meditation (repost)

April 18, 2009

Here are two articles from our archives on meditation and meditating

with crystals

MEDITATION

general introduction to meditation

We will be exploring some ways to use crystals with meditation later and

ways to meditate on /about crystals and learn some crystal

visualizations but this is more about meditation in general. Meditation

is one of the practices that can help us develop

sensitivity to intuitive and spiritually sourced information feelings

and experiences. It is this sensitivity which assists us in knowing

what to do in a treatment when our crystals are charged what our path

is. This is not all that meditation can do.

The first thing to know about meditation is that there is no wrong way

to do it there is no possible wrong result and there is no

particular outcome that is the Right one. The only important thing about

meditation is that you do continue to do it when you can, if only for a

few moments daily or weekly if possible.

Meditation can be done by anyone While many people associate meditation

with Buddhism or Yoga the practice is universal and not religion or

culture dependent. Whatever beliefs you hold there are meditations that

will work for you and harmonize with them. Some meditations lead to

great mental clarity. Many of the great writings of the world came about

out of, or in meditation. Meditation is an experience it is not about

results, it is in the doing. It is, to me an essential part of

experiencing daily life to the fullest and being a participant in it. It

is an essential part of separating yourself from the stresses and trials

of daily life and being detached from them.

Part of all meditation ,spiritual and energy work practice is about

raising our own life condition to the point where we are not

buffeted by transient phenomena . While some people may have visions or

get blissed out that is not the point of meditation and in most forms

you just move past this kind of thing if it happens and return to your

focus just like you do for any other distraction.

Meditation is not something you really become an expert at. There is

always more to experience . There are many forms of meditation . I

think meditation is of vital importance to personal spiritual evolution.

Some people meditate to calm down and some people meditate to get high,

and it does not matter why they do it or what happens when they do it or

how they do it . If you fall asleep while meditating you probably needed

the sleep more than you needed the meditation. On occasion meditation

might turn into journey.

It is important to practice a variety of forms of meditation to achieve

a balance in your life. The practice of stilling your mind can be

balanced with a mindfulness meditation of attending to each thought as

it occurs. The practice of focusing inward with eyes closed , can be

balanced with the open eyed practice of observing in the outer world,

Meditating on fire

is balanced by meditating on water. practicing detachment, with

practicing loving kindness and compassion, Seated, still meditations

with walking and moving and dancing meditations, Silence with chanting.

You may have met lovely spiritual people with decades of meditation

practice who are so blissed out in the oneness that they seem about to

float away and may be quite unable to balance a checkbook , Or people

who are so detached that they don't even notice or respond to events

around them in a human way. These could be examples of people who have

focused on

one practice to the exclusion of all others and are unbalanced as a

result. This kind of effect takes years to occur and is not something

that will effect you if you practice a variety of meditations and

participate in living life fully. The ability to

participate in living life fully is great skill and benefit that can

acquired through meditation.

It is often said that the only wrong way to meditate is to not meditate.

so whether you have only 5 or ten minutes to watch your eyelids (imagine

a Movie screen or some such) or you have hours to practice meditating,

give it a try.

Do not expect any particular result, don't worry if nothing happens. In

some forms the idea is for " nothing " to happen. Don't worry if

something does happen either. Everyone has different experiences with

meditation. The cliché is that prayer is Talking to God and meditation

is listening .

One simple basic meditation practice is to relax and center your

attention on a sphere in the center of your head and keep

your focus there. When you notice that your mind has wandered, gently

bring it back to center and the sphere ,just practice bringing your

attention into the center of your head. people often find it difficult

to focus at first or feel sleepy, do not criticize your self.

You can place a word like love or peace in your sphere to meditate on.

People also may focus on the tan tien or Hara, a spot about two inches

below the navel this is an energy center in the aura, obviously this is

the focus that is referred to as contemplating your belly button.

In conventional meditation when you notice that your mind has wandered

just gently bring it back to your focus say a sphere inside your head or

your breath or an object you are looking at or a word or sound you are

focusing on or your heart and the diamond of light within it don't fight

your wandering mind. Gently return your thoughts to your chosen focus or

you may even do a meditation where you just strive to observe those very

same scattered thoughts as you might watch birds flying by.

