Please note that unless you feel your current meditation is harmful to you in any way, or it really just doesn't feel right, do your best to stick with any form of meditation you choose for at least six months. Why? This will give you time, and a chance to see if this meditation is really for you, and is just a bit difficult, or if there really is something inherently not good about that form of meditation. It's a fine line you need to work through, and understand.
So now, on with the chosen two, for our April meditations!
The first I would like to present to you is entitled, Stress Relief Meditation. I have also seen this form of meditation called the 30-second meditation. I'm not going to explain it much, here, as I have written a couple pages describing this form of meditation on my massage website. So, if you would like to take a look, please visit this page, entitled, Stress Relief Meditation. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please call me or email me. My contact information is below.
The next form of meditation I'll describe is breath meditation, and I've explained it below the picture.
The next form of meditation for our April meditations is probably the most popular of ALL meditations, breath meditation. Many, many forms of meditation are tied to our breathing, and or counting our breath in one form or another. Here is my take on one form of it, below.
Counting your breath is a meditation essentially designed to
teach and practice the ability to do one thing at a time. It seems simple at first, but do not let it’s apparent simplicity fool you. It is very
hard, requires a great deal of practice, and if you can work at it consistently, has
definite positive psychological and physiological effects.
I suggest that you try this breath meditation for 15 to 20 minutes in order to get a sense of what this meditation work feels like. You start by placing yourself in a comfortable position so that you will get as few distracting signals from your body as possible. This may be either sitting, lying on the floor, or standing, depending on your particular wishes. Set an alarm or timer on your watch or phone for 15 or 20 minutes, or if this is not available, place a clock face where you can see it without moving your head. If you use an alarm clock or timer, use one with a gentle sound.
Now, simply count silently each time you breathe out. Count 'one' for the first breath, 'two' for the second, 'three' for the third, and 'four' for the fourth, and then start with 'one' again. Keep repeating this procedure until the 15 or 20 minutes are up.
The goal is to be doing simply that (breathing and counting) and nothing more. If other thoughts enter into your mind, and they will, simply accept the fact that you are straying from the instructions and bring yourself gently and firmly back to the counting. No matter what other thoughts, feelings or perceptions come during this breath meditation time, your task is simply to keep counting your breath’s, so keep trying to be doing only that. Doing or being conscious of anything else during this period is wandering away from the task.
I suggest that you try this breath meditation for 15 to 20 minutes in order to get a sense of what this meditation work feels like. You start by placing yourself in a comfortable position so that you will get as few distracting signals from your body as possible. This may be either sitting, lying on the floor, or standing, depending on your particular wishes. Set an alarm or timer on your watch or phone for 15 or 20 minutes, or if this is not available, place a clock face where you can see it without moving your head. If you use an alarm clock or timer, use one with a gentle sound.
Now, simply count silently each time you breathe out. Count 'one' for the first breath, 'two' for the second, 'three' for the third, and 'four' for the fourth, and then start with 'one' again. Keep repeating this procedure until the 15 or 20 minutes are up.
The goal is to be doing simply that (breathing and counting) and nothing more. If other thoughts enter into your mind, and they will, simply accept the fact that you are straying from the instructions and bring yourself gently and firmly back to the counting. No matter what other thoughts, feelings or perceptions come during this breath meditation time, your task is simply to keep counting your breath’s, so keep trying to be doing only that. Doing or being conscious of anything else during this period is wandering away from the task.
Do not expect to do well at it, and to be able to
succeed for more than a couple of seconds or even minutes at a time and being aware only of
your counting is very difficult. This takes long practice. Remember, meditation is simple, yet not easy! Simply do your best, and begin right now!
The practice of breath meditation is not an easy one. The first shock of surprise comes when we realize how undisciplined our mind really is; how it refuses to do the bidding of our will. After 20 minutes of attempting only to count our breaths and not be thinking of anything else, you realize that if our bodies were half as unresponsive to our will as our minds are, we would never make it through the day alive. We find ourselves thinking of all sorts of other things rather than the simple thing we have just decided to think about, or meditate on (our breath.)
So, give it a try, and let's see how you do. Again, as always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave comments below, or write me an email or call me. Thanks for your time, and I strongly urge you to quickly begin one of these two meditation practices. They are simple, and fun to work with! Just remember, practice makes perfect!
Kristopher Kelley
(928) 273-8666
warrior.of.lite@gmail.com
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