Day 1 - Setting up a Meditation Practice

Daily Reflection
This week's practice will be about meditation. Today, Monday, you will read through how to set up a meditation practice (see below) and Tuesday-Friday, I will provide sample meditations that are 4-5 minutes long that you can incorporate into your practice.

While people all over the world practice meditation in a variety of ways, today I want to talk about five basic components you can use to create your own meditation practice.

1. Preparation - when you sit down to begin your meditation, it is a good idea to prepare yourself for the practice. It is here, during preparation, that you begin to shed the thoughts of the ego, the thoughts of the mind and the emotions of the day. The first step is to turn your head to the left and exhale twice. These exhalations should be short and quick rather than long and extended. This double exhalation alerts the body and the mind that it is time to begin the meditation. You then turn your head back to center and begin to watch your breath. To watch your breath, you simply breath in, hold, breath out, hold and observe yourself breathing. This whole process only takes a few seconds. If done each time you meditate, your body and mind will know that you are preparing for meditation.

2. Creating your sacred space - as you are watching your breath, begin to draw all of the energy from the limbs of the body to the trunk of the body and then send that energy up the spine and out through the ajna chakra or third eye. Visualize the energy projecting out a few inches in front of your forehead and then sweep the energy around your body until you are completely encased in a circle of energy. Many people visualize themselves sitting on the inside of a golden or white ball of light. You can project this energy out as far as you need to or keep it close to yourself. You are now sitting in your own sacred space and are ready to begin the meditation.

3. Blessings - there are many different blessings you can use to begin your meditation. I begin by thanking all of the saints and sages that have come before me and I invite my Ishta Devata (my chosen form of the divine) to be present during my meditation. I thank them for giving me the courage to walk this path and I ask them to bless my meditation practice and bless my life. I then ask them to bless all sentient beings and all of life. Essentially, I am projecting loving meditative energy out into the world for all who wish to accept the blessings. During this time, I also say a prayer for any people in my life that have requested a prayer. I pray for others and I pray for myself. Sometimes, I repeat a prayer, such as the Lord's Prayer or a passage from a sacred text that is appropriate for my day.

4. Focusing the Mind - after you have said your blessings, it is time to focus the mind. During the time we are trying to focus the mind, we are attempting to let all things fall away from our minds so that we can come to an effortless, uplifted, and one-pointed state. This is meditation.

An empty mind is a clear mind. An empty mind allows us to see reality as it is, to connect to our higher sense of self, to become one with God, Self, Nature, Universe, Reality (it depends on which religion you are practicing - a form of meditation is used in all religious practices).

Because it is very difficult to let go of the things that are in our minds, there are many different techniques that can be used to focus the mind. Some people focus on the breath, some people focus on a beautiful object, some people just watch the thoughts flow through the mind in a stream of energy passing through, some people use a mantra, some use a particular watch word.

No matter what technique you use, each time your mind begins to wander, you use your chosen technique to gently remind yourself that you are not thinking about your grocery list but instead are sitting in meditation, emptying your mind. I say the Isha Upanishad Mantra. You should choose a technique that works for you.

Once your mind is clear and empty, you are meditating. Stay in this state for as long as possible. For beginners, this is only a few seconds. For more advanced practitioners, it is longer.

5. Closing - at the end of your meditation, it is good to close the meditation with a mantra. Using the same mantra each time, signals to your body and mind that you are finished with your meditation. Some people say one long "OM" or three shorter OM's. It is also common to close your practice by saying "Shanti, Shanti, Shanti". After you have finished meditating, you bring your mind back to an awareness of your earthly life. This can be done simply by beginning to become aware of the room you are sitting in. When you are ready to re-engage in the world, you open your eyes, gently, slowly and just sit for a minute while you re-orient yourself to your life. You have now finished your meditation practice.

Your assignment -

Take some time to do a little research on the web. Find one blessing or prayer that you would like to try out in your practice during the "blessing" portion of your meditation practice. Once you have found one that speaks to you, write it down in your journal and record some thoughts on why you have chosen that particular blessing or prayer.

You can get started by simply doing a google search for prayers and blessings in a particular religion. For example, Native American Prayers and Blessings, Catholic Prayers and Blessings, Hindu, Pagan, Buddhist Prayers and Blessings, etc.

Swami K