Meditation Guide
Meditation is a foundational practice for expanding your spiritual growth; it will help you become fully present and aware in the moment. With practice it can become a key source for recharging your life and bringing you into the state of Grace needed to handle all aspects of life. However, before you can experience the joy of being fully present you will have to become clear as to what meditation techniques are right for your temperament and personality. The time you set aside for meditation becomes quality time for your own self-care and development so it should be crafted to meet your unique needs.
There is no one-size-fits-all meditation. Over the millennia diverse schools of thought have produced a wide spectrum of practices. These reflect the era and prevailing world view of the time. The renunciate path, which teaches that life is an illusion and our physical form should be transcended, teaches techniques to pull away from the material world and embodiment. In contrast, the inclusivity of the Tantric path holds that Supreme
Consciousness is present in all things and should be explored and appreciated as divine manifestation to be valued in the here and now. The term “Tantra” implies using all of life and experience in a life-affirming way. Volumes have been written on these diverse techniques but I will focus on the Tantric path of inclusion that has given me the most joy and motivation to continue a life-long practice.
The practices of Tantra are designed for the common person who is still active in the world and relationships with others. It is the practice of householders, not just priests and spiritual recluses. This newer wave of thinking brought meditation to a new level that is more inclusive of the world rather than trying to block it out. It is more of an interface with your inner world and the world around you. “All is Consciousness,” the Tantrikas teach, so use it all to make your relationship with Spirit more intimate and personalized.
Areas of Guidance
Below is a general guide for understanding meditation. Each category is presented as my advice on creating a holistic perspective so you can use the structure to create a practice unique to you and what serves your personal growth and well being. The categories include:
The allure of meditation
Create your setting and intention
Time and duration
Diverse techniques
Obstacles
The Allure of Meditation
One of my meditation teachers, Paul Muller-Ortega, taught me to approach meditation as something “charming” that draws you to it. It is that relaxed approach that will ease you into a life-affirming and sustainable practice. There are many temperaments to humanity so you must find the technique or style that works for you. This too can change with time as you explore and see what works, as well as what doesn’t. I am not an authoritarian personality so I am not drawn to rigid adherence to form; rather I prefer to be in friendship with my intention to explore ways to find inner peace and a connection to the diverse energies of Spirit.
You will find your own results and unfolding levels of insight and experience. This is unique to you and an intimate relationship with your inner and outer world, however you come to know it. Be patient with yourself and it will unfold with your exploration and commitment to Self discovery.
Meditation is not what you think, for it is beyond thinking. You do not meditate on your problems in order to solve them, but through meditation you see through the problems you have set up for yourself.
Swami Rama The Art of Joyful Living
Meditation teaches you to systematically explore your inner dimensions and, with diligent practice, will lead your mind to become more centered, so you can fully focus on whatever you choose. You can become more present to all of life, even the challenging and darker aspects, and respond in a way that is clear and grounded. It is the tool that is at your disposal to lovingly face life with a tranquil mind. A calm, centered, mind makes optimal choices, clarifies perspective and directs the healing power of thought. It also opens you to a sensitivity of varying degrees of higher vibrational energy.
Create your setting and intention
To help meditating become more than just a routine of habit and more of a daily calling, set yourself up for success. By this I mean be flexible but diligent with your effort. Get clear on why you are taking on or continuing your practice. Set an intention to meditate and craft the time of day and location that is doable for you under your current circumstances. Do not get rigid about this and you will find that you can shift your meditation time and location as conditions permit. This level of flexibility may come in handy when you explore different types of meditation; a beach-side meditation or garden sit may be determined by your location at the moment, weather, season of the year and the like. Work schedules, family life, travel, health status and the like will all affect finding time to be still and foster awareness.
Set an intention to meditate and open to Grace in any form it reveals itself. Recognize that you are choosing self-care and responsibility for your own well being. Our intentions may vary greatly and shift over time. Being present in the Now is one of the highest intentions because it is an opening and partnership with Spirit and the highest aspect of ourselves. Being open will allow the highest vibration to be present and reveal insights and process through emotions.
Time and duration
I believe in building the “muscle” of meditation. By that I mean creating a habit of meditating in a way that is compelling, inviting you back time and again. Being patient will help you to find the right time of day and duration of your practice. I suggest setting an initially small length of time, say five or ten minutes, to explore meditating. See what you experience and gradually expand that duration as you continue your practice over time. You can expand your meditation period until you find a sustainable length and frequency of practice. I suggest a twice-daily practice because it will help establish a baseline with more gravitas and commitment throughout the day.
