Basic Meditations

Human thoughts are subject to many emotions.  Sometimes these emotions can become a burden on our daily lives.  Burden also adds to stress in our lives, and most of us do not need anymore than we already have.  When this happens people find it difficult to concentrate on normal tasks and their thoughts wander.  With meditation, we can learn to relieve stress and relaxation.  Meditation teaches us to concentrate on our sub-conscious mind, giving us a clearer look into our lives.  With this as a skill, people can react to normal problems without thought conflicts.  This skill isn’t something that can be picked up easily from one person to another.  Like most skills, time and effort are needed.  With this comes the task of practice.  If you desire to learn meditation, then it needs to be a part of you.  Only through practice can this become a part of your life.

The first question you need to ask yourself is ‘What does meditation mean to me?’ 

Many people use meditation as a relaxation exercise.  Some practice it for it is required of them, those that are students of the Martial Arts can be one example.  There are even those that can use meditation as a conduit to Astral Projection.  Whatever reason you would want to learn meditation, remember to always do it for your better self.  Also, remember to harm none. 

Everyone who picks up a book on meditation or learns from an instructor does what only THEY can do.  If a group of people were taught meditation from the same instructor, every one of them would experience vastly different results.  This lesson will prepare you to take steps into meditation, but will never mention that what you experience is wrong.  Everyone is different, and there is no wrong way to achieve a meditative state.

Before you begin, you need to figure out a place where you can meditate.  This place needs to be comfortable and as quiet as possible.  While meditating, you’ll want to sit upright for best results.  Those that attempt to do these exercises lying down end up falling asleep.  This would not be a positive result.  Some examples could be a quiet room in your home, or a place in the local park away from all common roadways.  As long as it feels right to you, then it will be sufficient. 

Another comment to make before you begin would be the following.  If you decide to do this lesson in your home with family members around, please inform them of what you are attempting to do.  You will need for them to understand that you will be learning meditation and will require as much quiet time as possible.  Also, most important, advise them not to disturb you during your meditation time.  If you are interrupted and brought out of a meditative state too quickly, you can experience severe headaches and feel as if you are not in sync with time.  If this does happen, grounding yourself helps a great deal.  An example of grounding would be to sit down and lay your palms on the ground and feel the excess energy seep from your body, from the top to the bottom.  Also, getting something to eat and drink helps recover from being ripped from a meditative state.

WEEK ONE – Every day for 15 minutes, sit in your quiet place and get comfortable.  Begin to relax your body and start to breathe deeply in and out.  Let your body relax more and more.  What you want to attempt here is the ability to filter out ‘some’ background noise.  This is a beginning step; do not set too high of a standard.  Begin with filtering a little noise and work from there.  Remember, this is something you have to learn and train yourself to do.  It can come easy to some and difficult to others.  I would suggest spending more time than just 15 minutes if you feel you need it.  What usually works for some is to wake up in the morning while the house is quiet.  Find a place to spend 15 minutes and meditate.  

Meditation Journal – Begin this during your first week.  Write down all feelings and experiences during your time.  What you want to accomplish here is to write down something pre-meditation and then post-meditation.  How do you feel before and after meditation?  Did you feel agitated and out of focus before, and then after you felt happier and more focused?  Do you notice a difference in your thinking?  Do you notice a difference in your handwriting?  This is a time to discover another part of you.  Take some time and effort and whatever you feel, write down in your journal and read every-so-often.  Review how you felt during the beginning and compare it to recent experiences.  How do they differ?  

Why do we need meditation?

In everyone’s lives there are denominators that add to the subconscious becoming unstable.  With instability, we tend to become stressed easier and our general mentality changes for the worse.  A usually happy person can become short and quick-tempered because of a higher level of stress.  The following denominators listed below are signs that a period of peace and meditation would benefit your outlook and mood.

-Any stress factor, i.e. work, school, relationships, monetary, etc…

-Insomnia

-Hyper-activity

-Unfocused mind

-Poor diet

-Anxiety

-Fear

Meditation Tips

Now that you have spent at least one week with the first lesson, write any and all emotions in your journal on how the past week progressed overall.  Spend a few minutes reflecting on how much time it took you to begin the process and how much time you were able to put towards your meditative practice.  Really spend time on and record whether you are accomplishing what you set out to do.  If you feel you are not succeeding with attaining the meditative state you are striving for, you’ll have to decide on the dedication needed.  Just remember; do not get discouraged during this process.  Some people study meditation and learn it easily, while others need to take more time and effort.  If all skills that were learned didn’t take effort, it wouldn’t be valued by many. 