The classic blank zen mind most think of when meditation is mentioned is

not the only way to meditate there are almost as many ways to meditate

as there are people and with experiment and exploration you are certain

to find methods that " work " for you. If you find still- mind an

incomprehensible concept I suggest you might try one of the focused Huna

Nalu meditations.

This form of brief focused total attention can be quite valuable in

crystal work and is one way of beginning to develop a sensitivity to

energy and spiritual information. Pick a sense any sense sight, touch,

taste, hearing, smell. Pick an

object or quality related to that sense A food ,a sound the way

something feels, a leaf, and focus your attention on it Or focus all

your senses and attention on an object or idea observe it with your

entire being do this for, your initial goal is 10

seconds. Do this anytime it occurs to you to do it. Classically you

breathe deeply while your are doing your focus.

Vipassana is one of the oldest and most well known. It is also called

Insight meditation. one becomes Aware without being judgmental, of

motivations, emotions, thoughts by just gently allowing ones thoughts to

flow paying attention to them without criticism. For many meditations

you can use an open eyed focus such as when you meditate by gazing on a

sacred writing or stone or other object such as a mandala or natural view.

For others you close your eyes as in breath and mindfulness meditations.

Those methods where you focus on a word you may s keep your eyes half

open or focused on your Tan tien. Non focused meditations are usually

done eyes closed or half open mantra or sound meditations vary. Walking

and dance meditations must usually be done with eyes open.

You can contract with (program) a crystal to help you maintain focus in

meditation. You can meditate on a crystal or stone .

Some crystals called toning crystals can help you do toning and chanting

meditations. These are usualy thin crystals but way you recognize them

is that if you hold one andtone you will be able to hold the tone longer

or more clearly.

There are quite a few different web pages about meditation a search on

about.com will bring several good sites .

Meditation with Crystals

Not everyone makes clear separations between meditation, visualization,

journeying and visions and the distinctions are sometimes unclear.

Meditation is usually centered on focusing and is not the same thing as

zoning out or daydreaming though these can also have value.

Meditation often opens the way for journeying or visions and may include

visual sensations. Guided visualization usually refers to a relaxation

or meditation form in which one is guided through a series of

experiences in a story like form.

There is also an article on meditation in general in the crystal

workshop pages .

Meditating with crystals is to use crystals in general meditation or

specific meditations to enhance deepen or in some other way assist with

the meditation.

Clear quartz and other crystals and stones have been used to assist and

as a focus for meditation for a very long time .

Just focusing gentle attention on a clear quartz crystal can quiet the

mind and help bring mental clarity for problem solving.

When you have a particular problem take a few minutes to think about and

define the problem then gaze deeply into your crystal. Just allow your

thoughts to come and go as your mind stills you may find a solution if

not when you end the meditation just let the problem go quite often a

solution will pop into your head later .

Select single terminated crystals to help you meditate or to deepen and

enhance a particular meditation form. You can enlist the help of (

sometimes called programming) a crystal to help you reach deeper higher

states of meditative awareness. This is said to greatly shorten the time

it may take for you to achieve these states (these may still take years

) These states are not to be thought of as a goal of meditation and if

you meditate with a crystal for this purpose it is advised that you

limit your use to about one third of the time you spend in meditation

weekly.

Other crystals could assist you with meditation for relaxation or mental

clarity and those to assist you in experiencing a particular spiritual

state or plane such as bliss, or oneness with the divine, or

unconditional love for example.

You can contract with a crystal to enhance any standard meditation such

as the diamond heart meditation in the files or other meditations.

You can ask a crystal to hold the energy of a particular Tarot card or

spiritual passage and hold the crystal while meditating on that card or

text.

(Crystal programs)

Sit with or hold a crystal chosen to harmonize with the form of the

meditation

rose quartz or kunzite for love and compassion meditations for example,

citrine for bringing your personal will into harmony with your soul

purpose and recognizing that purpose ,

Green stones and /or amber or shells and fossils for meditations on

nature. There are many lists of stone properties that will offer

suggestions as to appropriate crystals for directed meditations However

your intuition is your best guide to the crystals.

You may also use a crystal or stone as a focus to gaze on while meditating.

Place the crystal at a comfortable distance so that you can easily gaze

on or into it.

