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| MEDITATIONS |
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 CREATING YOUR OWN MEDITATIONS FINDING YOUR "CALM CENTER" Remember that meditations you write will work better than any written by someone else. Consider your favorite place, or somewhere you'd like to be that has a lot to interest you and would keep your mind busy. Make sure you are comfortable, and take a few deep breaths. Take yourself to that place. Imagine all the things you would see and respond to them just as if it were real life, meet people and create scenarios. Rather than having an unorganized array of disconnected thoughts, you can concentrate on the scene. As you get deeper into the meditation you will find the scenery and schemes simplifying until you are basically "gone" with the meditation. You can even make a tape recording to guide you on a meditation journey. One can also use this method to go somewhere to find an answer. This would again require personal devising. Another method is to choose one image and focus on that. Find an image that interests you, keep your "sight" on that and nothing else. (This is more for the visual person, you can do the exact same thing with music or a feeling... this is the reason petting an animal for a long time can be relaxing, and listening to certain music can put a person in a trance.) The native americans did this with the monotonous sound of drumming. You could use a mellow instrumental piece and just focus on each note, going from one note to the next. Remember that monotony, if you can stand it, is like instant meditation. (If you have ever done the "counting sheep" thing to get to sleep, you know what I mean.) Another method of meditation is to choose a calm, monotonous experience to visualize. Here is an example: A long, winding river on a warm summer day is serene and continual. Imagine drifting freely like a leaf down the river. It is relaxing and unchanging. Imagine how it would feel, and nothing else. You could also use driving down a long deserted road, coasting down an unending slope on a sled, or walking down the path in a forest with plain, simple scenery. Similar to the previous meditation, the monotony is what makes this work. Just make sure to choose an "activity" which you are familiar with, enjoy, and can identify with. Know that the mind is constantly bombarded with thoughts, it's not anything one can really help. Meditation essentially is focusing those thoughts on one point until you reach another state of mind. The reason I enjoy meditation is because it helps to relieve stress in my life. It allows me to go places in my mind that I cannot go to in body. It is very relaxing and helps me to find my "calm center". You may also find this a great way to relax, unwind and relieve yourself of stress. This is something I thoroughly enjoy, yet others may not. You may have your own method(s) of finding your "calm center" and that may be simply having a long, hot bubble bath complete with candles and perhaps incense. GUIDELINES TO SELF-HYPNOSIS These steps in and out of hypnosis are merely guides, guiding you in and out of self-hypnosis. As you progress and become more proficient you will find what best guides YOU in and out of self-hypnosis. When first practicing and learning, I suggest a quiet, undisturbed place to sit down comfortably. It is best not to lie down at first as your mind has a tendency to go to sleep on you. "IN" 1. Sit down in a comfortable position and quietly begin saying to yourself your personal keywords and/or phrases or 'mantra'. 2. In the beginning you may want to use a technique called 'eye-fixation'. For example stare at a spot on the wall, ceiling or in a picture. A wonderful visual to use is a "mandala". You can find all sorts of them on the internet. When you have become more proficient this will not be necessary. Suggest to yourself, "As I stare at this spot my eyelids are getting heavier and heavier, soon they will get so heavy they will close and stay closed until I tell them to open". 3. Take three (3) slow 'deep' breaths. The first is to relax yourself. The second is to MOVE into a state of hypnosis and deeper relaxation. And the third is to BE in a state of hypnosis. 4. Tell yourself how long you are going to be 'in' hypnosis. (10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.) This teaches you to set your 'inner' clock. 5. Now start either at the tips of your toes or at the top of your head and move through each part of your body relaxing the muscles and releasing all stress, anxiety, frustration, etc. Saying 'relax', 'let go', 'deeper and deeper relaxed'. 6. Then imagine a staircase with ten (10) steps or a path that will lead you to your Special Place. Begin to count from 10 down to 1 or vise versa and either on 10 or 1 you will move into that special/safe place in your mind. Spend a few minutes there feeling, smelling, seeing, and hearing ...familiarize yourself with this Special/Safe Place. Ex: If, for instance, you chose the beach...HEAR the waves, SMELL and TASTE the salty sea mist, FEEL the warmth of the sand between your toes, just be completely at this beach..or mountains...or meadow...where ever you choose is right for you! 7. Now begin your self-talk of positive suggestions and imagery. "OUT" Count yourself up from 1-5 suggesting that you have enjoyed a wonderful relaxation and on 5 you will feel refreshed and wonderfully good! Open your eyes, take a deep energizing breath and stretch! Note: If you do this before sleep you can suggest that on 5 you will move into a normal and natural sleep...until it is time for you to wake. (Remember to set your mental alarm clock!) PENCIL DROP Close your eyes and get as comfortable as you can. When localized areas of high-pressure air meet low-pressure air they can spawn a whirlwind that sucks up dirt and trash and moves across the landscape spreading disorder and destruction. When your high-pressure lifestyle meets a low ebb in your energy level, together they can stir up an emotional whirlwind that makes everything you value—your loved ones, your work, your hopes and dreams—seem like debris swirling around you. Before you take off across your emotional landscape spreading disorder and destruction, take a moment to relax and center yourself. When your life seems like a whirlwind, the image of the calm center is important. At the exact center of a whirlwind, there is a spot of perfectly calm air. Tell yourself, “I am the calm center of the whirlwind. I can take a moment to right myself, to return to center. At my core is a calm spot that does not turn with every gust of wind.” Paradoxically, when you take your place as the calm center, the whirlwind slows, the dust settles, and your life seems more orderly and manageable. An ordinary pencil can help you find your calm center. This is something you can do at a desk or table, when you’re working on the bills or homework, and you need to return to your calm center quickly and get on with your work. Pick up a pencil by the point end. Hold it very lightly between your thumb and fingertip, letting the eraser end hang down a couple of inches above the tabletop. Cradle your head in your other hand and get as comfortable as you can. Slow your breathing. Tell yourself that when you are sufficiently relaxed, the pencil will slip out of your fingers and drop. That will be your sign to let go completely, to just relax and feel peaceful for two minutes. Imagine you’re at the calm center of a whirlwind. You can hear the cold wind whistling, but right where you are it is calm. The sun is shining and you feel warm and secure. Imagine all your cares and worries receding. The whirlwind expands and slows down. The calm center gets larger and more relaxed. Continue breathing slowly, thinking about calming and relaxing all your tight muscles. If a worry or doubt intrudes, just tell yourself, "That’s okay, I can let that go for now and relax. I’ll just sit here, calm and centered, deeply, deeply relaxed." After the pencil drops, continue to enjoy your calm center for a couple of minutes. Then return to what you were doing with renewed energy feeling calm, relaxed, and focused.   |
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