WEEK TWO – Begin to meditate for at least 15 minutes a day.  My suggestion would be to attempt to stretch that time out to at least 30 minutes a day, if possible.  Your ability to filter more outside noise will begin to grow as you do this more often, and you’ll begin to feel more relaxed and focused.  As with most activities, repetition at a set time during the day will make an impression in your subconscious and after a few weeks will begin to be part of your daily rituals you look forward to.  To make it more interesting, begin to use a candle to meditate with.  Do not stare at the actual flame, but right above it.  Do this during week two to help with you visualization.

Meditation Journal – Beginning in week two, re-read your entries from week one.  Read what difficulties you experienced during week one and plan on making strides to solve them.  Don’t try to solve them entirely during this week, but make an effort to identify the issues.  You have time; you just need to keep the practice constant.  Using the denominators above write any that you are suffering from in the morning as you waken or before you go to sleep at night.  If you do not have any of these denominators at these times, write this down in your journal also.  The best way to learn is to experience as much as you can and write as much as possible to remember later on. 

Week Two Assignment – Take time to walk in a forest or park.  Try to find a safe, quiet place to sit and listen to the surroundings.  Listen to the whisper of the breeze and the bubbling of the brook.  Hear the leaves rustle as they move in the wind.  Close your eyes during this time and visualize the serenity offered here.  This will also be a great addition to your journal.  If during this time, you find items on the forest floor that give you a sense of calmness also, collect them and use them as a future focal point. 

Stretching your ability

If you go to a local library or bookstore and look for meditation material, you’ll find hundreds of titles.  Do they all teach the same?  No, of course not.  There are many ways for people to learn and attain a meditative state, and only by researching can you find one that connects to you the best.  There are some that are more for one type or group, which helps them to learn it more easily.  Attempting to rush into this skill is something that can lead to failure, and ultimately quitting.  Try not to convince yourself that today I will get ‘this far’, then tomorrow I will raise the bar and go farther; I want you to take baby steps here.  Try not to map out a daily progression with meditation.  Baby steps are the best way to advance and the rewards from following that path are more beneficial.  Progression is best mapped out weekly or even monthly for those that find it more difficult.  Remind yourself that you have time.  It will be learned, just don’t rush into anything. 

Recap – Ask yourself ‘How has meditation affected my life?’  In taking this class you have been hopefully meditating for the past 14 days at the very least.  How has your life changed?  How different are your journal entries from day two compared to day twelve?  How is your emotional control at this point in your practice?  Some people will experience a certain degree of calmness within themselves.  Others might feel an accomplishment because of the dedication they’ve put into their studies here.  In truth, the rest of the people probably feel frustrated because they cannot attain a consistent, meditative state.  There are always going to be people that have a more difficult time learning meditation.  It comes from the aspect that we are all different and have unique strengths and weaknesses.  Somebody might be strong in a martial arts class, but cannot focus in silence and attain a meditative state.  Others might be hard workers either in school or at their job and can easily attain a meditative state.  Everyone has his or her own characteristics, remember this later on.  Just always remember the warning in the first week, keep those in your household aware of your practice.  Now that you are beginning to delve deeper and deeper into a meditative state, if you are ever interrupted it can cause a period where you are out of sync with the present time.  Remember to ground yourself and drink some fresh water to help bring you in sync.

WEEK THREE – Your meditation time should now be at least 30 minutes a day.  This is vital if you ever step beyond these teachings and attempt to learn a more advanced degree of meditation.  Everyone needs to learn slowly and take the time and effort in this.  As a learned skill, only time practicing that skill will you reap the benefits.  Starting in this week you should be filtering more and more outside noise.  The next step to focusing into a meditative state is now quieting the inside noise.  This noise comes from your conscious mind, and needs to be mentally pushed aside for the time you require.  Again, take baby steps here.  People can find this more difficult than filtering the outside noise, so be patient with yourself.  With practice, you can attain the state of meditation you want. 

