Welcome,
Thank you for taking interest in the art of meditation, I assure you won’t be sorry you did. Meditation has lots of uses; it can be used to focus a will during spell casting, to calm a mind in times of stress, to discover things that lie dormant within your Self and many other uses. In this course we will delve into the practise of meditating and the mental tools you will need to get started. I will be sure to provide you with basic meditation skills like how to breath and ground and will offer you sources (and sound files) for music and helpful meditations for various purposes. In this the first lesson we will go over some basics and will explain what meditation is and how it is accomplished.
Basically speaking meditation is a way to quiet your inner turmoil and to bring peace and higher understanding. This can be accomplished in many ways: some people do this by listening to soft music and letting their mind drift, some daydream as a source of meditation and then there are others who actually practise traditional meditation using different teachings. For our purposes we will look past the first two and into meditation to bring about our desires and to achieve a state of peace or enlightenment. Meditation can be a powerful tool to bring about healing and change. This is because (like all magick) the power lies within you and just has to be brought to the surface. One of the first things to begin experimenting with is your breathing.
EXERCISE ONE
I would like you to spend some time just focusing on your breathing without forcing it. Breath through your nose and out your mouth if possible. This may take some time to get used to and to not feel as though you are willing it. Let your body take over. Take at least 30 minutes of just doing this, more if you feel you need it but not less. This is an important step and must not be skipped. Breathing is an essential role in meditation as it brings your whole body in tune with itself and can be used to pull yourself into deeper levels of consciousness.
This exercise should be repeated daily for a while, at least the period of a week to begin to fine tune your body into this state. I suggest taking this time and not trying to do more then that..After the first session you can try shorter periods of 10 to 15 mins a few times daily, whenever you find a few moments to yourself take time to breath. Also notice your regular breathing pattern during the rest of the day..Is it usually shallow and fast or long and deep..Try to lean towards the long deep breaths while meditating. Notice also when your mind wanders and work on bringing yourself back from it.
Questions to think about this week:
As the week wares on, do you find it easier to clear your mind and just allow your breath to come naturally?
What factors in your life make it hard to meditate at this moment?
Are you finding that improving your breathing during meditation is bleeding out into other areas of your life as well?
Is your breathing habits changing to slow and deep?
Is this habit of breathing helping you in your day (ex: you now feel more energetic?)
Lesson 2:
Now that you know the basics of breathing you will want to know how to utilize this and imagery effectively. In this lesson I will teach you a simple but effective method to draw yourself down into a “trance” “altered state” or whatever other thing it can be called. First make sure you won’t be disturbed. Take the phone of the hook (or turn off cell phones), close and lock (if you can) your door...Put a do not disturb sign on the door if you must. Now focus in on your breathing and for the moment just allow your thoughts to wander, thinking about the triumphs and worries of the day and at the same time feeling them slide off you. When you have successfully emptied your thoughts and are now focused and relaxed you may move to the next phase. While still remembering to breath (never forget!) imagine in your mind’s eye a big screen, like that at a movie theatre. Now imagine a big ten on that screen. Focus in on it until you can see it clearly. When you can, now move down to nine, feeling yourself pulled down one notch of consciousness. Keep going in this fashion counting down from ten. For light meditation stop at five and then move on from there, to put yourself into a full out meditative “trance” go down to one, feeling each level pull you further in. Feel free to experiment with other imagery..This is just what works for me after all.
Once you have completed this you can just sit here and wait for the time being and just allow yourself to be in this state of balance between waking and sleeping or you can use this to journey on such as in shamanism and other techniques or even to use a guided meditation. I leave it up to you for now.
EXERCISE 2
I would like you to practise and perfect this technique for the next week. Start out staying in this state for ten minutes (An egg timer is great for this) and work your way up to fifteen or twenty by the end of the week. If possible try for 30. Keep a journal for what you find out both before the session (during the emptying) and during the session. You may just find that your Spirit Guide or self-conscious self may speak to you in this quiet state and what it says may surprise you.
Questions to think about:
Are you finding it easy or hard to let go of your “ego” (worries and triumphs)
What factors may be the root of this problem or ease
Is it easy or difficult to maintain that quietness after using the screen technique?
How long were you able to stay in that trance like state without feeling the need to move
After a meditation session it is good to ground yourself. Touch some familiar objects around you, listen to some music, eat or drink something. All this will help your body to re-adjust itself.