. We seldom allow ourselves space to reflect on where and why we do or say things, shit happens! Stay with it but don’t give it energy and it will pass. If sleep or strong emotions arise let them, don’t fight it.
             Those close and your own mind will rebel when we try something so different.
                      Persistent effort will pay off but don’t expect calm to come quickly …

Meditation: Find your best way to start … a muscle relaxant, go through you body tensing then relaxing … watch your breath letting thoughts drift through like clouds … it’s a mental warm up just like we prepare our body before exercising.

Then try one of these … concentrating on these gives space from your monkey mind

  • Count each outgoing breath to ten, once distracted return to zero … it’s not easy 
  • Slowly scan your physical sensations top to toe, then again … awareness is key 
  • Recall each time you have felt emphatically satisfied, most content … then enjoy 
  • Think about where you will be and what you’ll be doing in three years time …
  • Think of your parents, all teachers, those who taught you to write, walk and drive … reflect on their kindness, immerse yourself in that, relax and rejoice
  • Imagine a long solitary beach walk – paint the colours, sounds, smells – once immersed in full detail imagine a lazy chat with a very close friend [dead or alive]
  • Contemplate your successes/achievements, mentally list and examine them … were they external or internal, happy or hard work, did they bring inner peace?

 

a neighbour had a scary experience when she started with ‘chakra’ meditation … I pointed out that this is quite an advanced method and better to start with these basics! 

27 comments

  6. I love meditation and you have some terrific ideas here. I’m not as consistent with my meditation as I should be. :-(. But, I love doing it. One aspect that even now astounds me. I do ten minute sessions, sometimes twice a day. If my foot is aching or I have a sore shoulder, I’ll concentrate on that spot and in a very short time the pain absolutely goes away and it doesn’t come back. Oh, and meditation helps tremendously with my writing. Clears my mind and problems that seemed impossible…usually disappear.

    Great post! Kate. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    • wow it’s certainly a powerful help when we use it regularly … I used it for chronic pain instead of medication for two severed sciatic nerves … surgery and years of lameness … now nobody knows!

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  7. Thanks fir sharing tips with us Kate.i have been doing meditation since last Nov and the only lesson I have learned is group meditation is a must if you cannot instill discipline for doing it alone.

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    • great point that I missed Megha …. group meditation does help with the discipline but also creates far more energy than doing it alone … I have led lots of group ones and solitary 🙂

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  8. Great post! I’ll start with the more mindfulness techniques as a discipline. And if the dog can do it, so can I! Thanks for sharing 😊

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