Four ways to practice meditation
Imagine Tor at five years old with his grandmother sitting in front of him, guiding him through meditation; that is how my journey with meditation began. When she did, she opened a doorway into my inner landscape, my inner universe, which is vast, infinite and endless if you choose to look, for all of us. There is always another dimension to explore. Another layer of stillness to sit with.
At the time, she got me to visualise a realm within, all in my control, where all of the external world's troubles faded away. She instructed me to fill out a metaphorical journal to process my experience in that meditative space and help me let go of all the troubles I was going through at the time.
After a while, she also guided me through a meditation, during which I met one of my Spirit Guides for the first time.
Interestingly, as an adult, visualisation is still the cornerstone of my practice.
There are many different definitions of meditation, and they are all great. Meditation is when I return to myself, and I centre myself, ready to take on the next day.
Here is a sketch of my current twice-a-day meditation practice:
10-15 minutes of breathwork to open the practice
5 minutes body scan
15 minutes of chakra-based visualisation to open the channel to the internal world and beyond
15-20 minutes sitting with Spirit and my Guides
5-10 minutes of chakra-based visualisation to close the practice
There are many different ways to practice meditation, and here I will present four practices.
Chakra based meditation
The practice below is closest to what I practice every day. There are a few more elements to mine, but this is more than enough to get you going. It is a lot to remember, but I believe in you. Try it out, and let me know how you get on in the comments.
Find a comfortable position you can hold for 20-30minutes. You can sit or lie down. You may want to lower the blinds, light a candle and fold a blanket around yourself or across your lap to set the mood.
Close your eyes and take six calming breaths, and you make your exhale longer than you inhale for those breaths. Afterwards, return to normal, calm breathing.
Then, start a body scan by guiding a blue, calming, relaxing light through your body from the top of your head all the way down to your feet. You can go into as much or as little detail as you like.
Afterwards, you see the blue light fade away and find yourself in a meadow. Try to make this meadow your own, and notice a different aspect of it every time you enter.
After you have explored your meadow and feel safe, you see a white door entering it. The door opens of its own accord, and you step through the open door into a white corridor with seven doors. Each door represents one of the seven main chakras.
The first door you approach is red, our base chakrum. This is the chakrum that the life force of the universe enters us. This door is already slightly ajar; you only open it marginally more. When you open it a little bit more, you should feel a warmth move through you.
You open up the next six doors entirely, and with each door, ensure that nothing blocks the entrance and that you see a bright, clear colour when you move on to the next chakrum. The last six coloured doors are orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, in that order. When you have opened each door and chakrum, see them all blending together to become a brilliant white light.
You can sit in that white light for as long as you need. It is expected that your mind begins to wander at this point, and thoughts of daily life come in. Try just to let them float across your consciousness without attaching meaning. Don’t analyse, dont judge and bring yourself back to the white light. Use the white light as an anchor to keep you in that meditative, healing space. During this time, you may see visions, receive messages, feel the presence of a guide or nothing at all. Regardless of what you experience, it’s all good.
When you feel that you are done, the violet door representing the crown chakrum will come forward. You then make your way down the corridor, closing all doors in reverse order, leaving the red door slightly open at the end, and stepping back into your meadow.
When you feel ready to close the practice, shroud yourself in a violet mist, take a deep breath, open your eyes, and return to your space.
Journal prompts
How did the chakras feel today?
Was there anything different about the meadow?
What were the thoughts and feelings that came forward?
Did I see any visions? What were they? What do I think they mean?
Candle gazing meditation
I sporadically practice candle gazing meditation, in which I sit with my eyes open and gaze upon a candle for 10-20 minutes. The trick is to use the candle as an anchor for my mind to hold onto each time it begins to wander.
To practice this meditation, find a comfortable position, set a timer for how long you want to practice, light the candle, and see what happens. Start small, with a few minutes first, then build up over time. Just follow the flame and let that become your focus.
Journal prompts
What thoughts and feelings came forward during the meditation?
When did the practice begin to become uncomfortable?
Self Awareness Meditation
A less spiritual meditation style is simply sitting and observing your thoughts, feelings, and sensations as they move across your consciousness with your eyes closed.
Find a comfortable position you can hold for 20-30minutes (or longer). You can sit or lie down. You may want to lower the blinds, light a candle and fold a blanket around yourself or across your lap to set the mood.
Close your eyes and take six breaths, and you make your exhale longer than your inhale for those six breaths.
As a body scan, guide a calming, relaxing energy through your body from the top of your head all the way down to your feet. You can go into as much or as little detail as you like.
When you are done, sit in that space, observing and noticing your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. Let them float across your consciousness without attaching any meaning. You can sit in this space for as long as you like.
Use your breath, body and self as an anchor to keep you present. Some people suggest finding a point within yourself to focus on. Every time your mind begins to wander, come back to your breath. Don’t judge or analyse; find your way back.
When you are done, take a deep breath and open your eyes.
Journaling prompts
What thoughts and feelings came forward during the meditation?
When did the practice begin to become uncomfortable?
Sound Healing Self Awareness Meditation
Use the same instructions as above, but only this time: On your exhale, for the duration of your meditation practice, add a low “hmm” sound with your mouth closed to give your mind an extra anchor to focus on.
There are many more ways to practice meditation, and you have to find the one that works for you. I have tried and used all of the aforementioned practices, and I resonate with them all.
Let me know how you get on in the comments!
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