Meditation

TIME TO LOOK INWARD

Preparation For Meditation

Find a comfortable position to sit in. Lying down is not a preferable option in meditation practices as one is more likely to fall asleep than to access a meditative trance state. So find a comfortable seating position. If you suffer from lower back pain, then it is advisable to sit against a wall.

Humming Exercise

Take a deep breath in and around the eyes and across the forehead.

Next 'mememememememememe' then 'mamamamamamamama', then the vowels 'a,e,i,o,u' feeling the sound vibrating across your face.

Then use 'n', feeling the vibration up your nose and in your sinuses.

Next we are going to practice the mantra 'OM', this should be a deep resonance in your face and also internally all the way to your belly. Visualise the sound coming from the third eye chakra and also being absorbed by the same chakra space. This is quite an advanced technique, but trying the visualising technique can evoke a more profound experience.

Observing The Breath

Take a few minutes to observe your breathing and change your breathing to deep 'in-breaths' filling your belly as well as the lungs. By doing this you are oxygenating your inner organs and allowing a deeper sense of relaxation. By focusing on the breath you are also facilitating the activation of 'cho' or prana developing your own personal energy, and also allowing yourself to be connected to universal energy. Remember to keep your tongue gently pressed onto your palate at the top of the mouth.

The Aura

This is the field of subtle energy that surrounds and emanates from every living thing. We sometimes pick up negative vibrations from in and around our environment and it is a good practice to regularly check our aura and to clean it.

Aura Cleansing Meditation

Prepare yourself for meditation. Observing the breath, imagine you are sitting surrounded by white light and then visualise the light changing through all the colours of the rainbow. Visualise negativity like black spots being dissolved into white light.

The Crystal Cave Meditation
The above link for a crystal cave, is a powerful meditation video, which makes use of Binaural beats to link the two hemispheres of the brain. Robert Monroe was a pioneer of using offsets of tones which the brain creates as a vibratory effect in the inner ear. Robert set up his own programs using different frequencies for relaxation called Hemi-Sync, and frequencies for what he claimed were able to activate Astral Travel and out-of-body experiences.

For some, the consent for meditation, has to come from within and listening to other voices will not work. One great way to assist in meditation practices for those finding it difficult taking guided meditations, we can record our own voice for guidance. The following is one example of a self-guided medidation.

To begin: Sit in your chosen meditation pose.

Regulate your breathing and be aware of your surroundings, the people around you, your body, thoughts and finally take your awareness fully into your breathing. Deep abdominal breaths, letting your chest expand, as well as your belly.

Count down from 10-1. On each count, a deep breath will be taken and you will sink lower into your meditation.

Release the needs of the body and those of the mind when you get to 1. Feel like you are floating weightless in a tunnel. See brilliant white light at one end of the tunnel. Be aware of yourself floating in this space.

Take 5 deep breaths; with each breath out, visualise it taking you nearer to the end of the tunnel. On the last breath enter the light.

As the light around you fades, visualise walking along a vast shore with a huge ancient white cliff face on the right-hand side, towering above you, exuding great power and protection. To your left is a vast calm sea of turquoise blue and the sun is shining around you. Take a few deep breaths in this space.

As you walk along the beach, visualise a cave opening where a beautiful soft glow of light is pulsing from within.

Take three deep breaths as you approach the cave and enter.

Notice a crystal door in front of you.

Reach out and touch it.

The door disappears and you see an immense cavern whose walls are covered with billions of crystals blazing with light.

A powerful yet comforting energy emanates from this crystal room. Step into this cavern.

Feel the warm energy pouring around you, caressing your skin and hair with soft waves of light.

You notice an area in the centre of this room with cushions or a chair for you to lie down or sit. Go there now, lie or sit down.

Now close your eyes.

Feel as if you have been enveloped with pure love, tranquillity and peace. As you lie there allow the sensations to embrace your mind and body. See the energy around you pouring into your body.

Ask to be shown a coloured crystal, which will help to increase your well-being.

The appropriate crystal will appear next to you.

Pick up this crystal and make a note of its colour.

Feel the power of this crystal and feel its energy dissolve your fears.

Give thanks to the crystal cave and take 5 deep breaths. With each breath, you see the room gets dimmer and dimmer until it is dark and you are aware of being back in the tunnel.

