Meditation
Think about it for a moment.
What comes to mind?
Peace? Tranquility? Frustration? A GIANT question mark?
Come on, don't hold back.
Nobody is keeping score or grading you or judging you. Tell me what you really think!
I'd like to explain meditation to you with a whole new perspective. My aim is to make you comfortable with it and show you that you are probably already quite familiar with it.
It's really rather remarkable how meditation works into our lives.
The best place to start is probably with the word. If you grew up or are still growing up in the Western World you most likely have a Judeo- Christian background. While Christians and Jews do meditate it's not really a big part of these religions. You were taught to pray. Muslims pray as well. If you grew up in an Eastern tradition you are familiar with meditation. Hinduism and Buddhism use meditation instead of prayer. All of these religions pray and all of them meditate. There is a lot in a word.
If you grew up in the west you probably aren't too familiar with eastern traditions and lack of knowledge can very easily invoke fear. Maybe it's not really fear, it's more of an uncomfortable feeling. You may have grow up emulating prayer but not meditation so it feels foreign.
If you know people who meditate they may be a bit out of the norm. That can be uncomfortable for many. We all want to be like everyone else sometimes and branching out into something that isn't common to the general public can make you feel like an outsider and that's not the easiest feeling to deal with.
Meditation is often thought of as a weird religion? That scares a lot of people too. Religion has created a lot of uncomfortable feelings in a lot of people. Often, religion works with fear. They try to make you afraid so you continue to follow the religion. They may tell you other religions are bad or other spiritual practices are “of the devil” or Satan. Even if you are no longer active in a religion those fears can linger. Oh, the power of fear! Or the power of implanted thought for that matter.
Meditation is very similar to hypnosis. All it really is is a process you take to slow down your mind. It can actually be measured. We explained this in the introduction. Your brainwaves when you are wide awake are moving more quickly. That's referred to as Beta. A little slower is Alpha. This is the state of hypnosis and the state of meditation too. Hypnosis and meditation can take you into deeper states of relaxation but for the most part, you are relaxed and awake at the same time. The next being Theta – which is in between waking and sleeping and the deepest being Delta- Asleep. These are normal states to be in. When you are working behind a computer, you are in alpha. When you are driving long distances, reading a book, when you are engrossed in a good TV show, movie or even a video game. You are still awake but you are focusing on one thing and filtering everything else out. You'll be able to do whatever needs to be done, you are aware of things around you but your focus is on one thing.
You can be listening to music and be meditating.
You can be gardening and meditating.
You can be exercising and meditating.
It's a different focus.
If you are a runner or know a runner you may know a good run can clear your mind. Getting lost in your favorite music can clear your mind. Prayer can clear your mind too.
You are concentrating on one action and it allows you to focus your thought. Often, you receive inspiration at the same time. If you are looking for an answer, you take your mind off of the problem, focus on the running or the music, and then, the answer comes. The inspiration may come. If you are a writer or a musician or trying to find what you are looking for or to clear “writer's block” taking your mind off of it helps.
Meditation is the act of taking your mind off one thing and putting it on another?
That could be a way of looking at it.
Traditionally, when you “meditate” you sit in a certain position, breathe a certain way and consciously clear your mind possibly chanting mantras Sounds like work huh? I mean, how? Why? Consciously? And then what? You have an empty mind? That sounds just a little scary doesn't it? I mean, what happens when you have an empty mind?
Some people find this to be an absolutely wonderful experience. Truly divine. They find not only the answers they are looking for to their every day problems but universal and spiritual truths, they connect with their higher selves and guides and all sorts of things.
Um yeah, higher selves? Guides? More scary words Or crazy words or perhaps just plain bull!
How about finding your very own inner voice? Finding a quiet place to find your very own inner voice and finding your own truth and your own direction?
Does that sound a little bit more inviting?
I hope so.
I like to look at the end results. What exactly am I trying to accomplish with my actions?
There are many ways we can do something and get the same result. Look at weight loss. How many different diets are there? They all initially help you to lose weight too don't they?
Start with the end in mind.
If the point of meditation is to clear your mind enough to listen to your own inner voice I bet you already know exactly how YOU do that.
You may find since you've been using self hypnosis recordings that really works for you. Or you are a runner. Maybe you cook to clear your mind. Or clean? That's a good one. An hour of vacuuming or floor washing can be a very meditative experience.
And, I also like you to know if you start arguing with yourself on your quest for answers, or problem solving or mind clearing that's all a perfectly acceptable part of the process. Things need to be worked through. You learn things when you argue with yourself. You see different points of view. You are talking yourself from one way of looking at something to a different way of looking at something. That's a very good thing. That's growth.
Sometimes you just need to clear your mind enough for the new spark of life to come through. To make the change from here to there. There is no time frame you need to meet. You don't need to meditate for a certain amount of time. Meditating for longer periods of time does not make you a better person.