Meditation Journal – Finding your strengths and weaknesses.  Use your journal to write some of these down.  While you sit in your quiet place, reflect on what you feel as a major obstacle during not only this exercise, but life in general.  With one obstacle, reflect then on a strength you have that could conquer that obstacle.  Keep thinking on this in a one to one ratio.  For every one obstacle or weakness, think of a way to solve that obstacle or of a strength that you possess that could overcome it.  These journal entries might begin slowly at first, but as you progress with time and effort, the journal should begin to fill quickly.  Continue this exercise past week three; every time you are faced with an issue in your life, meditate on it and figure out the answer with one of your many strengths.

Week Three Assignment – This assignment is geared toward raising your awareness in your conscious mind.  If it is possible, try to return to your quiet place in the park or forest you visited in week two and watch a sunrise or sunset.  During this time, close your eyes and feel and hear the noise from the life around you.  Listen to the wildlife as it scampers around before it rests for the night or listen to the wildlife that is becoming more active with the nocturnal hours.  What are the squirrels doing when the sun rises instead?  Do you see the bats returning to their tree when the sun comes up?  When you feel you have accomplished what you set out to do, return to your home and write in your journal what you experienced here.  Your journal is a very important tool, and becomes most valuable as you progress in your skill.  Fill it with as much detail as you can, so you have a documented history of these studies and you can return to them at any time to refresh your memory or figure out if you need more practice. 

Lifetime of Meditation

For the past three weeks you have been practicing your meditation skills. With your journal in hand you have written testimony of your attempts, and successes. In reading your journal over the past few weeks you should be able to see your skills expanding. It should show you in a questioning period at the beginning and as time progresses you have become more confident in your ability. You have thought on emotions and began to filter those that are more harmful than not. You have thought on negative denominators in your life and have also begun to alter how you perceive them and which ones are allowed to impact you. Step by step is how to begin this path. Can it be rushed? No. Time is the only way to become adept. This is an everyday effort, not something to be attempted when there is a spare five minutes in a day or week.

I hope this class, through its simple introduction and approach to meditation, is something that has begun to expand your thinking. Why is this statement important? Some people live in the little space of their stagnant lives and many of them wake up, go to school/work, come home, eat dinner, watch TV, and go to bed. Not a real thought-provoking day. What would happen to that day if somewhere in between you spent 30 minutes in meditation? As an example, you go to school or work and you are posed with a problem that you just can’t seem to figure out. You wrestle with it until you finally give up right? No. Why can’t we seem to be able to solve some problems in a normal awake state? Sometimes our conscious minds just don’t have the answers because they keep a firm grip to the logical side. Logic isn’t the answer for everything. In a meditative state, with your subconscious mind working on these problems, you’ll find those answers you’re looking for. At the same time you’re working on the problem, what else are you doing? You’re relaxing your mind and body. Again, is this something that will happen overnight? Maybe, maybe not. It won’t just come to you with a snap of your fingers. As it has been stated before, you need to continue with taking baby steps, and success will be attainable.

WEEK FOUR, FIVE, SIX, ETC

How long should your meditation time be now? Instead of placing a minimal time there, it was decidedly best not to. Why? Again, these questions are asked to make you think. As a distance training class, the author of this lesson can only hope that you take these studies seriously and make them a part of your lifestyle. With meditation as a skill, many roads open up to endless possibilities. For this part of the past three lessons, there has been a little task set to do and a reminder of how much time you should attempt to meditate daily. At this point in the training, with at least 21 days reading lesson one through three, you will have decided on whether you want to take the next step into a deeper meditative life or not. For those who have decided it was a class you really enjoyed and have made the attempts and put the time into the skill, I applaud you. For those who attempted but did not find it to be your cup of tea, do not feel bad. Meditation is not for everyone. Its benefits are not experienced by all. For those who want to continue with meditation after this class has been completed, please do your own research and find the style(s) that speak to you. There are numerous styles out there offering many ways to advance your skills.

Here is the task I leave for you who want to continue their growth

Practice

Revisit everywhere you went to meditate during the past few weeks. Make visiting them a habit, and live your life with meditation.

