MEDITATION: Your Inner Key to Peace, Wisdom and Joy By (Sage) Taylor Kingsley, CHT, RM, Hypnotherapist & Reiki Master Originally Created for Kaiser Permanente Expanded and Revised for Higher Consciousness Copyright 1996-2013 Meditation is the key to unlocking the door of ancient mystical knowledge, healing and wisdom. Behold! The key lies within you. Prayer is when we talk to God. Meditation is when we listen. (And blissen!)
Meditation - pg. 2 What Is Meditation? Meditation is the practice of quieting the mind and relaxing the body. When one hears the word "meditation," most Americans picture the Zen Buddhist forms of meditation in which the person sits, cross-legged, hands on knees, perhaps with chanting. This is only one of hundreds of forms of meditation that have been developed over thousands of years and on every continent. Christians and Jews engage in meditation in church and temple in moments of silence. Native Americans meditate on vision quest and by observing nature keenly, with conscious awareness and gratitude. From ancient times until the present and beyond, in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America, Europe, indeed, all over the word, people have meditated in some form, by whatever name it has been known. Viewed broadly, meditation can be defined as: meditation: any activity designed to bring about a state of peaceful quietude, consciousness, and balance of body, mind, heart, and spirit. Thus defined, meditation may involve sitting, standing, lying down, walking, or even graceful dancing, even your daily activities such as eating and showering - as long as it results in a quieting of the mind, and a balancing, relaxing and healing of the body. Meditation also serves to reconnect the mind with the body, an essential state for facilitating healing and optimizing health. Going within, being completely present, listening to the silence, clearing the mind - all of these terms aptly describe the state of meditation. One can make meditations out of anything. Anything that leads you to yourself is meditation. - Osho The Scientific Basis for Meditation During regular awake activities, your brainwaves vibrate between 14 and 32 cycles per second. This state, called Beta, is ideal for operating in the physical world of time and space, sensory perception, and analytical thought. During meditation, an altered state of consciousness is reached that is actually scientifically measurable. Meditation results in brainwaves from 4 to 13 cycles per second, an Alpha or Theta state. Alpha (8 to 13 cycles per second) is also the state in which dreams take place, Rapid Eye Movement sleep, while Theta (4 to 7 cycles per second) governs your subconscious, the deeper parts of yourself.
Meditation - pg. 3 During the meditation state of consciousness, wellsprings of creativity and inspiration may be accessed. Science has not yet been able to explain why these states may also produce physical healing and spiritual enlightenment, but this has also been well documented. An interesting fact to ponder: The brainwave frequency of 7.5 cycles per second, which is in between the Alpha and Theta states accessible by meditation, exactly corresponds to the electromagnetic frequency of the planet Earth. Benefits of Meditation A regular meditation practice can result in any or all of the following benefits to you personally: * reduced stress * greater health, fewer injuries and diseases, and a stronger, more balanced immune system * greater physical vitality and energy * need of less sleep * a sense of being more in touch with your body * feeling more present and alive in each moment * greater creativity * a clearer mind, more focus and efficiency * more relaxation and peacefulness * a deepening of your own spirituality * increased joyfulness. Sound too good to be true? Millions of people worldwide, including myself, can attest to these benefits. Like exercise, meditation "pays for itself" regarding the time spent, by resulting in greater energy and efficiency. An investment of 10-15 minutes per day doing some form of meditation is an investment in your own physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health. One obstacle some people have to sustaining a meditation practice is that just sitting, trying to clear the mind, can be frustrating or boring. Some people feel frustrated because they feel like "nothing is happening" during a guided imagery. This is usually because they are not properly trained to understand what to expect in meditation. In this class, we will help you improve your visualization skills as well as understand that you are receiving a benefit in the meditative state even if your visual images are not clear, strong or consistent. If you simply slow down, and you feel peaceful and content, you are meditating! With practice and patience, your visual images will get stronger and your mind will be more disciplined. (See Mind Chatter, below)