Start with the end in mind. If it takes you 3 minutes to accomplish your goal that's all well and good and perfectly fine. If it takes you 30 minutes or 3 hours that's all just fine too. Maybe you like the state of meditation and just want to hang out there for a while? Hey, if it feels good to you? Do it!! You are meditating alone, who could you possibly hurt?
Does this clear it up?
I hope so.
This program is several different recordings that help you to relax.
The first session is a guided imagery hypnosis session that will help you to relax and go on a journey in your mind to get in touch with the wiser part of you. It’s very much a guided meditation. You can use it as you go to sleep or during the day as a tool for meditation. It’s about 30 minutes long. By starting with this hypnosis session I will help you to perhaps alter your beliefs about meditation. Allow you to look at meditation differently and find a different part of you in relation to meditation. I used guided imagery in this session which utilizes metaphors which is a great way to speak to the subconscious. I think that the subconscious just may be our wise self, or a link to our wiser self. Listen to this recording every day for a week (or longer) and see where it leads you. There is no right or wrong here. Life’s a journey. This is part of it. I hope it’s part of the trip you like!
The second session is a guided meditation to help you to relax. It will help you to relax your body and mind. That’s meditation. Some people don’t know how to start. The thoughts come and go. You don’t know what you are supposed to be doing, you feel silly. This will help you to physically relax your body and help you to clear your mind.
Think about this: There is no particular thing you are supposed to do in a state of hypnosis. You may fall asleep and wake up knowing something or feeling motivated to do something. You may simply zone out and think about nothing, it may feel like you are somewhere in between waking and sleeping. You may solve a problem. You may find answers and be inspired.
If anything: I hope it feels good!!
The third session is a recording of The Rainbow Garden. It’s a guided imagery/hypnosis/healing scrip that has been around for a long time. This is my recording of it. It takes you through a walk in a garden with seeds that bloom in different colors and each color corresponds to healing a part of your body. Its a peaceful way to spend a meditation session.
The fourth session is a Chinese Foot Massage! This is one of my favorite things to do. I thought it would make a great way to have a guided relaxation session.
The fifth recording is a session to relax you, fill you with energy and take you into your imagination to create what you want. The meditative state is a great place to dream, to allow your dream to come to you, where you can work with them and then allow them to come into your life.
Each recording has relaxing music and sounds in the background and is longer then just me taking so you can get into a meditative state and the be left to your own thoughts or lack of thoughts and enjoy.
These are 5 ways that you can create a meditative state. I hope you have fun with them! If you can think of anything else you’d like to have let me know. I’d be happy to write it and record it!
Think about it for a moment.
What comes to mind?
Peace? Tranquility? Frustration? A GIANT question mark?
Come on, don't hold back.
Nobody is keeping score or grading you or judging you. Tell me what you really think!
I'd like to explain meditation to you with a whole new perspective. My aim is to make you comfortable with it and show you that you are probably already quite familiar with it.
It's really rather remarkable how meditation works into our lives.
The best place to start is probably with the word. If you grew up or are still growing up in the Western World you most likely have a Judeo- Christian background. While Christians and Jews do meditate it's not really a big part of these religions. You were taught to pray. Muslims pray as well. If you grew up in an Eastern tradition you are familiar with meditation. Hinduism and Buddhism use meditation instead of prayer. All of these religions pray and all of them meditate. There is a lot in a word.
If you grew up in the west you probably aren't too familiar with eastern traditions and lack of knowledge can very easily invoke fear. Maybe it's not really fear, it's more of an uncomfortable feeling. You may have grow up emulating prayer but not meditation so it feels foreign.
If you know people who meditate they may be a bit out of the norm. That can be uncomfortable for many. We all want to be like everyone else sometimes and branching out into something that isn't common to the general public can make you feel like an outsider and that's not the easiest feeling to deal with.
Meditation is often thought of as a weird religion? That scares a lot of people too. Religion has created a lot of uncomfortable feelings in a lot of people. Often, religion works with fear. They try to make you afraid so you continue to follow the religion. They may tell you other religions are bad or other spiritual practices are “of the devil” or Satan. Even if you are no longer active in a religion those fears can linger. Oh, the power of fear! Or the power of implanted thought for that matter.
Meditation is very similar to hypnosis. All it really is is a process you take to slow down your mind. It can actually be measured. We explained this in the introduction. Your brainwaves when you are wide awake are moving more quickly. That's referred to as Beta. A little slower is Alpha. This is the state of hypnosis and the state of meditation too. Hypnosis and meditation can take you into deeper states of relaxation but for the most part, you are relaxed and awake at the same time. The next being Theta – which is in between waking and sleeping and the deepest being Delta- Asleep. These are normal states to be in. When you are working behind a computer, you are in alpha. When you are driving long distances, reading a book, when you are engrossed in a good TV show, movie or even a video game. You are still awake but you are focusing on one thing and filtering everything else out. You'll be able to do whatever needs to be done, you are aware of things around you but your focus is on one thing.
You can be listening to music and be meditating.
You can be gardening and meditating.
