There are many different forms of meditations. There are silent meditations, chanting meditations, guided meditations using imagery, and many other traditions of meditation. When we are in a deep meditation—similar to when we go into a hypnotic state—we lose track of time. We experience a wonderful right brain state of “connectedness” with all there is.
We usually make getting into a meditative state more complicated than it needs to be. As mentioned in my blog “I Just Can’t Meditate”, meditation means bringing and keeping your attention on what is right now in this very moment in time, letting past and future go, being present with whatever shows up, being mindful.
We live in a fast paced world. Everybody and everything around us is always “go, go, go”. In order to fit in and to survive in this reality, we adapt to the fast pace. Slowing down in this time of constant doing and rushing can seem like an enormous task of mindfulness. How can we outwardly move with everybody else, and inwardly find this place of stillness, a slower pace?
Mantras can be very helpful when meditating. Close your eyes and become aware of your breathing. Allow each breath to be full, deep and complete. Make sure your belly rises on each inhale and falls on each exhale. When we are anxious we take very shallow breaths. Just shifting to deep belly breathing is like pushing a relaxation button.
When you have taken a few deep belly breaths, begin to say silently to yourself with each inhale “I slow down”. On each exhale think “I let go”. And become a non-judgmental observer. Notice—without judgment—what or where you are holding on to.
Sometimes we have resistance to letting things go, or we don’t know how to let go. Continue to say “I slow down” on your in-breath and experiment with “I release. It doesn’t matter anymore” on your exhale. Notice how the second mantra feels in your body.
One way of letting go is to let things be. What if we stopped trying to make things different? Or what if we stopped wishing things were different? What if we just accepted them as neither good nor bad, neither right nor wrong, but just as they are?
Continue to say “I slow down” as you breathe in and say to yourself “I let it be” on your exhale. Notice how it feels in your body to let things be.
Letting it be is the ability and willingness to see a situation for what it is, without judgements. Having the willingness to see what really is, increases our ability to respond, our response-ability. And we can then take action steps from a place of calm and love, rather than from a place of resistance and upset.
Most of us have a longing to go home, to be relaxed, at peace, to feel absolutely loved. Another very effective meditation mantra is “I am arriving” on your inhale, “I am home” on your exhale. Focus on your heart as you use this mantra and allow yourself to feel at home in your heart, supported, protected and loved by Mother Earth and the Universe.
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