Relax and gaze into the stone, when your attention wanders just return

it to the stone

if it feels natural after a few moments you may close your eyes and

continue meditating

if you feel tension anywhere take a couple of deep breaths and relax

again and continue

until you decide to finish by opening your eyes and gazing on the

crystal again .

Some people will tape an appropriate crystal to their brow to enhance

meditation.

You could place the stone in or under a headband . Astring of beads or

a pendant could also be used. You may prefer just to hold a crystal or

stone to your brow for a bit and then hold it in your hand or in your

lap or set it down nearby.

Clear Quartz and many of the blue and aqua and violet to purple stones

are commonly used to activate intuition and spiritual connection but

almost any stone can be meditated with, some more effectively than

others Some stones that are not of value for you will be good for

another person to use in meditation.

Generally it is a good idea to use your intuition to determine if it is

of positive value to work with any particular stone at a given time this

way. Do not use a crystal if it does not seem harmonious. (Though often

if you dislike a particular kind of stone or crystal it means that it

can help you with an issue you do not want to face yet.)

Some people lie down to meditate and place crystals at the feet and

crown or at various points on the body often over some of the chakra

points. Many people like to sit within a circle of stones or crystals

when they meditate.

On occasions when you find it difficult to calm your mind for a

traditional meditation you might find a variation of an altar or

mandala making form relaxing and healing . Begin by takeing a large

number of your stones and crystals and setting them in front of you .

Then after taking a few deep breaths just move them around and form them

into patterns

before or around you this is a form of active contemplation which can be

of as valuable as receptive meditations .

Crystal Haven

This combines visualization with a meditation, select a fairly large

quartz crystal and begin with it in front of you or in your hands .

Breathe deeply, a traditional chi practice suggests that women imagine

the breath rising from the Earth and men imagine the breath flowing down

from above.

Gaze into the crystal breathing slowly and deeply imagine the crystal

expanding and becoming larger imagine it growing to expand gently around

you so that you are sitting within the safety of the crystal. The light

coming into the crystal illuminates your entire being and fills you with

peace and love, stay within the crystal breathing in the light for as

long as you wish then allow the crystal to move away from you and return

to its natural size.

Toning crystals are useful in any meditation form which uses sound such

as chanting, toning, singing, listening, trance and meditation music or

drumming. Toning crystals often look like small flatish laser wands.

They can be identified because they help you when you tone or chant

perhaps by allowing you to hold notes longer or in some other way.

You may find a pair of singing crystals, often these look a lot like

small lazar wand crystals.

when they are gently rolled together in your hands these would make a

musical bell like sound that can help you enter meditation and deepen

trance or visualization states.

Many of the crystal books have suggestions for specific stones to use

in different meditations there must be well over a thousand suggestions

for meditation with crystals in the most popular books alone.

some suggestions are :

Celestite for Angel meditations

Fluorite can help with soul retrieval

Rainbow garnet for monadic contact (the all knowing oneness)

Selinite for access to akashic records

Other stones recommended for meditation include Amethyst, Yellow

Calcite, Celestite, Azurite, Labradorite, Chrysocolla, Blue Tiger's Eye,

Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Blue Fluorite, Quartz , Hawk's Eye,

Apophyllite, Geodes

We have separated meditating with crystals from the practice of

meditating on crystals.

Meditating on crystals is to meditate directly on the crystal to find

information about working with them or for some other directly crystal

related reason. This practice is sometimes called Attuning to crystals

and is very useful for familiarizing oneself with the crystals energies

and ways to work with them.

Peggy Jentoft

April 22, 2009

This is a superb guide, Peggy. Thank you so much. I will print it off and keep

it in my relaxation space.

Love and light

Cheryl x

, peggyj <peggyjentoft wrote:

>

> Here are two articles from our archives on meditation and meditating

> with crystals

>

> MEDITATION

> general introduction to meditation

>

> We will be exploring some ways to use crystals with meditation later and

> ways to meditate on /about crystals and learn some crystal

> visualizations but this is more about meditation in general. Meditation

> is one of the practices that can help us develop

> sensitivity to intuitive and spiritually sourced information feelings

> and experiences. It is this sensitivity which assists us in knowing

> what to do in a treatment when our crystals are charged what our path

> is. This is not all that meditation can do.

