Meditation Advice, Guidance and Tips - Information and Instructions

Meditation is more than a method for relaxing the body, as some people think. It is a way for gaining freedom from incessant, nagging thoughts and worries, quieting the chatter of the mind, and attaining inner peace and happiness. In its higher levels, it leads to spiritual awakening and enlightenment.

Meditation plays an important role in various religions and spiritual traditions, and has always been practiced everywhere, from ancient times until the present day. There have always been people, who had the desire to go within, beyond the mind, and to discover who and what they are, and attain a higher spiritual consciousness.

There are many forms, techniques and traditions, which are practiced and followed for various reasons and aims, for relaxation and health, for mental mastery and inner peace, and of course for attaining spiritual awakening - enlightenment, and for discovering who you really are.

Meditation calms down the body and the mind, reduces stress and anxiety, normalizes the blood pressure and has a healing effect on the body. It improves the power of concentration, sharpens the mind and strengthens the intuition. Its constant practice reduces the number of restless thoughts in the mind and brings inner peace, happiness and bliss.

In order to obtain results it has to be practiced every day, at least once a day, twice a day is better. A beginner may start with only 10 minutes and gradually increase the time.

Essentially, there are two forms of meditation. One that requires focusing the mind on a certain activity, such as on the breathing process, or on a concrete object, mental image, a word, thought or a quality of character. The other form requires that you do not focus on anything, in particular, but to empty the mind of thoughts, and merge into the inner silence within you, into your Real, Inner Self. This form can only be practiced after one is well trained with the first form.

Below you will find several things you can do to improve your ability to meditate, mitigate the inner resistance of the mind, and improve your chances of success. Read them attentively, and apply them to any technique that you practice.

Tips and advice for meditation:

1. It is important to meditate every day.
2. Keep up a positive attitude.
3. Do not meditate when you are tired.
4. Meditate in a place where you can be alone and undisturbed.
5. Sit in a comfortable position with your spine erect. You can sit on the floor, on a cushion or on a chair.
6. Relax your body.
7. Take a few slow deep breaths.
8. To relax even more, for a few moments focus on a pleasant memory, or a mental image of a place that makes you feel calm.
   
9. Think for a few moments about the benefits of meditation, how it will strengthen your focus, calm down your mind, ease stress and tension, etc.
10. Before you start to meditate, tell yourself that all thoughts, ideas and plans will have now to wait until you finish, and that nothing is going to distract your mind.
11. Start meditating calmly, yet with focused attention. The more focused the attention is, the easier it is to ignore thoughts and other distractions.
12. Strive to stay calm, both mentally and physically, and do not tense your body.
13. Patience, perseverance and self discipline should be always cultivated.
14. 10 minutes of practice are quite enough for a beginner.
15. Start with a simple technique. Here are two examples:
    
    a) Focus your attention on your incoming and outgoing breath.
    For a few minutes, focus your attention on your breath. Breathe normally, while focusing on the act of breathing in and breathing out. Be careful not to strain your breath and your body.
    
    b) Focusing on an inspiring quote.
    Choose an inspiring quote from any spiritual teacher, and repeat it in your mind, trying to find its deep meaning, beyond the written words.

Inner Child

The Inner Child is a concept used in popular psychology and spiritual healing to denote the childlike aspect of a person’s psyche.

It is often viewed as an independent entity – so that it may be viewed subjectively.
Exploring the concept of your Inner Child can be useful to address the remaining effects of childhood experiences on your adult life. Traumatic events, habits and misconceived ideas from your childhood all stay with you.

Your current behaviors can be drawn from emotional memory and even the experiences stored in the brain below conscious thought.

Working on your Inner Child

Working on your Inner Child, by nurturing and healing any issues can have dramatic effects on your life. It is considered one of the essential stages in the 12-step programs geared for recovery from addiction, abuse, trauma, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Inner Child has also been called the ‘Divine Child,’ the ‘Wonder Child,’ the ‘Child Within,’ and some psychotherapists call it the ‘True Self’.

Trevor Good, an Australian Spiritual Practitioner has created a Guided Meditation to meet and spend time with your Inner Child.

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Inner Child Guided Meditation

Please click play to listen to a preview of this Guided Meditation.

