2.2 (G) Types of Meditation
Guided vs. Silent Meditations:
There are two types of Meditations that we will look at for our purposes:
Guided Meditations and Silent Meditations.
With both styles of meditations, it is recommended to try to keep the spine straight, so either sit tall, or lay on your back. Just be careful when laying on your back, as you do not want to fall asleep! You want to stay alert, yet relaxed, and focused onto peace. It is easiest to start with focusing in on the breath, and to breathe the extended exhale breath to best initialize relaxation through the body. After about 5-6 breaths, and you start to feel the body settle, is when the meditation practice can start to proceed. If you are someone who has a hard time sitting still, allow yourself some movement. When I first started, I used the tapping method. (Review the Tapping Exercise) I would just tap my finger, and bring focus to the movement of my finger. It soothed my body, as I just needed something to move. I have also "tapped" a toe. You can get creative to what is soothing for you. You just need to make sure you are comfortable. The more comfortable you are, the easier the process.
Guided Meditation:
Guided meditations are great tools to use, especially if you are a beginner to meditation. By "guiding" you through the meditation, you are actually using a focus technique to focus in on a subject throughout the meditation. As we know, when we are completely focused, our mind won't allow distractions in, (as long as we remain focused). This is where the practice comes in. The more we practice focus techniques, the easier the mind can't be distracted. Once you can make it through guided meditations without distraction, silent meditations may come a little easier for you.
Silent Meditation:
Silent meditations can be difficult for those who are easily distracted. This is where the patience needs to come into play. Silent meditations are a great way to reset the body and mind, and to let ourselves find a deeper peace within. We can learn to "feel" peace. Once our mind feels these peaceful experiences, it will want and crave more, especially, if you allow yourself to be positive throughout the process. When first starting to learn a silent meditation, be patient with yourself. Go into the process knowing that this will take some time to learn and develop. You can start with just 30 seconds, and slowly increase the time. Take in a few deep breaths, while focusing in on the extension of the exhale, to find comfort and peacefulness inside. After a few breaths, you can alter your focus to your shoulders, where you can feel the shoulders release with every exhale. Slowly start to increase the time.
If, at any time, the mind starts to wander, just acknowledge the distraction, and immediately focus back to the peacefulness inside. This part will take some time. Don't get frustrated with yourself, instead, allow yourself to laugh at it, and let it go. When I first started, I couldn't go three seconds without some sort of thought to enter. But, after practicing again and again, I started noticing that those three seconds eventually turned to 10 seconds, which turned into 30 seconds, and so on. The more you practice, the easier it becomes.
**Note: Like everything else, your mood will determine your experience. If something is sitting on your mind, it may take some extra breaths at the start, to get you to a more peaceful state. Allow yourself to roll with the changes. Don't let yourself get frustrated if you were able to find a deeper peace one day, yet, couldn't the next. Our experiences will fluctuate during this process, so just give it time, and be patient with yourself...
There are two types of Meditations that we will look at for our purposes:
Guided Meditations and Silent Meditations.
With both styles of meditations, it is recommended to try to keep the spine straight, so either sit tall, or lay on your back. Just be careful when laying on your back, as you do not want to fall asleep! You want to stay alert, yet relaxed, and focused onto peace. It is easiest to start with focusing in on the breath, and to breathe the extended exhale breath to best initialize relaxation through the body. After about 5-6 breaths, and you start to feel the body settle, is when the meditation practice can start to proceed. If you are someone who has a hard time sitting still, allow yourself some movement. When I first started, I used the tapping method. (Review the Tapping Exercise) I would just tap my finger, and bring focus to the movement of my finger. It soothed my body, as I just needed something to move. I have also "tapped" a toe. You can get creative to what is soothing for you. You just need to make sure you are comfortable. The more comfortable you are, the easier the process.
Guided Meditation:
Guided meditations are great tools to use, especially if you are a beginner to meditation. By "guiding" you through the meditation, you are actually using a focus technique to focus in on a subject throughout the meditation. As we know, when we are completely focused, our mind won't allow distractions in, (as long as we remain focused). This is where the practice comes in. The more we practice focus techniques, the easier the mind can't be distracted. Once you can make it through guided meditations without distraction, silent meditations may come a little easier for you.
Silent Meditation:
Silent meditations can be difficult for those who are easily distracted. This is where the patience needs to come into play. Silent meditations are a great way to reset the body and mind, and to let ourselves find a deeper peace within. We can learn to "feel" peace. Once our mind feels these peaceful experiences, it will want and crave more, especially, if you allow yourself to be positive throughout the process. When first starting to learn a silent meditation, be patient with yourself. Go into the process knowing that this will take some time to learn and develop. You can start with just 30 seconds, and slowly increase the time. Take in a few deep breaths, while focusing in on the extension of the exhale, to find comfort and peacefulness inside. After a few breaths, you can alter your focus to your shoulders, where you can feel the shoulders release with every exhale. Slowly start to increase the time.
If, at any time, the mind starts to wander, just acknowledge the distraction, and immediately focus back to the peacefulness inside. This part will take some time. Don't get frustrated with yourself, instead, allow yourself to laugh at it, and let it go. When I first started, I couldn't go three seconds without some sort of thought to enter. But, after practicing again and again, I started noticing that those three seconds eventually turned to 10 seconds, which turned into 30 seconds, and so on. The more you practice, the easier it becomes.
**Note: Like everything else, your mood will determine your experience. If something is sitting on your mind, it may take some extra breaths at the start, to get you to a more peaceful state. Allow yourself to roll with the changes. Don't let yourself get frustrated if you were able to find a deeper peace one day, yet, couldn't the next. Our experiences will fluctuate during this process, so just give it time, and be patient with yourself...