The art of Meditation
...ey ingredients of course, boil down to comfort and solitude. A cold damp basement or hot dusty attic are not necessarily hot spots for meditation. As you advance in possible future meditation routines, trying outdoors might be helpful. If inside, low lighting creates a relaxing, mellow atmosphere. It relaxes the eyes and mind. Candles are entirely optional, but no more than three. Too many aromas will confuse the mind, thus putting a damper on reaching the ultimate goal. It’s like trying to draw a self-portrait with six pencils in your hand, and no mirror. Now you’re hopefully ready to begin. First position yourself on the floor sitting indian-style. Make sure your back is straight so that breathing will flow smoothly and easily. Relax your shoulders back. Roll your neck from side to side for a minute to release any built up tension. Rest your hands on your knees. Do not grasp on to your knees. There is a time when letting go is actually the only way to land on your feet again. The focus here is complete balance. Now close your eyes, and let any memory of the room you’re sitting in slip away. Let yourself fall into, and explore the darkness behind your eye lids. Inhale and exhale long deep breaths, concentrating only on the repetitive cycle of oxygen. Instead of time ticking away, it’s running around you, then swimming. Somehow you plunge your way through it while gasping for air, losing all sense of direction, enduring temporary blindness, and dwelling alone in a low-lit room. Oh yeah, make sure you keep your chin up, too. The Disappearing act. Don’t fret- it’s Houdini-approved! You will return, because you are only mentally disappearing. The most straightforward way I can explain this is to imagine a big eraser. Imagine it swiveling back and forth, starting at your toes. It moves on to the ankles, and so forth. This is the easy part, believe it or not. Erasing the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and brain remain the most difficult because of their experience with sense. They appreciate and comprehend feeling, touch, tastes, and thoughts. They aren’t quite ready to leave behind the familiar plains for an unheard of, concealed horizon, lurking ahead of them like a giant fog ridden, undiscovered mountain. If you happen to wiggle a toe, start over, but don’t lose hope. Try to focus on moving ahead, not on ...