Your meditation type will affect your duration of practice: a walking meditation may be defined by the path you are tracking; a music playlist may determine how long you listen and how deeply you relax. I like to explore different meditations at various times but always stick to a morning and evening sit for twenty five minutes, usually utilizing a mantra or visualization for a focus. I use a phone app (Meditation Helper) to set the time for how long I want to meditate. The app helps me to let go of watching the time and the gentle bell at the end does not require my attention to turn it off.
Diverse Techniques
I learned a simple template from my meditation teacher Rudrani Farbman: Body, Breath, Mind, Spirit. Regardless of the type of meditation you are employing you will more successfully expand your awareness by working through the layers of experience you are having, from the physical to the energetic.
Body: If your meditation is to find quietude the first thing you have to learn is to be still. This process begins with physical stillness. Sit or lie in a comfortable position making your body feel supported and at ease. Bring your awareness slowly down through your body, allowing all of the muscles to relax except those that are supporting you. Take your time and enjoy the process of letting go of the tension in your body. Meditation is the art and science of letting go, and this letting go begins with the body and then progresses to thoughts and the mind.
Depending on your physical condition you may chose to sit upright or support your spine in a chair. You might have to make adjustments and add props like a pillow or two in order to let the body be still and relax. Equally, if your meditation is a more physical one make sure you can move, dance, or whatever, in a way that is life-affirming and does no harm. Our intention is to be comfortable in the body, free from physical distractions, grounded and connected to the planet or the experience at hand.
I’m a firm believer that if the body does have a sensation that distracts you—itchy nose, leg going numb, etc.—tend to it quickly and move back to your meditation.
Breath: Exploring breath awareness is the opening to the more etheric side of embodiment and meditation. Breath is present, yet it is invisible for the most part; it moves throughout the entire body and brings in vital life force (prana); it has a quality of Grace to it that can calm the body and allow you to work more at ease as you approach the mind. Breath can also be a place to rest your attention while you settle into your body and the sensations of the moment. You may find that just working on body-breath awareness is all the practice you need at any given time.
Mind: When we explore our mind we can become aware of not just our thoughts as they arise, but also, that mind can be trained, that it has qualities. Meditation helps keeping your mind and emotions from having their way with you. We can learn about our own mind and thought patters, becoming the observer of our own self. To help with this I employ one of the key teachings that I learned from Paul Muller-Ortega: trying to stop thinking during meditation is like stepping on the breaks while driving; it can cause a halting reaction that distracts from the “charming” element of the practice. This means recognizing that thoughts exist at one level of our being and they have a tendency to demand our attention or draw us into imagination and mental wandering. There is another level of mind that can take charge and keep you focused.
We have the ability to train the mind to let go of thoughts. I use the technique of mentally stating to them, “I will think you later, now I prefer something more charming.” This is when I return to my focused intention for the meditation, mantra, visualization, deity or sensual awareness. When we calm and quiet the mind we can best journey into the level of Consciousness that is Spirit, or as the Buddhists call it, “Big Mind.” It takes practice and a willingness to sit with what shows up without setting expectations or moving into judgment. I still find that after decades of meditating I still drift between rambling thoughts and blissful stillness and absorption. It is a cultivated art to be okay with this.
Spirit: For me, Spirit in meditation is Union (yoga) consciousness. It is a level of awareness that includes body, breath and mind, yet goes to a higher vibration. I suggest that you do not overtax or over think this one because there is no way our words or mind can encompass total Consciousness, it is beyond our mental scope. I find that we can best know it by letting Grace take us to a place of love that expands and augments our understanding of being multidimensional and interconnected. This experience can be one that is attunes us to the diverse energies and qualities of our energetic self and higher-evolved divine beings available to guide us. It can be one that takes you into a state of connection to the Universe. It may be the salve that heals your wounds and calms your trouble soul. It is said that “all rivers run to the sea” so let your journey to the sea of Consciousness, shaped by your temperament and nature, take you to the highest place that serves your greatest good.
Grounding
To get still and set the stage for opening to your meditation you should give yourself a few moments to ground with the Earth below you. Scan the body and relax from head down through to your feet breathing at ease all the while. Now let your mind rest in the calm and serene flow of the breath and use it to draw the descending energy of Spirit down through your body and into the planet. This establishes a lightning-rod effect for subtle energy and a path for the energy to ascend: heaven and Earth balanced within us at the heart.
