MEDITATION

"Meditation seeks the awakening of the transcendent consciousness, preceded by a series of preparations that make it possible for us to go beyond the persoality, that is, the physical, emotional and mental levels of our consciousness." [1]

If you are starting to meditate for the first time, find a warm quiet comfortable environment where (depending on your body’s level of flexibility and strength), you can try sitting on a mat or cushion on the floor in the cross legged position (as above). Or alternatively, you can sit on your knees as done in zazen (Japanese meditation), or simply sit on a chair (as described below).

Keep your spine comfortably straight in a dignified upward posture, your hands resting palms upwards on your thighs/upper legs, your face slightly upturned, eyes closed with a gentle focus between your eyebrows (the third eye area).  If you need to use a backrest, then you can, but do not use a headrest unless you have a particular need. 

If you prefer to sit on a chair, then a dining chair is more beneficial than an armchair. Position your feet flat on the floor, approximately hip-width apart.  (If you have short legs, then you can rest them on a cushion on the floor. Conversely, if you have long legs, then you can place a cushion on your chair.)

If you prefer, you can lie down, but it is easy to lose awareness and fall asleep! Alternatively, if you sit in an alert position, you will be more inclined to remain awake and be able to focus on something, be it an image, a color, a chakra, a mantra, or the way your breath automatically flows in and out... [2]. 

So How Does the Meditation Actually Work?

This incredibly beneficial ancient practice is all about stilling our mind, while simultaneously keeping our body awake and in a relaxed state. So what is the key? The first thing to do is to ground ourselves. - This means feeling attached to the earth.  (You may like to imagine roots going from the base of your spine down to the middle of the earth).  After this, check that your spine is in a wonderfully upright position, and then take an in-breath as you stretch it a little higher (from its base upwards). Keep your body still, and know that when this happens, mental stillness follows.

Soothing a Busy Mind

"Meditation seeks to attain a state of awareness that is not absorbed in thought processes. It’s a state of being, rather than thinking, in which the malleable mental stuff (citta in Sanskrit), ceases its almost endless modifications until even the ego center is dissolved. Yoga calls this state samadhi" [1]

If you are new to meditation, you will most likely find that your mind will be all over the place. - Thoughts about what you are going to have or buy for dinner, an issue that is troubling you, concerns about future plans, and a million other scenarios can come in here. So if they do, rest assured that it is completely normal to have what we call a butterfly, or monkey mind. And remember that we all have our own pace - and the more we go with the flow and avoid being consumed by how we are progressing, the better it will be.

Focus is Paramount

By focusing your mind on a single thing, you can calm your mind. These practices include:

• Feeling grounded to the earth
• Anchoring your awareness to the present moment (the now). This generates psychological distance, thereby stopping you from being overwhelmed by past conditioning and automatic reactions
• Concentrating on your belly region
• Focusing on the gentle rhythmic movement of your breath going in and out
• Using a mantra (such as silently saying to yourself: "this is an inbreath, this is an outbreath")
• Counting 1 2 3 4 etc., on the out-breaths (either out loud or silently), or
• Visualizing a symbol

 These practices can be done over a few minutes at the beginning of a meditation session, and at any point when you are overwhelmed by thoughts. 

Do not be hard on yourself if you find that calming your mind is difficult. - Give yourself some loving kindness, and be mindful that we have all been programmed to have constant thoughts (something that the practice of  Mindfulness refers to as the 'undercurrent,' - as in the flow of a stream). We will always have thoughts spontaneously appearing, but the secret to mediation is to simply let them drift in and out without engaging with them.  - Think of your thoughts and emotions from 'the observer's' perspective. (In the practice of mindfulness, the 'observer' forms part of our consciousness which watches our thoughts in a neutral way, without making any judgements).

Whenever your mind dances and engages with your thoughts and becomes overloaded with thinking, you send energy to this habit, and thus make it even stronger. Conversely, if you focus your mind on something neutral, such as breathing, counting, or any of the other suggestions described above, you can take away the energy you expend when you dance and engage with your thoughts and feelings.

References

[1]. Vicente Hao Chin, Jr. (2015).  

The Process of Self-Transformation: Exploring Our Higher Potential for Effective Living. Quest Books

[2]. Stibich, M. (2020). "How to Sit When Learning Meditation." VeryWellMind

.https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-sit-when-learning-to-meditate-2224121#:~:text=Sitting%20is%20the%20best%20position,where%20to%20put%20your%20feet).

Note: only undertake meditation positions if you do not have any contraindications (including being in a meditative posture)