>

> The first thing to know about meditation is that there is no wrong way

> to do it there is no possible wrong result and there is no

> particular outcome that is the Right one. The only important thing about

> meditation is that you do continue to do it when you can, if only for a

> few moments daily or weekly if possible.

>

> Meditation can be done by anyone While many people associate meditation

> with Buddhism or Yoga the practice is universal and not religion or

> culture dependent. Whatever beliefs you hold there are meditations that

> will work for you and harmonize with them. Some meditations lead to

> great mental clarity. Many of the great writings of the world came about

> out of, or in meditation. Meditation is an experience it is not about

> results, it is in the doing. It is, to me an essential part of

> experiencing daily life to the fullest and being a participant in it. It

> is an essential part of separating yourself from the stresses and trials

> of daily life and being detached from them.

>

> Part of all meditation ,spiritual and energy work practice is about

> raising our own life condition to the point where we are not

> buffeted by transient phenomena . While some people may have visions or

> get blissed out that is not the point of meditation and in most forms

> you just move past this kind of thing if it happens and return to your

> focus just like you do for any other distraction.

>

> Meditation is not something you really become an expert at. There is

> always more to experience . There are many forms of meditation . I

> think meditation is of vital importance to personal spiritual evolution.

> Some people meditate to calm down and some people meditate to get high,

> and it does not matter why they do it or what happens when they do it or

> how they do it . If you fall asleep while meditating you probably needed

> the sleep more than you needed the meditation. On occasion meditation

> might turn into journey.

>

> It is important to practice a variety of forms of meditation to achieve

> a balance in your life. The practice of stilling your mind can be

> balanced with a mindfulness meditation of attending to each thought as

> it occurs. The practice of focusing inward with eyes closed , can be

> balanced with the open eyed practice of observing in the outer world,

> Meditating on fire

> is balanced by meditating on water. practicing detachment, with

> practicing loving kindness and compassion, Seated, still meditations

> with walking and moving and dancing meditations, Silence with chanting.

>

> You may have met lovely spiritual people with decades of meditation

> practice who are so blissed out in the oneness that they seem about to

> float away and may be quite unable to balance a checkbook , Or people

> who are so detached that they don't even notice or respond to events

> around them in a human way. These could be examples of people who have

> focused on

> one practice to the exclusion of all others and are unbalanced as a

> result. This kind of effect takes years to occur and is not something

> that will effect you if you practice a variety of meditations and

> participate in living life fully. The ability to

> participate in living life fully is great skill and benefit that can

> acquired through meditation.

>

> It is often said that the only wrong way to meditate is to not meditate.

> so whether you have only 5 or ten minutes to watch your eyelids (imagine

> a Movie screen or some such) or you have hours to practice meditating,

> give it a try.

>

> Do not expect any particular result, don't worry if nothing happens. In

> some forms the idea is for " nothing " to happen. Don't worry if

> something does happen either. Everyone has different experiences with

> meditation. The cliché is that prayer is Talking to God and meditation

> is listening .

>

> One simple basic meditation practice is to relax and center your

> attention on a sphere in the center of your head and keep

> your focus there. When you notice that your mind has wandered, gently

> bring it back to center and the sphere ,just practice bringing your

> attention into the center of your head. people often find it difficult

> to focus at first or feel sleepy, do not criticize your self.

> You can place a word like love or peace in your sphere to meditate on.

> People also may focus on the tan tien or Hara, a spot about two inches

> below the navel this is an energy center in the aura, obviously this is

> the focus that is referred to as contemplating your belly button.

>

> In conventional meditation when you notice that your mind has wandered

> just gently bring it back to your focus say a sphere inside your head or

> your breath or an object you are looking at or a word or sound you are

> focusing on or your heart and the diamond of light within it don't fight

> your wandering mind. Gently return your thoughts to your chosen focus or

> you may even do a meditation where you just strive to observe those very

> same scattered thoughts as you might watch birds flying by.

>

> The classic blank zen mind most think of when meditation is mentioned is

> not the only way to meditate there are almost as many ways to meditate

> as there are people and with experiment and exploration you are certain

> to find methods that " work " for you. If you find still- mind an

> incomprehensible concept I suggest you might try one of the focused Huna

> Nalu meditations.