Sit or stand with an upright spine. Visualize opening in the top of your head that allows energy to drop down and bath you with light and life force (prana). Draw the energy down to your seat, legs and feet. Take your awareness deeper down into the earth like a tree sinks its roots deep into the soil. Invite the Earth energy to rise to your crown and to rest in your heart, harmonized with the energy from above. See yourself as a child of both Heaven and Earth, meant to be here, to be the person you are, as you are.
Cultivating grounding makes it easier to see where you would like to focus your life force energy and awareness. It helps you to cultivate discernment by feeling the quality of energies around you. In particular, personalities that are very mental or thought-dominant can balance that energy with the grounding qualities of quiet reflection, patience and willingness to let go of the need to control.
Grounding is something we can practice as a meditation unto itself or can be part of the opening of all your practices. Becoming comfortable with establishing this energetic link will facilitate taking your meditation into deeper layers of union consciousness (yoga).
Once your established meditation time is over, give a bow to the Earth and thank her for your life; give thanks to the Universe for giving you the opportunity to be embodied and the lessons you are learning. With gratitude, recognize that the physical plain of existence is limited but our meditation adds the Grace and loving awareness to make it an awesome experience.
Internalizing the external world
At times we are compelled to escape the world and yearn for break from all the external stimulus. There is a technique for harmonizing with the outer world and bring it into your inner world. This requires some reasonable judgment for sometimes the distractions from the outside world can be too overpowering: lawn mowers, weed-eaters, airplanes and the like. To bring the outside in will require that you choose a setting that is compelling and compatible for a peaceful experience.
Sit or stand with your eyes open and grounded to the Earth and open to experience all of what you see in an internal way. Take in the view with a wide peripheral and non-judgmental scan. Notice details, textures, sounds, colors, shapes and let them create an imprint on your mind, they are all expressions of Shakti, the power of nature, unfolding. Close your eyes and with your inhalation visualize that you are bringing all of what you observed energetically into yourself. With your exhalation, let the energy flow back out and merge with the outside world. Breath at ease with this inflow and outflow until your established time is over or you feel it is time to end your meditation. Take a few deep breaths with your eyes open before you begin to move. Cultivate a sense of connection to All-That-Is and rest there a few moments.
Using the senses to explore awareness
Our senses are tools for perception, and as such can help us to expand our awareness and ability to focus and concentrate. Each sense is a portal that can take you deep into the experience of being alive and captivated by the subtleties of reality. Sense meditations are great for short periods as well as extended ones. They can help you go beyond the ideas that all meditation is about letting go and releasing the world. Through the senses we can be intimate with the nuances of life and add our loving appreciation for all its ways to be experienced. Below you will find ways to work with each sense.
Vision: Place or choose an object before you to focus on (such as a flower, candle, natural setting, photo of someone who inspires you, etc.) and let your mind draw it energetically into yourself. Be the witness to both your view and being the one who is simultaneously experiencing it. Open to see details as well as general shapes. Look to see the interconnectivity of what you observe with the wholeness of all that exists and how you experience it.
Taste: Place a morsel or item that will slowly dissolve in your mouth. You can also take repeated sips from a beverage or bites from a delectable. Recognize and experience the sensation of flavor, texture, temperature and any quality that shows up. Sit with it beyond judgment and preference, just noting how sensation begins, is sustained and then dissolves, as does all existence.
Smell: With eyes either opened or closed position yourself so you can focus on a smell: incense, cooking, nature smells, perfume, and any other sent that is not too overpowering. Open to the experience of letting the sent enter your nose and touch your sinuses and lungs as it moves with the breath. Recognize and discern the subtleties and qualities of the scents. Let them express themselves like visiting guests until it is time to shift your awareness elsewhere or end your meditation.
Touch: Having the opportunity to experience existence in a physical body is a wonderful gift. It is enhanced by our contact with the world which is processed through our senses, especially touch. We can use this sense in unlimited ways, from the feel of warm water, the sun’s rays on our skin, the texture of materials and the caress of a loved one’s embrace. We are designed to interact with the physical world and savor the experiences, ones that would not be available to us if we did not have bodies. This savoring can be done intentionally as a way to meditate on the perspective that we are spiritual beings having a human experience and this experience can be a powerful catalyst for expanding awareness and consciousness.
