How do I meditate?

You're not the only one if you struggle to quiet your mind but there is more than one way to meditate.

The Higher Self is the aspect of God/The Divine that is present inside us. If we can become quiet and peaceful, focusing on making space in our mind, the wisdom of the Higher Self can come through. We can tune in to the wisdom within us that directs us towards what makes us feel good and that leads to achieving our purpose. When we try to meditate it can feel like an impossible task to sit with a completely clear mind, leaving us feeling frustrated and tempted to abandon any meditation. So how can we tune in to the Higher Self?

We can actually all meditate and you may already often perform acts of meditation without realising it. Meditation is about both focusing the mind and clearing it, depending on which technique you use. There are different levels of meditation that put us in touch with the Higher Self, leading to deeper and increasingly powerful interactions with the Divine.

Pause and ponder. This is stepping out of being immersed in life and becoming a detached observer. It’s very useful when you need guidance, and a short burst of intuition from the Higher Self. For example, you have just had an angry conversation with a family member. Sit quietly, calm yourself, send yourself love and set an intention for a non-judgemental attitude towards both of you involved. Send a question inside asking how you can do better next time, and how to put the relationship back on a positive footing. Ignore any criticism from the mind and wait, and wisdom will come through into the clear headspace you have created.

Active meditation. This method is when you set aside time to meditate, using a simple activity to distract your mind without becoming absorbed in the activity. You may be walking in nature, or doing the ironing. It’s useful when you want to move yourself into a more positive frame of mind, reduce anxiety or need to feel more peace and love. You may want an answer to a difficult situation you are facing, or you may just want an open agenda, asking The Divine if there are any messages it wants to give you. As you embark on the activity without dwelling on it, open your mind, relax and wait for whatever comes through to soothe your soul.

Disciplined meditation. This is the activity of settling into a meditation space and using practise and discipline to meditate. I separate them into two methods:

1. Spiritual classroom (unofficial term!) It is the method to use for the deeper spiritual practices such as reprogramming the mind with affirmations, connecting with spirit guides, cleansing the energies/auras, tuning into what the body may need from you in terms of health, or listening to meditative music to relax or sleep.

1. Transcendental Meditation (TM). This is the method taught by eastern gurus, and rather than giving the brain something to focus on, it’s all about the art of letting go. While meditating, the person practising TM sits in a comfortable position with eyes closed and silently repeats a mantra. A mantra is a word or sound from the Vedic tradition that is used to focus your concentration. According to supporters of TM, when meditating, the ordinary thinking process is “transcended.” It’s replaced by a state of pure consciousness. In this state, the meditator achieves perfect stillness, rest, stability, order, and a complete absence of mental boundaries. The TM movement suggests setting aside 15-20 minutes, twice a day and provides training, but there’s no need for official instruction if you prefer to set your own practice or pick up tips from anyone you like on the Insight Timer app. Meditation takes time as you train your mind to settle in, so you might like to set realistic time limits such as five minutes, and gradually extend the time as you begin to enjoy it and access the inner landscape more easily.

Samadhi. This is the eighth and final step in the path to yoga, and translations range from bliss, to liberation, or enlightenment.In yoga, samadhi is considered to be the state in which individual and universal consciousness unite. It is a blissful form of total meditative absorption. There are reports of some enlightened masters having out of body experiences, or even developing the ability of astral projection.

It may not appeal to you to become a dedicated student of meditation, so just select the practices that suit you and your circumstances and be open to going deeper as your spiritual journey evolves. The Insight Timer app is an incredible and cost-free way of honing your meditative skill, with thousands of resources to choose from. You can set a timer to meditate, select a guided meditation, listen to music or attend a course (the courses are often charged for).

Resources

BOOK Meditation for Beginners, by Jack Kornfield.Have you ever thought about trying meditation but didn't know how to get started? In Meditation for Beginners, renowned teacher Jack Kornfield uses clear language and step-by-step guidance to show us how to start - and stick with - a daily meditation practice. From the basics of how to get started to dealing with distractions, this complete course introduces us to the Insight tradition of meditation that has helped practitioners throughout the ages cultivate profound inner calm and a lasting capacity for happiness.

PODCAST Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place: Björn Natthiko Lindeblad.

For 17 years Björn Natthiko Lindeblad lived in Thailand’s jungle as a forest monk. He speaks about how he gave up his life as a high-powered business executive for a simple life with few material possessions. He explains with refreshing honesty  how he managed to tackle the difficulties of meditation, learned to become a better friend to himself and experienced the beauty of life in a new way. Björn’s book is called I May Be Wrong: And Other Wisdoms from Life as a Forest Monk, and it became a Swedish sensation.

INSIGHT TIMER  Calm The Mind in Minutes Without Mental Effort by Elliott Dacher.

Dr Dacher is a physician, meditation teacher and author. Recognising the central role of the mind in healing he embarked on the full time study of Eastern philosophy, psychology and meditation practices, and his quiet, practical guidance on meditation are simple but effective, especially for beginners.

YOUTUBE  If People Knew This Life Would Change Forever with Jonathan Robinson  

Jonathan Robinson is a psychotherapist, author, and student of enlightenment. He interviewed over 100 spiritual teachers such as The Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, and he passes on their wisdom as well as his experiences of living in an enlightened state - something he says we can all do within a few weeks of practise. This is one of the interviews from the Next Level Soul site on YouTube.

YOUTUBE Enjoy The Journey: STOP Fighting Your Mind and Do This Instead  by Michael A. Singer. 

This is a 20-minute video from the WisdomNow channel and its teaching is profound. It discusses how to stop worrying, tune out of caring so much about what happens in life and disconnect from chasing experiences that we hope will make us feel OK, but which inevitably don’t fix us. It will show you how to relax, enjoy life more, and experience a more joyful existence.

BOOK The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer. 

This is the life story of Michael Singer. As a student, he realised just how intrusive his mental chatter was, and devoted his time in meditation to stifle it into silence. This led to a lifetime of meditation and trust as he decided to open up to the guidance he received during meditation and see where it took his experience. Although he had a preference for a quiet life of meditation, he eventually found himself as the owner of a multi-million pound company among other amazing experiences.