Meditation journal

With three weeks of journaling behind you, it should become easier to write in your journal; at the same time the length of your daily writings will begin to be longer as you become more sensitive to your surroundings. From this point forward, begin a review of the prior few weeks. Read your journal from the past few weeks and write a passage about what your learned. Think. There are many lessons in this world that do not revolve around words. Read the passages and feel the words in them. Write this feeling down. Expect to have a small amount of difficulty with this your first few times. This task should be a monthly practice. Pick a day or two to have the time to re-read your journaling form the past few weeks and write your review. In sox months, begin to review your reviews. Constantly review for the goal of increased sensitivity and progress. Look for the baby steps, and you’ll be amazed what can be accomplished.

Weekly assignment

Forever growth.

Two words that can mean volumes.

Keep the process moving in the right direction.

Stillness

Keep your mind aware

Of where you are at

And of what you are doing

If your mind wanders

Gently bring it back

Your awareness will shift into stillness

Feel the energy and power building inside you

Calling the light

Sit quietly outdoors under a great tree with a notebook

You will receive a set of short poems, invocations, sayings etc to make your very own personal space-blessing ceremony

This is a very ancient way of building a magickal sphere about you to enhance your magic, bring you peace of mind

Begin by looking to EAST

Think of sun at sunrise

Sky is already light

Over dark rim of horizon see a point

Then a bar of brilliant light appearing

Until a great circle of golden sun can be seen rolling upwards into sky

See this clearly

Acknowledge dawn with a small poem

Look to South

See banks of bright red, orange and yellow flowers

Vibrant with sunlight, warmth and energy

Visualize till you feel heat, small flowers, hear bees busy in the blossoms

Write another poem to the sun at noon

Perceive everything flooded with light

Next look WEST

At setting sun in apricot and azure sky of evening

Feel power sinking into earth or western ocean

Sense coolness descending

Awaken peace and contentment and satisfaction

Within your heart

Write words of farewell to the light

Welcome the enfolding darkness

Look to NORTH

See a rocky landscape at night

Under a sky studded with millions of bright and multicolored stars

Call upon powers of those stars to inspire and awaken your inner wisdom

Feel entire energy of universe slowly turning about you

Write star-spangled words of longing for your galactic home, your Cosmic Mother and Sky Father

See blackness and brightness live in that sky

Next look to your RIGHT

In the imagined darkness of night

See the pale crescent of the new moon rising

Call her sister, lover, friend

Ask that her light will shine on your dreams and awaken your mystical powers

See her rise up among the singing stars, and write words to speak of that experience

Next look to your LEFT

See the old moon setting

Again a pale crescent, mirror image of the new moon

See faintly against the dark night sky

The starlit filament of curving light

Which traces the new moon in the old moon’s arms, as they sink silently into the west

Ask for inner strength when things are difficult

Patience, endurance and persistence so that no matter how dark events may look, you will always know that a light will shine upon you, and a new and brighter day will follow

Next look UP

There at the zenith of heaven is the round face of the full moon

High and poised above you

She can offer you words of illumination, of wine-bright inspiration and cold logic, even when this is least expected

Her words may sound hard in your ears for what is seen by moonlight is never the same as things seen in the light of the sun

Next look DOWN

Here there seems to be no light

Just utter blackness of the deep and fertile earth

Yet here is foundation, security

The springboard from which your wildest dreams can be launched

The home to which you will eventually return at the end of all your wanderings, through this world and many others

See darkness as solid, firm and strong

Feel its support

Then when light has seeped away entirely, perceive with inner sight a minute point of light, a tiny star concealed like a diamond hidden in an ebony velvet mantle

Discover the relief of that inner spark

See all other lights of Earth being lit from such a tiny flame until they blaze and twinkle all round

Write words of blessing and thanksgiving for the all-embracing Earth

Lastly, look within your own HEART

See there too is a flame of light

The divine, eternal spark, which has been part of your own essence

Since you came into being

And learn how that is part of the Creator

And through this all your magickal power can be extended

If you become aware that you are connected to the source of energy which powers the entire universe you will see that you can do anything your true will requires

If you draw a diagram of what has been described above, that you have created a circle about you