Feel yourself floating in this dimension for a while and use this safe place to absorb the energies that you have been given.

Five deep breaths, with each breath taking you closer to the other end of the tunnel, which is pulsating with brilliant white diamond sparkling light. Enter the light.

As the light fades you feel you are back in your body. Be aware of your breath in your physical body, as it fills you and cleanses you. Be aware of your body, wiggling your toes to fill the body with your spirit.

Three deep breaths and then slowly open your eyes.

Regular Practice Brings Greater Results
The above meditation techniques should be practised regularly as a way to centre and connect with our inner selves. If the first attempt produces no observable results, try some of the different techniques and consider the times, types of food, the environment and mind state. All suggestions have to be followed consensually. If there are any doubts or fears about the process, the meditations will not work as well or not at all. Belief, openness and acceptance of the benefits will bring the best results.

Exam Preparation

STAY CALM

It's perfectly natural to be nervous before and during a test, especially when we are being watched in a practical exam. It's very easy to get worked up and distracted with the extra pressure of directly and so critically being assessed by someone over your shoulder. Feeling the examiner's gaze whilst picking up on their incessant scribbles, which could either mean success or failure, will definitely play on the nerves.

The thing with these types of exams where you are one on one with an examiner,  success often boils down to how the other person is feeling at that particular moment as much as to how well you are performing. If they are hungry, tired or having a particularly bad day, the chances are they will be reflecting this on you and ultimately your grade could suffer unless you act a certain way that differs their negativity away from you.

The Invisible Man
The important thing in these situations is to make yourself the 'grey' man. That means, trying not to be that person who is singled out as the trouble maker, the cocky, over-confident or arrogant type that needs to be taken down a peg or two. Unfortunately, when you catch an examiner on a bad day, even the usual niceties can rub someone up the wrong way, so it's best to say and do as little as possible to avoid bringing unwarranted attention on oneself before or during an exam. Otherwise, a few curt words from the examiner and the result could be that your performance will be compromised as your nerves kick in to upset what would should have been a grade A, potentially bringing it down to a C or even worse, a fail grade.

Caught in a Fast Moving Flow

SWIMMING AGAINST THE CURRENT

When the pressure of multiple time-sensitive jobs mount up, like they have done for me today, it takes a quick head up from the tasks at hand to assess the situation if we are to avoid a catastrophe.

These sudden changes in flow can catch us unaware. From a seemingly easy sea of tranquility, I'm now caught in a fast moving rip of important jobs. A rip current in the sea will take you out far away from your safety zone and drown you....unless you know how to deal with it. The same applies in a work dilemma. If we don't assess the situation in time, we'll be swept up in the frantic panic before finally succumbing to the stress of no easy return.

This rip metaphor may seem an odd one but it's symbolic of how we feel when trying to tackle many jobs at the same time. Panic and fear take over. While it might suddenly put a seemingly overwhelming burden of tasks for us to clear from the in-tray of life, like a rip tide, there's always a way to tackle the fiercest current and these flows are rarely that wide. So take action quickly and swim with the most pressing jobs sideways out of the rip. Focussing priorities on getting clear of the most ferocious stream will help us avoid being swept out any further. Once the danger of being swallowed up passes, even though it may seem far away from where we want to be...if we can just stay calm, we should be able to muster enough energy to deal with the slow and steady swim back to the safer waters of tranquility.

Re-Doubled Effort

MAKE THEM GO THE EXTRA MILE

When the you've been promised the earth and been let down - don't get angry. Suck it in. Because you'll get a lot more out of someone if you are calm, smile and say nothing. You'll get nothing if you have an argument. Things don't always go to plan. There's always factors out of our control and things we're completely unaware of that could jeopardise a venture we've set our heart on.

I've learned that as soon as there's a problem with a service or a facility, especially if premium money has been paid for it, it's a given that that there'll be something given out to compensate for what seems to be a shoddy delivery. It could damage their reputation, especially in this day and age with such fierce competition and feedback being posted on the internet. Not only will being decent when you want to shout at someone in frustration make everyone feel better, but often, the effort put in to appease a disgruntled customer can prove to be worth more to us in the end than what we originally aimed for in the first place as they go the extra mile to appease us.