You can be exercising and meditating.
It's a different focus.
If you are a runner or know a runner you may know a good run can clear your mind. Getting lost in your favorite music can clear your mind. Prayer can clear your mind too.
You are concentrating on one action and it allows you to focus your thought. Often, you receive inspiration at the same time. If you are looking for an answer, you take your mind off of the problem, focus on the running or the music, and then, the answer comes. The inspiration may come. If you are a writer or a musician or trying to find what you are looking for or to clear “writer's block” taking your mind off of it helps.
Meditation is the act of taking your mind off one thing and putting it on another?
That could be a way of looking at it.
Traditionally, when you “meditate” you sit in a certain position, breathe a certain way and consciously clear your mind possibly chanting mantras Sounds like work huh? I mean, how? Why? Consciously? And then what? You have an empty mind? That sounds just a little scary doesn't it? I mean, what happens when you have an empty mind?
Some people find this to be an absolutely wonderful experience. Truly divine. They find not only the answers they are looking for to their every day problems but universal and spiritual truths, they connect with their higher selves and guides and all sorts of things.
Um yeah, higher selves? Guides? More scary words Or crazy words or perhaps just plain bull!
How about finding your very own inner voice? Finding a quiet place to find your very own inner voice and finding your own truth and your own direction?
Does that sound a little bit more inviting?
I hope so.
I like to look at the end results. What exactly am I trying to accomplish with my actions?
There are many ways we can do something and get the same result. Look at weight loss. How many different diets are there? They all initially help you to lose weight too don't they?
Start with the end in mind.
If the point of meditation is to clear your mind enough to listen to your own inner voice I bet you already know exactly how YOU do that.
You may find since you've been using self hypnosis recordings that really works for you. Or you are a runner. Maybe you cook to clear your mind. Or clean? That's a good one. An hour of vacuuming or floor washing can be a very meditative experience.
And, I also like you to know if you start arguing with yourself on your quest for answers, or problem solving or mind clearing that's all a perfectly acceptable part of the process. Things need to be worked through. You learn things when you argue with yourself. You see different points of view. You are talking yourself from one way of looking at something to a different way of looking at something. That's a very good thing. That's growth.
Sometimes you just need to clear your mind enough for the new spark of life to come through. To make the change from here to there. There is no time frame you need to meet. You don't need to meditate for a certain amount of time. Meditating for longer periods of time does not make you a better person.
Start with the end in mind. If it takes you 3 minutes to accomplish your goal that's all well and good and perfectly fine. If it takes you 30 minutes or 3 hours that's all just fine too. Maybe you like the state of meditation and just want to hang out there for a while? Hey, if it feels good to you? Do it!! You are meditating alone, who could you possibly hurt?
Does this clear it up?
I hope so.
This program is several different recordings that help you to relax.
The first session is a guided imagery hypnosis session that will help you to relax and go on a journey in your mind to get in touch with the wiser part of you. It’s very much a guided meditation. You can use it as you go to sleep or during the day as a tool for meditation. It’s about 30 minutes long. By starting with this hypnosis session I will help you to perhaps alter your beliefs about meditation. Allow you to look at meditation differently and find a different part of you in relation to meditation. I used guided imagery in this session which utilizes metaphors which is a great way to speak to the subconscious. I think that the subconscious just may be our wise self, or a link to our wiser self. Listen to this recording every day for a week (or longer) and see where it leads you. There is no right or wrong here. Life’s a journey. This is part of it. I hope it’s part of the trip you like!
The second session is a guided meditation to help you to relax. It will help you to relax your body and mind. That’s meditation. Some people don’t know how to start. The thoughts come and go. You don’t know what you are supposed to be doing, you feel silly. This will help you to physically relax your body and help you to clear your mind.
Think about this: There is no particular thing you are supposed to do in a state of hypnosis. You may fall asleep and wake up knowing something or feeling motivated to do something. You may simply zone out and think about nothing, it may feel like you are somewhere in between waking and sleeping. You may solve a problem. You may find answers and be inspired.
If anything: I hope it feels good!!
The third session is a recording of The Rainbow Garden. It’s a guided imagery/hypnosis/healing scrip that has been around for a long time. This is my recording of it. It takes you through a walk in a garden with seeds that bloom in different colors and each color corresponds to healing a part of your body. Its a peaceful way to spend a meditation session.
The fourth session is a Chinese Foot Massage! This is one of my favorite things to do. I thought it would make a great way to have a guided relaxation session.
The fifth recording is a session to relax you, fill you with energy and take you into your imagination to create what you want. The meditative state is a great place to dream, to allow your dream to come to you, where you can work with them and then allow them to come into your life.
Each recording has relaxing music and sounds in the background and is longer then just me taking so you can get into a meditative state and the be left to your own thoughts or lack of thoughts and enjoy.
These are 5 ways that you can create a meditative state. I hope you have fun with them! If you can think of anything else you’d like to have let me know. I’d be happy to write it and record it!