Marking the horizon

And then a circle from your right hand

Over your head

And down under the ground

And within this is that divine spark at your heart center

To enter the otherwordly state

Read words

Take a comfortable upright posture (back supported by chair/tree)

Breathe deeply about 6 times slowly and gently

Feel all tension leave body

Close eyes

Remain awake and alert

Physically relaxed and at peace

Arms and legs not crossed

Enter each image as slowly as you need and as completely as you can

First see a soft brown cloak of natural wool being wrapped around you

Feel its pleasant texture, its warmth and comfort

This will protect you making you invisible if you are out of doors or reduce your awareness of intruding thoughts or disturbances indoors

Become really aware of it before you go to the next image

Now still enclosed in the cloak of protection rise to your feet and see that you are standing on a narrow path through a field of wild flowers

It is a pleasant sunny day with a light breeze touching your cheek

You may smell the scent of hay, the many flowers, and feel the wild wind blowing freely

You may hear the drowsy buzz of bumble bees, the chirrup of crickets, the hum of insects among the flowers and the shush of the wind among the grasses

Otherwise it is very quiet

You begin to walk along the path seeing it wind along a hillside towards a small cluster of trees

You feel very peaceful as you stroll in the sunshine

Soon you draw near to the grove of trees all deep green in the full leaf of summer

Perhaps you recognize young oaks, small ash trees, the darker green of holly, the feathery-edged leaves of hawthorn with clusters of green haws among them

You enter the cooler shade and begin to hear the chirping of birds, and the rustle of the light breeze in the branches

In the dimmer light you pause

After a few moments something brighter catches your eye and you walk on winding among the trunks of the trees

You see the lush grasses beside the path dotted with white and mauve flowers

You begin to sense other presences perhaps only birds or small animals or perhaps those watching spirits which are found everywhere under Nature’s care

Carefully you make your way forward for the trees crowd closer here and the path has petered out amid the loamy brown leaf mound that carpets the wood

You look around you not sure which way to go

You turn round seeking the path but it has vanished

The leafy branches seem to brush your hair and the trunks of the trees feel as if they are closing in

The dim green twilight darkens and you begin to feel lost and alone

Before you there seems to be an arching doorway of slender rowan trees leaning in towards each other and beyond them a lighter glade seems to offer a safer path

You push your way through the low branches here and there scented with the peppery aroma from the clustering white rowan flowers

It feels as if a door toward the light is opening for you as you pass between the smooth slender grey-green trunks

Ahead there is a fallen tree entwined with ivy and creepers but part of the bole is clear, and gratefully you sink down to sit and rest awhile

The light which seemed to fade under the trees now begins to brighten and every leaf glistens and shimmers with dazzling points of sunlight

The birds all sing in tuneless chorus

Around you the wind seems to rustle the branches, and small whirlwinds raise twists of dust

As you sense all these things at once another great presence looms near to you and a bell-like voice speaks from behind you

Welcome my child

Why have you come through the door in the Heart of the Greenwood?

You try to turn to see who is there but your body is reluctant and all you see is a greenish shadow out of the corner of your eye

Somehow you manage to speak and answer

New questions follow and you receive answers for what may seem a long time

Eventually there is silence, the light dims, the birdsong dies, and the trees are still

You look round and may just catch the departing swirl of a green cloak vanishing between the tree trunks, a tall form moving swiftly into the leafy gloom

For a few moments you ponder on what has been said and then slowly rise to your feet

Looking between the arching rowans you see the path now quite clear and straight

You make your way along it

The trees that seemed to press closely now lightly touch your hair conferring a blessing

The scent of greenery, wild flowers and soft loam fills your nostrils and you breath deep of this free fresh air

Soon you leave the wood seeing how tiny it appears how safe and familiar the trees

You cross the flowering meadow again being acutely aware of the colors of the flowers the touch of the grasses the twitter of rising skylarks and the low murmur of bees

As you look about you the scene grows misty and dim

You feel very happy and relaxed but those images feelings and experiences linger with you

Soon you are ready to open your eyes and return gently yet completely to your own familiar world

Return and remember!

BINAURAL BEATS

Sarah Nilsson, J.D., Ph.D., MAS

602 561 8665

sarah@sarahnilsson.org

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