Meditation is an ancient practice seemingly as old as humankind. Some believe there is evidence that it was practiced by early hunter-gatherer societies by the tribal leaders and shamans to contact the world of their Gods or spirits to obtain direction for their tribes.
It has been and still is practiced by every major religion. Prince Siddhartha Guatama, the Buddha, achieved enlightenment circ. 500 B.C. and meditation is still practiced in Buddhism. Early Christian monks began practicing meditation as early as 500. A.D. Kabalistic (Jewish) meditation is practiced to commune with God. At the same time that some Jews were embracing mysticism, certain Muslims were doing the same and practicing meditation.
It wasn't until the 1960's and the Beatles began associating themselves with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi that meditation began making its way into the western mainstream. Since then, millions of people have taken up meditation. Studies have been done on the health benefits of meditation and the medical community even teaches forms of meditation in some of the major hospitals.
But still, many people are confused and feel overwhelmed about learning to mediate. It continues to have an aura of mystery about it and many people think they either don't need it, don't believe in it, or think they can't learn to meditate. Sadly, those who could benefit the most are usually the ones who insist they just couldn't sit still long enough to mediate.
Meditation is actually just the art of focusing 100% of your attention in one area. Although it does take some practice, just like everything else in life, it couldn't be easier to begin, and once a beginning is made, it becomes easier each time we practice.
Here are some suggestions to get you started:
Make it a daily formal practice.
You will only get to the next level in meditation by setting aside specific times to be still. In our busy world it does seem like a lot of time to take out of our days, but the benefits of extra energy and focus more than make up for the time spent.
Find a quiet place.
Turn off your TV, radio, phones, anything that could disturb you. Hang a sign on the door letting everyone not to disturb you.
Find a comfortable position.It's not necessary to sit in any particular position. Just find a position that's comfortable for you. You can even meditate lying down but you might find you fall asleep and in that case it's better to be sitting.
Start with the deep breathing. Breathing deeply slows the heart rate, relaxes the muscles, and focuses the mind.
Let it go. Beginners must understand that meditation is a process. The art of focusing your attention to a single point is hard work. Remember that you ARE working when you start to think you're wasting time. It's very common to start get frustrated. Just let those thoughts go and focus on your breathe. Imagine those thoughts as being separate from you and just let them float by and float away.
Relax your body. A great way to do that is by relaxing each part of your body separately. For instance, start at the top of your head and relax your scalp. Focus on your scalp and feel whatever sensation you are feeling there as you purposely concentrate on relaxing your scalp. Then go to your forehead and relax your forehead. Go through each part of your body until you reach your toes. Imagine for instance that you are made of wax and as you go through each part of your body the wax is slowly softening and melting. Or imagine that a stream of cool water is slowly pouring over each part of your body and as it does so it relaxes and soothes.
Try some guided mediation. Guided meditations are wonderful for beginners. Instead of trying to just "not think", we are led through a relaxing scene with comforting music and our minds have something to focus on while we learn to relax.
Experiment.There are many methods of meditation. Experiment and use what works for you. As you get more comfortable with meditation, you'll want to find out more and try out different techniques. Listening to instructional CD's is a wonderful way to start meditating.
Meditation has so many benefits for our bodies, minds, emotions and spirits it is well worth the effort to learn and practice. So get started and happy meditating.
For complete meditation guides and scripts, including healing and forgiveness meditations go here.
You can also find many types of meditation programs and resources here.
Be sure to sign up for your free Affirmation Course.
