mindful meditation - for beginners
I have heard so many times, ‘meditation is not for me’. I resonate so deeply with the feeling of trying to meditate and finding myself counting the minutes of my meditation. I start to clear my mind, focus on my breath, and finding the moment only to have a thought, an idea, or an epiphany occur only to take my mind corkscrewing through the cosmos while feeling like I am failing at meditating.
Its enough to make you feel like meditation is a waste of time… and higher states of being/awareness is just not meant to be in this lifetime.
When the goal is to shut off the mind (transcend thought). then this approach can feel like it is too much and it is hard to commit to a practice that feels like such a colossal waste of time.
The first principle to begin meditation with is this… YOU DO NOT NEED TO TURN OFF THE MIND to successfully meditate. I know, this is radical and flies in the face of the timeless, esoteric practice of shamans, yogis, masters, buddhas, and bodhisattvas. While transcending thoughts and reaching states of nirvanic bliss is totally possible in meditation, it is like saying ‘if I can’t experience the highest state right off the bat, its not worth starting’.
I encourage everyone I know to start somewhere, anywhere… it is not about turning off the mind, but first to reach a state of unconditional love and acceptance of all things… including those thoughts that are (supposedly) keeping you from winning your meditation practice.
The second principle to meditation is this… PRACTICES ARE CUMULATIVE. The more you practice, the more expansive AND informative your practice CAN become… If you make your practice about experimenting with the practice and being curious as to what arises for you each day, you’ll be surprised at the clarity, balance, and presence you are able to bring to each moment. A beginner’s meditation practice is just about consistency and curiosity.
The third principle is to be gentle with yourself… either everything is sacred or nothing is, either your effort to align your energy is worthy of acknowledgement or its just a practice to use some of the time you’re here to spend in experience… putting too much expectation on a practice is a sure-fire way to make it an uphill climb.
EASY BEGINNER PRACTICE - FIRE MEDITATION
The easiest, and best beginner’s meditation I have found is this FIRE MEDITATION. With minimal setup, a few steps to understand, and a little effort, you can be well under way to developing your mindful meditation toolbox with this EASY practice!
set the intention to meditate for a specific amount of time (start with 10 minutes and add 1 minute per day for the first week)
set a timer so you can trust that it will end and you can release yourself into the experience of meditating
light a candle (tea lights are easy) and place it at eye level while you sit in a comfortable position
After starting your timer, CLOSE YOUR EYES
Take 3 deep breaths in through your nose, tracing your breath down your nose, into your lungs, and down into your belly.
Hold your breath in for 3-5 seconds
Breath out through your mouth relaxing your awareness into your belly/hips
After your 3rd breath, OPEN YOUR EYES and stare at the flame in front of you
Continuing your breathing, soften your gaze, open your awareness of the flame and trace each breath in.
When you catch yourself thinking, it doesn’t matter what you are thinking or where you are in the thinking process (I have taken a minute or so before realizing I have been following a train of thought).
THANK THE THOUGHT for being there (all thoughts carry information for you, it just doesn’t usually need to be addressed NOW)
FOCUS ON THE FLAME - recenter your awareness on the flame in front of you
REPEAT THE PHRASE ‘FLAME’ in your head
RECEIVE A LONG SLOW BREATH - tracing the breath into your belly
RELEASE THE THOUGHT and just breathe
REPEAT for every thought, every process, every interruption until your timer goes off
CLOSE IN CELEBRATION - just doing this practice daily is cause for celebrating your efforts!! How you do this is up to you. High five yourself, reverently honor your practice in NAMASTE, stand in a VICTORY POWER POSE, put a check mark on your goal calendar, or tap on your heart and let it expand.. YOU DID GREAT!!
