Meditating can have so many benefits for us, from reaching a higher consciousness and awareness, and getting in touch with our higher selves, spirit guides, ascended masters, angels and loved ones, to helping us relax, focus and feel centered. It's great for stress reduction, to help alleviate anxiety, depression, eating disorders and even addictions. For some people meditation helps improve their creative and critical thinking abilities. Others find that it helps to increase energy levels and improve focus and concentration. No matter how long your session is, you're naturally elevating your vibrational frequency making all of these things possible.
BELOW ARE 15 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE MORE ENJOYABLE AND EASIER.
🙏 Don't put any pressure on yourself with how long you need to meditate, there is no set time. Start slow, just a couple of minutes is all you need in the beginning. If that goes well, increase by another two minutes and do that for a week. If all goes well, by increasing just a little at a time, you’ll be meditating for 10 minutes a day in couple of months or so, which is amazing! But start small first.
🙏 Do it first thing each morning before you start getting busy with your day. It’s easy to say, “I’ll meditate every day,” but then forget to do it. Instead, set a reminder for every morning when you get up, and put a note that says “meditate” somewhere where you’ll see it.
🙏 Lighting a candle, burning incense, having low meditation music on or even having healing crystals with you can help set the mood and intention as well as a soothing ambiance, so don't be afraid to make your space enjoyable.
🙏 It's important to be comfortable. Don’t get caught up in the how, because there really isn't a wrong way to do this. You can start by sitting on a chair, on your couch, or on your bed. If you’re comfortable on the ground, sit cross-legged. It’s just for two minutes at first anyway, so the main thing is to be comfortable. Later you can worry about optimizing it so you’ll be comfortable for longer, but in the beginning it doesn’t matter much.
🙏 Find your sacred space. I meditate a lot at my desk, in my sacred space where I do all of my energy work. I have everything that I need there... my candles, incense, music, crystals, tools, inspirational material, and is where I set my daily intentions and do my readings. Overtime, you'll find that meditating in the same space is more appealing to you and where you'll thrive energetically because as you continue to be there, the vibration will naturally elevate in that area, giving your own frequency an extra boost and will help to increase your conscious awareness during meditation. Any space that you create will work, whether it be inside your home, or outside in the garden. You can also meditate anywhere, we've all got busy schedules. If you’re traveling or something comes up in the morning, you can do meditation in your office. In the park. During your commute. As you walk somewhere. Sitting meditation is the best place to start, but in truth, you’re practicing for this kind of mindfulness in your entire life.
🙏 How breathing can help you. As you first settle into your meditation, check to see how you’re feeling. How does your body feel? What is the quality of your mind? Busy? Tired? Anxious? Know that this is ok. It's perfectly normal. Relax with breathing. Now that you’re settled in, start to pay attention to your breath as it comes in, and follow it through your nose all the way down to your lungs. Try counting “one” as you take in the first breath, then “two” as you breathe out. Repeat this to the count of 10, then start again at one.
🙏 Redirect when your mind wanders, because it will happen. This is an almost absolute certainty. There’s no problem with that. When you notice your mind wandering, gently return to your breath. Count “one” again, and start over. You might feel a little frustration, but it’s perfectly ok to not stay focused, we all do it. This is the practice, and you won’t be good at it for a little while. I find that doing guided meditations will help keep you more focused in the beginning, and centered.
🙏 It's ok if you find emotions coming into the meditation. When you notice thoughts and feelings arising during meditation, as they will, look at them with a friendly attitude. See them as friends, not intruders or enemies. They are a part of you, though not all of you, so be friendly and not harsh.
🙏 There is no wrong or right way to do this. It's natural to worry about this, but please know that you’re not doing it wrong. There are so many benefits to meditating, that no matter how you do this, you're benefiting from it.
🙏 The main goal of meditation is not about having clear thought. Lots of people think meditation is about clearing your mind, or stopping all thoughts - it’s not. This can sometimes happen, but it’s not the “goal” of meditation. If you have thoughts, that’s normal. We all do. Try to practice focusing your attention, and practice some more when your mind wanders, and you can always redirect as well. When I meditate, I'm always visualizing, setting intentions, and talking with my guides, ascended masters and angels, so overtime you'll discover what works best for you.
🙏 Don't be afraid to work with thoughts that come in. When thoughts or feelings come into play during the meditation, and they will, you might try staying with them awhile. I know I said to return to the breath or to redirect, but after you practice that for a week, you might also try staying with a thought or feeling that comes in, because it could be a message from your guides or an area that you need to work on. We tend to want to avoid feelings like frustration, anger, anxiety, but an amazingly useful meditation practice is to stay with the feeling for awhile. Just stay, and be curious.
🙏 Learn about yourself. This practice isn’t just about focusing your attention, it’s about learning how your mind works. What’s going on inside there? It’s murky, but by watching your mind wander and "feeling" your emotions, you can start to understand yourself better. This will also help you become more in tune with your higher self. Become friends with yourself. As you get to know yourself, do it with a friendly attitude instead of one of criticism. You’re getting to know a friend. Smile and give yourself love.
🙏 Another thing you can do, once you become a little better at following your breath, is to do a body scan, and focus your attention on one body part at a time. Start at the soles of your feet — how do those feel? Slowly move to your toes, the tops of your feet, your ankles, knees, hips, all the way to the top of your head. What energy do those areas hold? What memories? What areas do you need to work on with either physical or emotional healing?
🙏 Another place to put your attention, again, after you’ve practiced with your breath for at least a week, is the light all around you. Notice the light, sounds, and energy that you're picking up on. Just keep your eyes on one spot, and notice the light in the room you’re in. Another day, just focus on noticing sounds. Another day, try to notice the energy in the room all around you (including light and sounds). Do this both from a physical standpoint, and in your mind's eye.
🙏 Really commit yourself. In your mind, be locked in, for at least a month. Check in with friends. While I like meditating alone, you can do it with a friend too. Or just make a commitment with someone to check in every morning after meditation. It might help you stick with it for longer. You can also find a local community of people who are meditating and join them. This might be a Zen or Tibetan community near you (for example), where you go and meditate with them. Or find an online group and check in with them and ask questions, get support, and encourage others. I've found a lot of circles on Meetup. com.
Most of all, enjoy the process and have fun with it. Make it a part of your daily routine and have it be something that you look forward to.
© 2018 Audra Loibl, Psychic Medium, Intuitive Coach/Mentor, Certified Reiki Master Practitioner