Meditation - pg. 4 This class aims to be the most interesting meditation class you can possibly take by utilizing a variety of meditation techniques. You will be able to create a menu of meditative activities that you personally enjoy. When it is mealtime, would you enjoy your meal as much if you could only eat one dish, over and over? Of course not. Likewise, with meditation, this class will provide you with a veritable banquet of meditation techniques to maximize the effectiveness and enjoyment of your meditation. How to Deal with Mind Chatter Have you noticed how your mind seems to chatter constantly? Dashing from one thought to another, from worries about the day, to memories, to hopes, to fears, from the microcosm ("I need to call so-and-so.") to the macrocosm ("What should I be doing with my life?"), the human mind, without the training of meditation, tends to fill any void with chitchat. Buddhists refer to this phenomenon as "monkey mind." A friend of mine refers to it as "the committee." This constant chorus of thoughts, of mental tapes, by any name, can result in feelings of being overwhelmed, exhausted, run down, depressed, confused, fearful, angry, as well as physical symptoms of ill health in myriad ways. Since the goal of meditation is to clear the mind and relax the body, it is very helpful, for many people absolutely necessary, to have something to focus on, to return the thoughts to intentionally when the mind chatter creeps back in. The focus may be internal or external, and may be a color, an image, a word, a feeling, your breath, and so on. The important thing to remember is to keep returning your attention to your focus, but do this without mentally beating yourself up. You are not failing at meditation if your mind chatters! This happens to everyone, even experienced meditators such as myself. Simply acknowledge it, smile to yourself, and let it go. Here are two techniques for eliminating mind chatter: 1. Simply return your attention to your focus, such as your breath. As Lawrence LeShan says in his book How to Meditate, "What you resist, persists." So don't tell yourself to stop thinking about calling the babysitter, or whatever your thought was. Just patiently and persistently return your attention to your focus. 2. Another technique you can try to eliminate mind chatter is to picture the unwanted thought as a package and place the package on a river. The river s soothing, peaceful flow washes away anything you need to release. See the package flow away. Then return your attention to your focus.
Meditation - pg. 5 Types of Meditation To provide you with a variety of meditation techniques and keep your meditation life interesting, we will experience many forms of meditation in this class, including: 1. Guided Imagery. You will be guided gently by my voice to visualize beautiful places such as waterfalls, the woods, crystalline palaces, flying in the clouds, and so on. In these places, you will see yourself feeling joyful, peaceful, full of love and healing light. Early classes will help you improve your visualization skills, which are probably already better than you think! 2. Progressive Relaxation of Body Parts. This is a very useful technique which you may use anytime for instant stress reduction to release tension. It can also help you fall asleep at night. 3. Music Meditation. By focusing on listening to peaceful music, the heartrate and breathing slow, the body is calmed, the mind is soothed. 4. Tratakam. The ancient Indian technique of tratakam or gazing will involve open-eyed meditation focusing on a candle or flower. 5. Heartlight Meditation. This beautiful meditation I created will fill your heart with healing energy and love. 6. Tree of Life. This meditation will help you feel connected to the Earth and your own body. 7. Present Moment, Beautiful Moment. Thich Nat Hanh teaches us in his book Being Peace several mantras that when repeated (aloud or with silent focus within the mind) result in greater awareness of the gifts of the present, the greatest present of them all. 8. Living Rainbow Chakra Meditation. In this original meditation, we will see ourselves as living rainbows, using color therapy and toning to heal all seven of the major energy centers in the body (chakras). 9. Body Talk. This powerful "tuning in" to your body will help you honor, thank and "listen to" your own body and its needs. 10. Breath Meditation. Utilizing breathwork techniques including The Toltec Recapitulation Breath, chi gong, the yogic breath, pranayama and following the breath, you will feel a greater flow of air in your lungs and possibly even improve lung capacity with regular practice. 11. Oneness with Universal Light. This meditation will help you connect with the healing light of the universe. 12. Meditation in Silence. This is ideally done in nature, but even in our classroom setting can be very powerful. 13. Sensory Awareness. A meditation involving all 5 physical senses connects body and mind. A simple activity such as eating a strawberry or raisin, done with complete 100% focus and consciousness, is completely different from your usual experience of same.