Hearing: Sound is a vibration of energy moving in patterns, rhythms and pulsations. Selecting a pleasant piece of music or background sound can take you into a deep place of relaxation and connection to reality around you. This is a wide-open category of focus and should be matched with the intention of the moment. If deep stillness isn’t desired, maybe a joyous dance to rousing music can be your path to a meditation of movement and sound? Experiment with different settings and choices of music or background sounds. It is a wonderful way to go deep into experiencing life on a visceral plane of awareness.
Visualization
Visualization is the use of your mind’s ability to create a reality, situation, object or state of being, regardless of whether it is tangible or not. It is a tool in which your thoughts and focused awareness can move you into an experience that adds to you inner wellbeing.
Because visualization has no inherent limitations—it all exists in your mind and energy field—it can be very powerful and highly customizable to your particular nature and ability to imagine. The art of visualization creates a reality in your mind that you can use as a magnetic force pulling towards the creation of a chosen reality or preferred state of being. You get to choose what that reality is.
The technique for exploring visualization requires moving into a still quiet inner space with few or no outside distractions; you’ll want to allow yourself to be totally absorbed in the vision you are creating for yourself. Use your breath to calm your mind and release the tensions and concerns that may occupy your body and mind. Choose a focus for your mind to create and augment. This can be a feeling you wish to experience, a physical state of being, a relationship or experience you want to realize, or any number of realities that are compelling.
Use your mind to create an “inner vision” that fleshes out the visualization and makes it seem real or achievable. See the qualities of the ideal situation or condition as part of who you already are, a future self created in the here-and-now of your meditation. Your thoughts are powerful tools so choose them wisely. You can find that your mind wanders into darker, heavier thoughts so you must be vigilant. Come back, time and again, to the higher vibrations of the desired qualities and reality you want to enhance in your life. Choose what is life-affirming and dip back into that wellspring of creative power over and over again. With time, your vision will remain more and more part of who you are. Thought energy has the power to create a reality that you can move into.
You can begin with simple thoughts of seeing yourself surrounded with radiant loving light, or you can visualize yourself in perfect vibrant health. The possibilities are endless so experiment and see what feels best for you. Be ever vigilant of what stories you are telling yourself and know that you can slip into the negative imagery that is counter-productive to wellbeing and optimal health. Choose the highest expression and vision of what you want your life to embody. Be patient with yourself and know that you are your own best advocate for shaping a vision of who you are and how you want to be in the world. Practice holding these higher thoughts and images for as long of a meditation practice as feel comfortable. When you are done, bless the vision and ask the Universe to help you make it reality for you. Be like a host waiting for a guest to arrive and expect results from your effort. Visualization can be a game you play with your mind that can powerfully transform your emotional, mental, physical and spiritual self.
Mantra and Deity Worship
Mantras are “mind tools” (Sanskrit manas means mind, and tra means tool) that take you deeper into an energetic vibration or helps you stay grounded in a meditation when your thoughts may wander and get sidetracked. You can anchor you mind on a sound or phrase that is associated with a concept or divine quality you want to emulate or embody. The yogic sages of antiquity learned that all sound has a vibration that is a part of the universal matrix of existence. They hold that certain combinations of sound have a sacred quality to them that can be internalized as a way to connect to those higher vibrations.
There are thousands of mantras and each has a specific power behind it. It is beyond the scope of this article to address them all so I will focus on just a few. Your disposition, cultural background and exposure to spiritual concepts will affect your ability to connect to the qualities of the mantras and their associated higher vibrations. Holding the concept that Consciousness resides in, and creates all things, at multiple levels of reality, will help you to seek out and connect to specific mantras. Open your mind to accept that these higher qualities are universal; try not to get caught up in the artistic imagery employed to express spiritual qualities and higher levels of Consciousness through culturally-informed art.
Whether or not you can relate to the visual imagery used by different spiritual teachings, you may see that they are attempts to express higher concepts of existence. You can use your own recognition of varying frequencies of vibration and awareness to sort out what works for you and what doesn’t. It is important not to get caught up in the mental game of being too literal. Rather, explore working with the different energies of diverse deities/spiritual qualities as a way to bring in higher understanding and embodiment of these qualities. Authors Joseph Selbie and David Steinmetz express in their book The Yugas (an insightful book on the epic ages of our times) an understanding of what deities are:
[T]he gods are facets of God the Spirit. The gods have no reality separate from God the Spirit, but are nonetheless unique expressions, possessing distinct elemental qualities and consciousness.
