Meditation

Meditation is an invaluable method in attaining prosperity. It helps us get centered and grounded so that we are able to think more clearly and connect more completely with the energies around us.

Any one who has tried to meditate can attest that it is more difficult than it looks. Many people think they just can't. There are many different ways to meditate, some easier to master than others.

We present basic, beginners information here. For a comprehensive treatment of the topic of meditation we recommend the book "Creative Meditation" by Richard Peterson. His book is the most comprehensive guide to meditation for the beginner we have found yet.

Guide Lines:

Find a quiet place that is relatively free from physical distractions. It's best if you can use the same time and place each day.

Use some transitional activity such as listening to music, exercising, drawing or reading inspirational material to help you shift focus from concerns of the day to meditation.

Set a timer. Limiting yourself, at least initially to 5 minutes seems reasonable to us. This lets you focus on what you're doing rather than how long you've been doing it.

Remember your goal as you begin meditation each day. The ultimate goal of meditation is oneness with God or the universe. The goal for the beginner is practicing concentration or practicing pushing away distracting thoughts.

Expect distractions. Expect your mind to wander. Notice when this happens and just bring your mind back to where it was. Don't hold on to any thought. Don't judge the thought or yourself. Just gently push distractions away and go on. You might say "oh well" to yourself as you notice and then brush away the distraction. Do this as many times as you need to.

Using sensory cognitions to eliminate unwanted thoughts may help. Imagine the distracting image being actually swept with a broom from your line of sight or imagine the volume of the distracting thoughts going down to unperceivable.

It seems ironic to the uninitiated that the way to clear the mind is intense concentration on one concept, object or sensory perception. Depending on your individual characteristics, concentration on some things will be easier than others. Experiment with different methods until you find what's right for you.

Be gentle with yourself. Remember there is no "right way" to meditate. Don't get caught up in technique or worrying you're not doing it right or following all the steps.

Prepare your body to relax

Sit or lay in a comfortable position. Notice the muscles in each part of your body. Notice whether they are tense or relaxed. Start with your head and face. Move to your neck and shoulders, back, hips, buttocks, thighs, calves then feet. Tense up then relax each set of muscles as you go.

Method 1

Breathe in slowly, filling your lungs so that it appears your stomach fills with air before your chest does. When you exhale, do so completely, pushing out all the air in your lungs.

Count (to yourself) from 1 to 10 as you draw in one long slow breath. Exhale equally slowly as you count backward (to yourself) from 10 to 1.

Next breath, count from 1-9 as you inhale. This breath should be as deep and slow as the last breath. This means you will be counting a bit more slowly than you did when you counted to ten. Exhale slowly counting backward 9-1.

Continue breathing and counting as you did above going up to 8, then 7 and so on. Each set of counting should be slower than the last. If your first deep slow breath took 20 seconds from start to finish, every other breath should take 20 seconds from start to finish whether you are counting to 10 or to 2.

By the time you have taken 10 slow deep breaths you should be relaxed and focused. Continue breathing slowly and deeply, counting "One" to yourself or some other word or phrase such as "love", "calm" "God" or "ohm".

While you are breathing visualize your breath entering and leaving your body. Notice how it feels when air enters and leaves, listen to the sound of your breath. Concentrate fully on your breathing and counting. The more fully you are concentrating on breathing the more difficult it is to have distracting thoughts enter your consciousness. If this does happen, don't give it any energy just refocus back onto your breathing.

When your timer rings, slowly shift your consciousness to an awareness of your surroundings. Move slowly, retaining an awareness of inner calm. Notice how long you can retain this feeling throughout the day. Extend this amount of time gradually as you practice your meditation.