This is a beautiful and gentle guided meditation where you venture into a magical rainforest and approach an old cottage. You walk onto the veranda and first meet your Higher Self. Your higher self gives reassurance, guidance, support and wisdom. Knowing you are safe and protected gives you the confidence to pass those gifts on to others.

You then meet your Inner Child. You hold them close.
As you give love to the child, you give love to yourself.
While nurturing them, you are nurturing your own true being.
While in a meditative state you spend a few minutes just sitting with your inner child. This time is different for everybody. Some children may cry and just wish to be hugged. Others may ask for clarification on events that once confused them. Others may simply need to play with a light heart and bask in the attention. This part of the meditation is unique to you, and will be exactly what you need.
This Inner Child Guided Meditation allows a special connection and bond to develop between your Higher-Self, Your-Self, and your Inner-Child. Although all are one, spending a few dedicated minutes connecting with these two entities is very important for inner balance and natural joy in your daily activities and attitude – and in the bigger picture, your spiritual growth. With the harmonious energies combined, you will have greater power.
Treat yourself to this magical journey, and connect with all levels of your being.
Spend quality time with your Inner Child today.
In Love and Light, We Explore!

Ten Ways to Grow Your Spirit

1. Embrace Your Talents

Recognize and further develop your intelligence and special gifts. Our talents are signifiers that lead us toward our unique paths. Follow your passion and you will soon discover where you fit in this world. When we squelch innate yearnings we lose our way.

2. Tie Up Loose Ends

Unresolved issues eat away at us emotionally and mentally. Tackle troubling things that need dealt with and put them to rest. In the meanwhile, learn not to allow future problems to be ignored. Our wounds fester when they are not attended to in a timely manner. Realize that buried problems always surface eventually. Dealing with difficulties as they arise rather than hiding from them is the best route.

3. Be Responsible in Your Relationships

Turn away from the "blame game" when it comes to addressing problems in your relationships. Be honest about the things that you have said or done that harmed the relationship. Own up to your own failures. Focus on changing your defeating patterns rather than expecting changes from the other person.

4. Love Sometimes Means Saying Goodbye

Not all relationships are meant to last forever. We sometimes out grow our partners, or our partner goes off in a direction which makes us struggle to stay in step with. Sometimes, the most responsible thing you can do is to offer love and compassion to the person as you release the relationship.

5. Let Go of Useless Attachments

If a thing no longer serves a purpose in your life, it is clutter. Clutter can be a physical thing or a belief that blocks your path. Holding on to things that don't feed you will instead eat up your energy. Free your space and expand your energy by getting rid of unwanted gifts, broken or useless items, self-defeating mental images, etc.

6. Confront Your Inner Demons

Everyone makes mistakes or regrets past decisions. Exposing our frailties and recognizing that we are not perfect frees us from feeling stupid or "less than." Bring light to those things that you are not proud of and realize that through these experiences you have learned great lessons, and have likely become a better person for them. Keeping negative actions hidden can overshadow our spirits with shame or depression. We all deserve to live with joy regardless of our imperfections.

7. Accept Change - Go with the Flow

There is a fine line between caution and fear. We are meant to travel along a spiritual pathway. We are not meant to remain stunted in one place for very long. Yes, change can be scary. But, change is a path of learning, so why not follow it? When we resist change we can actually create chaos. Do you want to undertake a lesson down a path which you've chosen, or have lessons thrown at you down a path that was forced upon you?

8. Accept Delays

There are times when we need to be still. Impatience or frustration will not help any situation. Desired changes sometime take time to unfold. You may feel like you are ready to jump into a new arena... but wait. The situation or person that you are wanting to meet may not be ready for you just yet. It's okay to sit at the bus stop for a few more minutes, the bus will arrive eventually. What's the hurry?

9. Love and Honor Yourself

Are you taking good care of yourself? Your physical body is the vehicle that has been loaned to you to live out your life in and to assist growing your spirit with. Pamper your body, tend to your illnesses, exercise and give it the proper nutrients.

10. Dealing with Death and Illness

Physical life is a gift that comes with a variety of experiences. Suffering and illness are bundled in with that package of experiences. Although our bodies have expiration dates, our spirits don't expire. Choosing to look at illness and death in positive ways rather than negatively will help to give your life here on the planet deeper meaning.