>

> This form of brief focused total attention can be quite valuable in

> crystal work and is one way of beginning to develop a sensitivity to

> energy and spiritual information. Pick a sense any sense sight, touch,

> taste, hearing, smell. Pick an

> object or quality related to that sense A food ,a sound the way

> something feels, a leaf, and focus your attention on it Or focus all

> your senses and attention on an object or idea observe it with your

> entire being do this for, your initial goal is 10

> seconds. Do this anytime it occurs to you to do it. Classically you

> breathe deeply while your are doing your focus.

>

> Vipassana is one of the oldest and most well known. It is also called

> Insight meditation. one becomes Aware without being judgmental, of

> motivations, emotions, thoughts by just gently allowing ones thoughts to

> flow paying attention to them without criticism. For many meditations

> you can use an open eyed focus such as when you meditate by gazing on a

> sacred writing or stone or other object such as a mandala or natural view.

>

> For others you close your eyes as in breath and mindfulness meditations.

> Those methods where you focus on a word you may s keep your eyes half

> open or focused on your Tan tien. Non focused meditations are usually

> done eyes closed or half open mantra or sound meditations vary. Walking

> and dance meditations must usually be done with eyes open.

>

> You can contract with (program) a crystal to help you maintain focus in

> meditation. You can meditate on a crystal or stone .

> Some crystals called toning crystals can help you do toning and chanting

> meditations. These are usualy thin crystals but way you recognize them

> is that if you hold one andtone you will be able to hold the tone longer

> or more clearly.

> There are quite a few different web pages about meditation a search on

> about.com will bring several good sites .

> Meditation with Crystals

>

> Not everyone makes clear separations between meditation, visualization,

> journeying and visions and the distinctions are sometimes unclear.

> Meditation is usually centered on focusing and is not the same thing as

> zoning out or daydreaming though these can also have value.

>

> Meditation often opens the way for journeying or visions and may include

> visual sensations. Guided visualization usually refers to a relaxation

> or meditation form in which one is guided through a series of

> experiences in a story like form.

> There is also an article on meditation in general in the crystal

> workshop pages .

> Meditating with crystals is to use crystals in general meditation or

> specific meditations to enhance deepen or in some other way assist with

> the meditation.

>

> Clear quartz and other crystals and stones have been used to assist and

> as a focus for meditation for a very long time .

> Just focusing gentle attention on a clear quartz crystal can quiet the

> mind and help bring mental clarity for problem solving.

>

> When you have a particular problem take a few minutes to think about and

> define the problem then gaze deeply into your crystal. Just allow your

> thoughts to come and go as your mind stills you may find a solution if

> not when you end the meditation just let the problem go quite often a

> solution will pop into your head later .

>

> Select single terminated crystals to help you meditate or to deepen and

> enhance a particular meditation form. You can enlist the help of (

> sometimes called programming) a crystal to help you reach deeper higher

> states of meditative awareness. This is said to greatly shorten the time

> it may take for you to achieve these states (these may still take years

> ) These states are not to be thought of as a goal of meditation and if

> you meditate with a crystal for this purpose it is advised that you

> limit your use to about one third of the time you spend in meditation

> weekly.

> Other crystals could assist you with meditation for relaxation or mental

> clarity and those to assist you in experiencing a particular spiritual

> state or plane such as bliss, or oneness with the divine, or

> unconditional love for example.

> You can contract with a crystal to enhance any standard meditation such

> as the diamond heart meditation in the files or other meditations.

> You can ask a crystal to hold the energy of a particular Tarot card or

> spiritual passage and hold the crystal while meditating on that card or

> text.

> (Crystal programs)

>

> Sit with or hold a crystal chosen to harmonize with the form of the

> meditation

> rose quartz or kunzite for love and compassion meditations for example,

> citrine for bringing your personal will into harmony with your soul

> purpose and recognizing that purpose ,

> Green stones and /or amber or shells and fossils for meditations on

> nature. There are many lists of stone properties that will offer

> suggestions as to appropriate crystals for directed meditations However

> your intuition is your best guide to the crystals.

>

> You may also use a crystal or stone as a focus to gaze on while meditating.

> Place the crystal at a comfortable distance so that you can easily gaze

> on or into it.

> Relax and gaze into the stone, when your attention wanders just return

> it to the stone

> if it feels natural after a few moments you may close your eyes and

> continue meditating

> if you feel tension anywhere take a couple of deep breaths and relax

> again and continue

> until you decide to finish by opening your eyes and gazing on the

> crystal again .

