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Meditation
...tranquility
...calm
...peace
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Without question, developing a reliable meditative practice and doing breathing
exercises can lead to a calmer mind, increased awareness, and improved health.  
Whether one looks at the affects of such practices from a medical advantage or a
spiritual one, the benefits from "sitting" seem countless.  

  • A quieter, more focused mind
  • Improved sleep habits
  • Mental health stability, healing of mental and emotional wounds
  • Better attentiveness, less subjectivity to distraction
  • Improved heart rate
  • Rejuvenation
  • Improved blood pressure
  • Better digestion
  • A balance to counter the constant bombardment of stimuli
  • Less anxiety, mental and physical tension
  • Warmer hands with re-balancing of the autonomic nervous system
  • Increased intuition
  • Mental clarity
  • Become one with all, erase illusion of separation
  • Communication with higher self/higher purpose
  • Communication with Angels, guiding spirits, God/Spirit
  • Samadhi/ Transcendence/ Realization/Enlightenment


"Without leaving my house, I know the whole Universe."      ---Lao Tzu
Recommended Meditation Practices
Meditation is concentrating without thinking, regardless the method.
The number of meditation methods can be counted as waves in the ocean.

Beginner- Chatty Mind:
Typically, the beginner to meditation has the chattiest mind to contend with.  Often called "monkey mind," this
untamed beast seems to specialize in finding all possible distractions and utilizing any trick it can to cause constant
mental stimulation, whether fruitful or not.  At "beginner" level, the meditative practice needs to compete with this
chatter in order to control and quiet it.  Following are a few good ideas.

  • Breath count.  Count each inhale/exhale cycle up to ten, and start over.  Sounds simple enough, but try it...
    and be honest with yourself.  Breath count implies keeping the attention at the breath, and only going to the next
    number if your mind has not strayed.  Forgetting what number you're at is a strong indication the mind has
    strayed... so start over at one.  Novices very often can not get past 1 or 2.  That is perfectly fine and normal.  
    Keep it up and over time, better control develops.
  • 4-7-8 or 10-10-10.  This is a manipulation of your breath pattern, unlike "Breath count" above.  4-7-8 means
    Inhale for the count of 4, Hold for 7 counts, Exhale for 8.  The pace will likely be quite fast at first until you
    learn to calm yourself and fall into a more relaxed speed.  The 10-10-10 is a practice of Inhale/Hold/Exhale all
    at a count of 10.  Again, this does not imply 10 seconds, but a count of 10.  Anything creating undue stress with
    the breathing pattern may imply you are not physically ready for this practice or need to start very slowly.  Do no
    more than 8 cycles of 4-7-8 during one sitting.
  • Breath awareness.  No altering of breath pattern.  Just a simple awareness drawn to you breathing.  Try not to
    let your Ego Mind win the game of paying attention to every little detail (I feel the breath at my nose, now down
    my throat, now my chest is inflating, now there's a short pause before the exhale, and I feel that at the back of my
    throat...).  This would allow your Ego Mind to get its way of think-think-thinking again, under the guise of
    meditative concentration.  Just awareness.  Simple... but not necessarily easy.
  • Hum Without Seeing/Hearing.  Simultaneously cover your eyes and ears with your hands, the heels gently
    covering the eyes, the fingers covering the ears without pressure.  With your hearing and vision reduced, hum
    loudly, evenly, and slowly with each exhalation.  Repeating this for several minutes helps to center your attention
    and reduce awareness of outside distractions, even after you drop your hands and become silent.
Intermediate- Increased Awareness Ability:
A little less effort is now necessary to keep your focus.  The ability to truly meditate is easier to achieve.  Here are
some methods that may focus less on occupying your mind for you and offer a shift in intention during your practice.

  • Mantra.  Focus on the mental or vocal recitation of a mantra.  "So ham," Sanskrit for "I am that."  "Om mani
    padme hum," meaning "Hail the jewel in the lotus," is used to remind the practitioner that although one initially
    exists with impure body, speech, and mind, one still has the ability to transform into exalted body, speech, and
    mind, becoming enlightened as Buddha.
  • Third Eye.  Draw all focus to the third eye area, between and slightly above the eyes, 2-3 inches posterior to
    the plane of the face.  The awareness with this focus creates a stimulated feeling.  Don't await visions, just
    meditate here, allowing.
  • Crown chakra awakening.  Experience the opening of the crown chakra, the energy flow through the crown of
    your head.  Connect with Spirit, in a sense of allowing rather than working to make it happen.  Here, you are not
    "thinking" yourself into the feeling.  Just focusing all awareness into the crown space, the energy will flow.
  • Noting/Body Check.  Try not to let this practice become a "searching" method, but simply let the mind be
    drawn to and note what your body experiences.  If you feel a twinge in your knee, think "knee" and let go.  If your
    back displays a little tension, note "back" or "muscles" and let go of the thought.  This is not a practice of trying
    to find and identify the next notable experience, just a method of broadening your awareness without a habit of
    attaching to these elements you feel, hear, see, smell, taste, think.
Starting your meditation practice-
Simply begin.  Don't wait for the "perfect" time.  It will never present itself.  Your path is already perfect for you,
regardless all the illusions of difficulties and distractions.  Start now- today.  Make time- today.  I recommend 5 or 10
minutes twice a day to begin with.  Initially, create a tranquil environment to allow yourself a more comfortable
transition into sitting.  Turn off all phones, find a quiet room where you can have a little quiet.  Clear your schedule so
your mind doesn't worry about a waiting task during your meditation time.  Work with sitting methods, sitting upright on
a hardback chair, on a floor cushion while in lotus, half-lotus, or criss-cross-applesauce.  Preferably, do not lie down
or slouch back into a sofa.  A natural curve in the lumbar area of the spine should be maintained and promoted with the
hips elevated off the floor or sitting square on a hard chair.  Rocking side to side for a few moments allows the spine
to find center, finding optimal posture with a sense of the head floating upward.  Breathe deeply a few moments, with
full inhalation, belly button floating forward, completely exhaling.  As the body relaxes after a few minutes of deep
breathing, begin one of the practices below.
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Mudra
Meditation classes are being scheduled now with Reiki Learning Center.  Classes involve exercises
with different breathing techniques, lessons from Buddhist meditation practices, and various eastern
philosophies.  Classes will help the practitioner to make meditation a part of the daily routine, which is
why taking a series of classes is recommended.  Homework assigned will begin with easiest methods of
meditation and progress to methods that are a little more advanced.  Please go to Calendar for dates of
upcoming meditation classes or circles.
Silence is the threshold to the inner sanctum, the heart's sublime cave.--- Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within
Pranayama
Breathing exercises are not exactly the same thing as meditation, but completing several minutes of pranayama calms
the body and mind enough to improve the quality of your meditation time.  When pursuing pranayama techniques, please
be aware that, although many are safe and recommended, some breathing exercises should be approached with caution
and under the guidance of a yogic teacher.