Last
week, I outlined a simple practice for those who have not had success in
meditation. It was meant for those who needed instruction and a format to
follow. Having instructions to follow keeps it simple. Those instructions were
for beginners.
For
those who are a little more advanced, I do have a slightly different version. I
do go over that at my retreat and am happy to review it with you now. The short
version of it is…when you get to the part where, on your “in breath” you are
silently chanting OM, now you are just breathing in, and then on your “out
breath,” you say OM Sai while leaving a few seconds between your next breath to
feel and experience the Silence.
For
you who are reading this, I have rewritten the meditation instructions from
last week to reflect this small but powerful change. If you want to hear me
describe the process, you can go to Ah-Man Audio Blog 4-29-13
and listen to me describe the complete set of new
instructions.
- Finding
a quiet place is very helpful, but not 100% necessary. A quiet place is very
important for beginners, but as you practice meditation regularly you might be
able to come to a place where you are able to go within and meditate even with
the distractions around you.
- Sit
in a comfortable position. It can be in a chair (have your feet touching the
ground) or cross-legged on a sofa, the floor, etc. Try not to slump if you can
help it; try to keep your back straight. You can lean or gently position your
back against something for support, while keeping your head gently resting,
looking forward. It may droop during the meditation, but try not to let it
distract you…let it be.
- Here
is where concentration comes in.
- First,
focus on your breathing. Inhale through your nose (if you can; it’s not
absolutely necessary). As you do, fill your lower abdomen up with your breath.
It will look like your belly is a balloon filling up, then exhale (again
through your nose if possible), until all the air in your belly/diaphragm is
out.
- As
you fill up your belly count to 10-15-20 (mentally), whichever is comfortable
for you while filling your belly up. When exhaling, use the same number you
used when inhaling.
- Do
this for 10 repetitions, always focusing on filling that belly up like a
balloon, and then squeezing all the air out.
- Next,
while continuing to breathe in and out as you have been, it should start to
come naturally so you don’t have to focus so much on the breathing. Now begin
to place your focus on your heart area.
- As
you’re breathing in and out, begin to listen to and feel your heart.
- Feel
the gentle rhythm. Can you hear the beating?
- Continue
to feel and listen to you your heart for another 10 full breath repetitions.
- Now
gently place your focus to a place just behind your beating heart, while still
feeling and hearing it, begin to take that deep “in” breath filling your belly,
focusing on the point behind the heart area.
- And
on your “out” breath, say the word OM Sai (pronounced like the word sigh).
- Leave
a few seconds in between the end of OM Sai and your next breath to experience
the Silence.
- So
to recap this last step, you are placing your focus on the area just behind the
heart, while you are breathing in deeply (to a 10-15-20 count), you are now
gently filling your belly with air, and while breathing out (to the same
count), you are saying to yourself the mantra OM Sai and leaving a few seconds
in between OM Sai and your next in breath.
- Do
this for 20 or more times.
- After
20 or so times of breathing in and out, keeping your focus on the area behind
the heart, end the silent chant and slip into the silence. Feel the peace.
- If
your mind drifts onto to something, chant the Om Sai mantra.
- Do
this for the next 5 or 10 minutes.
There
is a technique here with deep breathing; you are bringing oxygen into your body
and also giving your mind something to focus on by counting your breaths. After
you seem to have the breathing down, you begin to now focus on something else:
your heart; listening to it and feeling it. Once it has the breathing down,
your mind will want to drift. So now you’re breathing and focusing on the heart;
then after that the mantra, which will bring you into a deep state of
meditation, aligning your Spirit with Spirit.
It is
only natural for the mind to think, to constantly be engaged. That’s a good
thing. What we are doing is giving it different things to focus on, while
beginning to enter a state of meditation.
The
word Om is the un-manifested Aspect of God within creation. Sai is a name used
for the Divine Mother in the Vedas.
Mantras
and names of God, regardless of their origins, are universal and not limited to
any one religion or spiritual path. So one who practices the path of Jesus of
Nazareth, or follows the Old Testament or any other path, can benefit
spiritually from this mantra.
If you
are already committed and are experiencing meditation, you already have
experienced how meditation enhances your everyday life by anchoring you throughout
your day.
Whether
you are an experienced meditator or not, another way to continue to anchor yourself
throughout the day is by repeating a line (or lines) of scriptures, a Truth, or
a short prayer over and over. This, too, is a type of meditation. It helps take
us out of our head and into our soul (the area just behind the heart).
In the
12-step programs, they often use something called slogans or the serenity
prayer. The Serenity Prayer goes like
this: “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the
courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Some other slogans include: Let Go, Let God; or Easy does it; or How important
is it? or Keep it simple; and so many more. These are used in times of
challenges. They are wonderful to help someone get back into a better place or
stop them from going further into a place they do not want to go.
But
I’m speaking of something different. What if when you find yourself
daydreaming, spacing out, or even beginning to go into a painful/negative place,
you take the time to switch your thoughts to a Higher Frequency? Utilize the
time you have for deepening your spiritual contact with Spirit?
What
if, when you find yourself drifting, you silently repeat to yourself, over and
over, any one of these Truths:
“I Am Loved by
Love Itself"
“Everything Comes
To Us from God”
Or
there is a short prayer called The Jesus Prayer, and instead of His Name Jesus,
you can place any name of God:
Lord Jesus Christ
have Mercy on us
Lord Krishna have
Mercy on us
Lord Buddha have
Mercy on us
Yahweh have Mercy
on us
Allah have Mercy
on us
Often
in retreats, someone will have a negative feeling about asking for Mercy.
Asking for mercy simply means, shed Thy Grace, Thy Love. We are not beggars. We
are opening our hearts to allow the Love in and this prayer aligns us for that.
As you
walk about during the day and find yourself replacing, little by little, the time
you spend drifting or daydreaming or just “in your head” with words like Love,
or God directed phrases, and prayers to God, over and over to yourself, you
will align yourself more and more to God. The more you align yourself with God,
those experiences of Peace, Love, Joy, Intelligence, Creativity and Compassion
will be experienced for longer and longer lengths of time.
This
is a wonderful and powerful way to walk in this world in Peace and to bring
peace to all you come in contact with.
Namaste,
Michael
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