- meditation
- self hypnosis
- relaxation
Meditation:
When we think about meditating we almost always imagine a person sitting in the lotus position with up-turned hands on their knees, looking like Buddha. We see it as silly or even pretentious yet strangely at the same time we admire those who can achieve a deep meditative state and wish we had the mental discipline to achieve this ourselves.
Well, the good news is that you can achieve it, without having to look or feel silly or join a Buddhist colony.
There are a number of meditation techniques which range from sitting straight in a chair to laying flat on the floor.
The key elements of meditation are:
The key elements of meditation are:
- Give yourself time
- Warm up before hand
- Find a comfortable position
- Breathe and relax
- Think about your surroundings to get started
We all live busy lives these days... blah blah blah... you've heard it a thousand times!
STOP!
Without making any more excuses, sit down and find some time in your day to relax and sit for a while. Switch off the TV, kick the kids out of the house and send your husband down the pub if you have to but FIND THE TIME!
Next, warm up. I do not mean put an extra sweater on, I mean, as though you were about to exercise, stretch out your muscles, rotate your neck slowly, touch your toes (if you can), extend your arms and flex any muscles you find anywhere on your body. Give yourself a good 5 minutes for this. After warming up you should feel more relaxed.
Now decide where you are going to sit or lay down. Until you are practised I suggest sitting because it is easy to loose focus and fall asleep which is not what we want here.
Close curtains and doors to keep out unwanted light or sound, obviously unless you are doing this outside.
Light candles, josticks, scented oil burners and play some gentle music if you feel like, whatever it takes to create a soft, comfortable atmosphere for you to relax in.
Now sit. Make sure you are comfortable. I suggest sitting straight until you are more practised. So, sitting straight in a chair, place both feet flat on the ground with your knees bent; rest your hands flat on your thighs with your arms bent by your sides; put a cushion behind your head and lay back into the chair.
Take three long, slow breaths into your lungs, filling them completely, then breath it out slowly. Now breath gently, close your eyes and think about your surroundings.
It is a myth that you should think about nothing at all when meditating, it is impossible to think about nothing. The whole point of meditating is to escape from the stuff that is troubling you so if you try to think about nothing your mind will simply throw up all your worries. Instead, focus on your surroundings, this distracts from your problems and gives your mind a starting point to begin its meditative journey.
Be aware of subtle changes around you. Are some sounds growing quieter? Are some sounds growing louder? When you close your eyes, does it seem to be lighter than when you have them open? Is there a gentle breeze coming from anywhere?
A meditation is not only a chance for you to relax and escape, it is a chance for your Sub-conscious to process your most positive resources. When you are in any situation you are always aware of the immediate and obvious surroundings, but you fail to notice the small details which the situation complete. There are sounds, smells, colours, items and other factors which are not important for your conscious mind to focus on yet these things do exist and they are part of the whole picture. We call these details "Sub-modalities" when we are describing them as a mental picture.
While you are meditating, there are details in your environment of which you will become aware that you did not notice when fully conscious. These are Sub-modalities and they are part of the fabric your Sub-conscious needs and uses in order to process all the information required to give you a full perspective of life.
When you meditate your Sub-conscious can more easily access these Sub-modalities and so the better you will sharpen your perspective on your life; through this you will begin to re-evaluate your life and solve your own problems, especially as relaxing will quieten the noise in your head that your troubles create.
Advanced Meditation
Next, warm up. I do not mean put an extra sweater on, I mean, as though you were about to exercise, stretch out your muscles, rotate your neck slowly, touch your toes (if you can), extend your arms and flex any muscles you find anywhere on your body. Give yourself a good 5 minutes for this. After warming up you should feel more relaxed.
Now decide where you are going to sit or lay down. Until you are practised I suggest sitting because it is easy to loose focus and fall asleep which is not what we want here.
Close curtains and doors to keep out unwanted light or sound, obviously unless you are doing this outside.
Light candles, josticks, scented oil burners and play some gentle music if you feel like, whatever it takes to create a soft, comfortable atmosphere for you to relax in.
Now sit. Make sure you are comfortable. I suggest sitting straight until you are more practised. So, sitting straight in a chair, place both feet flat on the ground with your knees bent; rest your hands flat on your thighs with your arms bent by your sides; put a cushion behind your head and lay back into the chair.
Take three long, slow breaths into your lungs, filling them completely, then breath it out slowly. Now breath gently, close your eyes and think about your surroundings.
It is a myth that you should think about nothing at all when meditating, it is impossible to think about nothing. The whole point of meditating is to escape from the stuff that is troubling you so if you try to think about nothing your mind will simply throw up all your worries. Instead, focus on your surroundings, this distracts from your problems and gives your mind a starting point to begin its meditative journey.
Be aware of subtle changes around you. Are some sounds growing quieter? Are some sounds growing louder? When you close your eyes, does it seem to be lighter than when you have them open? Is there a gentle breeze coming from anywhere?
A meditation is not only a chance for you to relax and escape, it is a chance for your Sub-conscious to process your most positive resources. When you are in any situation you are always aware of the immediate and obvious surroundings, but you fail to notice the small details which the situation complete. There are sounds, smells, colours, items and other factors which are not important for your conscious mind to focus on yet these things do exist and they are part of the whole picture. We call these details "Sub-modalities" when we are describing them as a mental picture.
While you are meditating, there are details in your environment of which you will become aware that you did not notice when fully conscious. These are Sub-modalities and they are part of the fabric your Sub-conscious needs and uses in order to process all the information required to give you a full perspective of life.
When you meditate your Sub-conscious can more easily access these Sub-modalities and so the better you will sharpen your perspective on your life; through this you will begin to re-evaluate your life and solve your own problems, especially as relaxing will quieten the noise in your head that your troubles create.
Advanced Meditation