Meditation - pg. 6 Types of Meditation (cont'd) 14. Word Meditation. Repeated focus on one word such as "peace," "health," "love," or "joy" results in a higher meditative state. We will also chant mantras such as "om (God) " and "su (peace)." The focus on the word may be purely internal or may be said, chanted, or sung aloud. 15. Drumming Meditation. As an experienced drummer, I will play rhythmic drum beats that lead to a meditative state. You will be free to sit and listen or to move as you wish to the rhythm. 16. Movement as Meditation. You do not need to be an expert dancer to enjoy movement as meditation. Students will be instructed in several simple, slow, fluid motions drawn from the tai chi tradition. Spontaneous "authentic movement" will also be supported during these classes. Recently I have been honored to receive special Heart Bridge movements from Archangel Michael and will share these with you in our course. 17. Yoga. Hatha yoga, which features asanas or postures, and pranayama yoga, focusing on the breath (see #10 above), will be incorporated into some meditation classes as appropriate, along with very gentle stretches suitable for any physical condition. 18. Lovingkindness Meditation. Based upon the Buddhist Metta meditation form, as presented in Stephen Levine's Healing Into Life and Death, this meditation helps heal the heart and body by releasing resentment and old emotional wounds, replacing anger and sadness with love, compassion and acceptance. Many of the audios you will be provided with in Higher Consciousness integrate more than one of these methods. For example guided imagery with music. Please enjoy the meditation, affirmation and TelAttunement audios and show up daily for your meditation practice. This is your special time with Spirit, time to rejuvenate, relax and renew your spirit! How to Meditate Whatever form of meditation you are using, begin by selecting a quiet, peaceful place. When you meditate at home, you may find it helpful to meditate in the same place over and over (such as by your altar or out in your garden when weather permits) because, psychologically speaking, your mind and body will associate that location with a peaceful state. Spiritually speaking, the peaceful energy accumulates in that place. For whatever reason, it may be helpful to designate one or more meditation spots in your home, such as your living room, backyard or floor of your bedroom. You may wish to go to the bathroom, have a sip of water, and take care of any other bodily needs that may arise, before you begin. It is best not to meditate on an overly full OR overly empty stomach. Also, turn down the phone ringer and answering machine and tell anyone else in the house: "Please do not disturb me. I will be meditating." I do not recommend that you meditate in bed or in a lying down position because you will likely fall asleep. (unless you are ok with falling asleep to it)
Meditation - pg. 7 Ideally, you will sit on the floor or at the edge of a chair, not leaning back, with your spine erect. Loosen or remove any tight clothing, and take off your shoes. You may wish to sit on a cushion, pillow or meditation stool to support your back and prevent your legs from falling asleep. Do what is comfortable. I do not advocate a severe meditation practice in which you cannot move once you begin. It is important to stay in tune with your body's needs, so feel free to change positions if you really need to. There is a difference between really needing to move and just feeling antsy, like you can't sit still. In the case of the latter, you need to discipline yourself to just ignore it. Use the same techniques above for eliminating mind chatter. Finally! So you are in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed (hopefully). You are sitting comfortably. Begin by focusing on your breath. Count your breaths until you have reached 10, or use some other breathwork technique such as counting in 8, out 8. Meditate using any method you like. You will learn and get really good at many methods in this program. J When you feel done meditating, remind yourself that you bring back with you this beautiful feeling, plus any messages or healing you may have received. Give thanks for what you have received. Then return your focus to this place by wiggling your fingers and toes, giving yourself loving pats and strokes, and giving yourself a hug. You may also want to have a tiny healthy snack like a few crackers, or a piece of fruit, to help you reconnect with your body. Love your whole self and love yourself whole. Welcome home. To Spirit. To your body. To yourself. "To the mind that is still, the world surrenders." - Taoist saying When the mind becomes still, you are in the kingdom of the Infinite. - Paramhansa Yogananda I woke up this morning and I realized, I have so much to do today. I d better meditate TWICE as long! - His Holiness, The Dalai Lama This orchid Angel was photographed by Natalya Karavay, one of Sage s Reiki Master Intensive graduates. Isn t she beautiful?