MEDITATION: Techniques to Improve Meditation

[Guest guest]

Techniques to Improve Meditation

 

1. If falling asleep in meditation is a problem for you, try the

following technique. With your eyes closed, imagine that you are in a

room that exists inside your mind, directly behind your eyes. Involve as

many senses as possible (i.e.: plush chair, fireplace, fragrant flowers

in a colorful vase, your favorite music, a refreshing beverage, colorful

accouterments for the room). The idea is to feel as if you are actually

present in this room you have created. Imagine a sturdy floor beneath

you. The sturdy floor is a very important feature to help prevent you

from falling asleep. You can add a rug if you wish. Imagine that you are

sitting in front of a blank movie screen or a TV screen. Then just keep

renewing your sensory involvement with the room you created while you

await messages from your spirit helpers to appear on the screen before

you. Messages may be in the form of written words or pictures. Every

aspect of this exercise is designed to help prevent you from falling

asleep during meditation (assuming you have not recently shortened your

normal sleeping periods). This meditation technique has been quite

successful for many.

 

2. If you are one of the many who frequently cannot visualize during

meditation, then experiment with the exercise I call “accessing your

memory of body feelings.” First, close your eyes. Then focus on

remembering what it felt like to be riding a bike, walking through a

park, holding a warm fuzzy pet, dancing, or even working in a garden. Do

not watch yourself doing it. Get back into it as if you were there

again. If you remember walking in a lovely park, perhaps you can recall

the sensation of your arms swinging back and forth – the sensation of

the soft earth beneath your feet – the slight backache you had at the

time - the feelings of wind or sun on your skin. Simply imagine you are

doing it again. If you persist long enough with this way of remembering,

it is very likely that your meditation will be enhanced with some

visuals. The act of remembering the experiences of your body during a

previous activity can create a meditation complete with images.

 

3. Whether you are a novice or a veteran meditator, perhaps you are

distracted during meditation by sounds of life around you. You can get

past this by repeating during meditation, “All external sounds compel me

to strengthen by concentration within.” Or try “External sounds begin to

fade as I concentrate within. "

 

4. Vocalize a divine name that brings you inner calm. Repetition of a

name for God in any language can help you develop the capacity to focus

and concentrate more effectively in meditation.

 

***

by Debby Starks Taylor

[Guest guest]

The techniques put forward here represent one kind of meditation--the

kind oriented toward altering our brain waves (actually very easy to

do), putting us into some kind of state of feeling better and more

relaxed, and staying relatively awake to enjoy it. There are

certainly times when this kind of meditation is appropriate--for

example, when we are going through a lot of stress.

 

There is also another kind of meditation--one that does not use

techniques of memory and so on to become calm inside but whose

purpose is rather to help open us to the truth, to who or what we

actually are, to " what is. " In relation to this kind of meditation, I

would suggest that visualization and concentration techniques such as

the ones suggested can easily lead us away from direct perception and

further into the world of dreams and imagination. This kind of

meditation has to do with being fully transparent to myself now, not

intentionally conjuring up memories and so on in order to achieve

some state or other. The following poem from Rumi conveys what I mean.

 

" This human being is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

 

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

an an unexpected visitor.

 

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still treat easch guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

 

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

 

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyone. " --Rumi

 

(From The Essential Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks with John

Moyne)

 

I think it is important when putting forward meditation techniques

such as those below to make it clear what their real goal is--

relaxation and stress release (for the most part). In the second kind

of meditation--meditation oriented toward the truth--there are really

no distractions. There is only the discovery right now of a global

awareness that intimately welcomes everything that we experience

without any intentional effort to pick and choose or change our state.

 

Dennis Lewis

http://www.authentic-breathing.com

 

 

 

 

, WildMouse <wildmouse@i...>

wrote:

> Techniques to Improve Meditation

>

> 1. If falling asleep in meditation is a problem for you, try the

> following technique. With your eyes closed, imagine that you are in

a

> room that exists inside your mind, directly behind your eyes.

Involve as

> many senses as possible (i.e.: plush chair, fireplace, fragrant

flowers

> in a colorful vase, your favorite music, a refreshing beverage,

colorful

> accouterments for the room). The idea is to feel as if you are

actually

> present in this room you have created. Imagine a sturdy floor

beneath

> you. The sturdy floor is a very important feature to help prevent

you

> from falling asleep. You can add a rug if you wish. Imagine that

you are

> sitting in front of a blank movie screen or a TV screen. Then just

keep

> renewing your sensory involvement with the room you created while

you

> await messages from your spirit helpers to appear on the screen

before

> you. Messages may be in the form of written words or pictures. Every

> aspect of this exercise is designed to help prevent you from falling

> asleep during meditation (assuming you have not recently shortened

your

> normal sleeping periods). This meditation technique has been quite

> successful for many.

>

> 2. If you are one of the many who frequently cannot visualize during

> meditation, then experiment with the exercise I call " accessing

your

> memory of body feelings. " First, close your eyes. Then focus on

> remembering what it felt like to be riding a bike, walking through a

> park, holding a warm fuzzy pet, dancing, or even working in a

garden. Do

> not watch yourself doing it. Get back into it as if you were there

> again. If you remember walking in a lovely park, perhaps you can

recall

> the sensation of your arms swinging back and forth – the

sensation

of

> the soft earth beneath your feet – the slight backache you had

at

the

> time - the feelings of wind or sun on your skin. Simply imagine you

are

> doing it again. If you persist long enough with this way of

remembering,

> it is very likely that your meditation will be enhanced with some

> visuals. The act of remembering the experiences of your body during

a

> previous activity can create a meditation complete with images.

>

> 3. Whether you are a novice or a veteran meditator, perhaps you are

> distracted during meditation by sounds of life around you. You can

get

> past this by repeating during meditation, " All external sounds

compel me

> to strengthen by concentration within. " Or try " External

sounds

begin to

> fade as I concentrate within. "

>

> 4. Vocalize a divine name that brings you inner calm. Repetition of

a

> name for God in any language can help you develop the capacity to

focus

> and concentrate more effectively in meditation.

>

> ***

> by Debby Starks Taylor