>

> Some people will tape an appropriate crystal to their brow to enhance

> meditation.

> You could place the stone in or under a headband . Astring of beads or

> a pendant could also be used. You may prefer just to hold a crystal or

> stone to your brow for a bit and then hold it in your hand or in your

> lap or set it down nearby.

> Clear Quartz and many of the blue and aqua and violet to purple stones

> are commonly used to activate intuition and spiritual connection but

> almost any stone can be meditated with, some more effectively than

> others Some stones that are not of value for you will be good for

> another person to use in meditation.

>

> Generally it is a good idea to use your intuition to determine if it is

> of positive value to work with any particular stone at a given time this

> way. Do not use a crystal if it does not seem harmonious. (Though often

> if you dislike a particular kind of stone or crystal it means that it

> can help you with an issue you do not want to face yet.)

>

> Some people lie down to meditate and place crystals at the feet and

> crown or at various points on the body often over some of the chakra

> points. Many people like to sit within a circle of stones or crystals

> when they meditate.

>

> On occasions when you find it difficult to calm your mind for a

> traditional meditation you might find a variation of an altar or

> mandala making form relaxing and healing . Begin by takeing a large

> number of your stones and crystals and setting them in front of you .

> Then after taking a few deep breaths just move them around and form them

> into patterns

> before or around you this is a form of active contemplation which can be

> of as valuable as receptive meditations .

>

> Crystal Haven

> This combines visualization with a meditation, select a fairly large

> quartz crystal and begin with it in front of you or in your hands .

> Breathe deeply, a traditional chi practice suggests that women imagine

> the breath rising from the Earth and men imagine the breath flowing down

> from above.

> Gaze into the crystal breathing slowly and deeply imagine the crystal

> expanding and becoming larger imagine it growing to expand gently around

> you so that you are sitting within the safety of the crystal. The light

> coming into the crystal illuminates your entire being and fills you with

> peace and love, stay within the crystal breathing in the light for as

> long as you wish then allow the crystal to move away from you and return

> to its natural size.

>

> Toning crystals are useful in any meditation form which uses sound such

> as chanting, toning, singing, listening, trance and meditation music or

> drumming. Toning crystals often look like small flatish laser wands.

> They can be identified because they help you when you tone or chant

> perhaps by allowing you to hold notes longer or in some other way.

>

> You may find a pair of singing crystals, often these look a lot like

> small lazar wand crystals.

> when they are gently rolled together in your hands these would make a

> musical bell like sound that can help you enter meditation and deepen

> trance or visualization states.

>

> Many of the crystal books have suggestions for specific stones to use

> in different meditations there must be well over a thousand suggestions

> for meditation with crystals in the most popular books alone.

> some suggestions are :

> Celestite for Angel meditations

> Fluorite can help with soul retrieval

> Rainbow garnet for monadic contact (the all knowing oneness)

> Selinite for access to akashic records

> Other stones recommended for meditation include Amethyst, Yellow

> Calcite, Celestite, Azurite, Labradorite, Chrysocolla, Blue Tiger's Eye,

> Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Blue Fluorite, Quartz , Hawk's Eye,

> Apophyllite, Geodes

>

> We have separated meditating with crystals from the practice of

> meditating on crystals.

> Meditating on crystals is to meditate directly on the crystal to find

> information about working with them or for some other directly crystal

> related reason. This practice is sometimes called Attuning to crystals

> and is very useful for familiarizing oneself with the crystals energies

> and ways to work with them.

>

> Peggy Jentoft

>

April 23, 2009

Great articles, Peggy. Thanks for (re) sharing!!!!

" We must be the change we want to see in the world. "

- Mahatma Gandhi

" If I can add one touch of a rosy subject into any person's life, then I shall

have worked with God. "

- Henry D. Thoreau

--- On Wed, 4/22/09, sherry.l <sherry.l wrote:

sherry.l <sherry.l

[CrystalHW] Re: meditation (repost)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 1:19 PM

This is a superb guide, Peggy. Thank you so much. I will print it off and keep

it in my relaxation space.

Love and light

Cheryl x

CrystalHealing- workshop, peggyj <peggyjentoft@ ...>

wrote: