- With the slower pace of summer upon us, now would be a great time to practice a few short, daily meditations. The more often you practice, the easier meditation becomes. As your confidence increases, feel free to increase the length of time. Here are some starting tips:
- Try to do your meditations at the same time each day; our minds like familiarity and routine
- Create a pre-meditation ritual – make it easy; this helps prepare your mind and body for the meditation experience. Could be as easy as washing your hands, spritzing the space with aromatherapy, lighting a candle
- Find a comfortable, quiet place where you won’t be disturbed
- Be comfortable: clothing, posture, glass of water handy, etc.
- Take some long, slow breaths and focus your attention on your meditation for today, before you start
These ideas for basic, short meditations were taken from the Essential Meditations Deck published by Chronical Books. Feel free to adjust and ad lib them to your personal preferences.
Harness Energy
This meditation aims to fill you with energy. Sit down and hold your hands out in front of you, palms up. Close your eyes and concentrate on your index fingers. As you breathe in, imagine energy entering your body through these fingers. Exhale and imagine the energy reaching deep within you. Repeat, focusing on each finger in turn. When you have finished, you should feel thoroughly revitalized.
Float in the Night Sky
On a clear night, when you are away from city lights, go outside and look at the sky (if possible, lie on your back, looking upward). As you become accustomed to the darkness, see how many more stars appear to you and how the sky seems to go on forever. Notice how each star glows with different brightness. Can you see the different colours of the stars – blue, yellow, red? Spend five minutes like this, meditating on the infiniteness of space.
Illuminate Your Spirit
In religious symbolism, light often represents spiritual illumination. Use this metaphor to visualize your own spirit. Picture a point of light at the centre of your being that exudes pure, brilliant energy. Feel its warming incandescence flowing within you. Each time you breathe in, your spiritual light grows brighter, fanned by life-giving oxygen. Meditate like this, breathing evenly and deeply, for five minutes.
Receive Rays of Energy
Watching the first rays of sunlight glow on the horizon, we might wonder at the miracle of the sun’s return every morning. One morning, get up before dawn and find a place where you can watch the sun rise. As the sun rises, think of it radiating life-giving energy. Then, imagine a sunbeam streaming to a point of light at your centre. Keep imagining this beam streaming stronger and stronger as the sun gets higher in the sky. Your body will feel infused with the energy and vitality of the sun.
After each meditation session, bring yourself back to the present. Give thanks for the opportunity to “just be”, even if it was only for five minutes. When you feel ready: take a deep breath, stretch, drink water and stand up. If you feel unsteady, sit down again and wait a bit. Then try the breath/stretch/water routine again. All should be well now.
Meditation is helpful in reducing our 21st century stresses and strains. Just for a moment, we can feel free, calm and balanced. Over time, even 5 minutes a day can have positive effects on our lives. Why not give meditation a try this summer?
Relevant articles:
Quick Fix Meditation
Meditation With Movement