The authors note that over the extensive periods of time, yugas, mankind has been able to tap into the unique expressions of the Divine Spirit and bring them into our own personal energy field. This is a practice of meditation on the qualities of a divine being becomes a way to shape and transform our awareness and experience of life on an expanding level of being. Each deity and their associated mantras are expressions of Divine magnetism in the matrix of thought and energy. We can tap into their magical powers as a way to connect with life bigger than just our limited understanding of reality and the forces at play in the universe.
Below is a small selection of mantras you may want to explore; I employ them for specific purposes that help me build empowerment and connectivity to the Sacred. For more in-depth study, I strongly recommend Sally Kempton’s Awakening Shakti and Thomas Ashley-Farrand’s Shakti Mantras.
Om
(Oh-oo-mm)
–The root vibration of wholeness and connection to all aspects of reality.
Hum Pat Swaha
(Humm Put Swah-ha)
–Mantra for releasing tension and whatever is holding you back or restricting growth.
Shivo Hum
(Shiv-oh Humm)
–Identifies yourself as part of the whole of Supreme Consciousness, Shiva.
Om Namah Shivaya
(Om Nah-mah-ha Shiv-ay-a)
–“I bow to the presence of the Highest within me and all things.”
Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha
(Om Guhm Guh-nuh-puh-tah-yei Nah-mah-ha)
—“I invoke the power of the Lord of the Forces of Nature, Ganesha/Ganapate, to remove obstacles.”
Om Eim Saraswatyei Swaha
(Om I’m Sah-rah-swaht-yay Swah-ha)
— Invokes knowledge, understanding, and the power of sound, mind and speech, Saraswati.
Om Shrim Lakshmiyei Swaha
(Om Shreem Lahk-shmee-yea Swah-ha)
–Invokes the generosity, abundance and brilliance of the Universe, Lakshmi.
Om Dum Maha Durgayei Namaha
( Om Doom Ma-ha Door-gai-yey Nah-mah-ha)
–Mantra for general protection and connection to the strength of the Divine Mother goddess, Durga.
Obstacles to Meditation
In meditation we strive to relax the body and mind so as to create a state of well-being and connectedness to Spirit. This is a tall order to follow and can easily be fraught with frustration at not getting to that ideal state. This is normal. This is why we use the term “meditation practice,” because it may not come easy. It requires effort and diligence. The obstacle to overcome is removing that which blocks being present with what are showing up in your reality at the moment. It takes time and effort to sit with feeling ill-at-ease, mental frustrations or overwhelming physical sensations. To this light Swami Rama guides us:
“Do not judge or attempt to control or change it [your state of being]. At this point, if you simply remain aware of this process instead of reacting to the thought, you will become aware of how restless your mind is. It is not the thoughts that disturb you, but your reaction to them.”
Meditation is very simple; it is simply attending. You can begin by attending to your breath, and then if a thought comes, attend to it, notice it, be open to it—and it will pass. Then you can come back to the breath. Have patience and do your practice systematically. It takes time to see results; be gentle with yourself. Make it your goal to have a calm mind, to have a one-pointed mind, to have a tranquil mind. Work towards that goal with compassion for yourself and an understanding that you are susceptible to the ever-changing conditions of your mind, experiences and state of being.
When your body is uncomfortable you can make a a physical shift to feel better; when your mind is agitated you can sit with it like a loving parent may sit a troubled child until it calms down. You can send loving thoughts to your own self and not try to force a release of what is dominating your thoughts and meditation. All things are transient so strive to recognize that you will have varying degrees of tapping into the inner bliss possible in meditation. There may be times when all you can do is simply sit with your sensations and place them into a perspective that they too will change. Your meditation will advance when you let go of attachments to a goal. Cultivate a perspective that while you may now be facing overwhelming thoughts, they can shift by intentionally releasing them or by letting them be present as just one aspect of reality. With the understanding that troubling and overwhelming thoughts are real, yet they are not ultimate truth, you can process through them more quickly.
Your practice will flow more naturally over time when you accept that routines get broken at times and unavoidable circumstances arise. Travel, visiting guests, poor health, all happen periodically but can be worked around. Flexibility and commitment will help you embrace what is showing up and pick up your practice as soon as you can; it does not have to be an all-or-nothing rigidity. Meditation is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal to bring about well-being. It works at all levels of who you are because your practice shapes your quality of mind, immune system, receptivity to change and the unexpected. It is highly customizable and can be shaped into a practice unique to you. The benefits of your diligent practice are innumerable.
