Meditation
Meditation is widely known to relax and energize our brains. Meditating along with yoga and proper diet cuts down both physical and mental obstacles. Meditation is all about relaxing without any efforts. Many of the greatest gurus and masters have enlightened through meditation alone. They do not have any fears or issues that affect their well-being. Nothing would shake them, their will as strong as stone. Do you ever wonder that How they attained this unlimited power?
Their life is fruitful and blossoms like a flower. They are happy with an everlasting smile. Their minds possess intelligence beyond the normal humans.
We all want to become a part of that higher state. We obviously have the thirst for highest knowledge and everlasting happiness. We have all been told that meditation is the key. Meditation is all they did.
But is that all? Are there any wonders that you have not known? Or did they have some techniques that are on the next level? We come across these questions at some point. We want to know the answers.
After reading this articles you will know the types and hidden benefits of Meditation.
"Practice of Meditation will enrich all the aspects of your life."
Meditating is relaxing with consciousness. Practicing on a regular basis will give you a self-realization. You will be aware of yourself and be conscious all the time.
There are different types of meditation in practice at the moment. Each has its importance in enhancing the life. Sitting meditation is the most familiar and standard practice of meditation. There are seldom techniques and practices. These are often told or given in the later stages. These are as important as the other simple techniques. These can be practiced in any stage. Being comfortable in the posture is a vital point in meditation. As you will not be distracted much when in the comfortable position. There are few different types of poses that we will discuss first.
Sitting Postures in meditation
● Quarter lotus poses (Sukhasana):
Sitting with both feet crossed and the feet under the thigh or knee of the opposite leg. Used in the early learning stages of meditation.
● Half lotus poses (ardha padmasan):
One foot resting on top of the different and the other feet under the top leg. Both the knees should be touching the ground.
● Lotus pose (padmasana):
Legs crossed with feet resting on top of opposite thighs.
● Burmese pose:
Both legs are laying on the floor in front of each other. Knees and calves are touching the floor.
● Vajrasana or Virasana pose (thunderbolt or hero):
Kneeling with buttocks on feet. Cushion or a small bench can be placed under buttocks to be comfortable.
● Chair pose: Yes, you could also sit on a chair for meditation.
These are few of the poses that are alternate to the basic sitting pose. You may start with quarter lotus pose and slowly shifting into the next poses.
Techniques for deeper levels of meditation
Meditation has few methods which hold real benefits. These techniques enhance the meditation and take the mediators into deeper and blissful states. Also, help a person understand and enact his real potential.
Self-inquiry meditation
According to Ramana Maharshi, a self-inquiry takes us into the higher levels of consciousness. In the ancient times, this technique was offered to the students to know the real desires. To understand what they are and what they want. Inquire yourself. Be mindful then ask yourself and tell yourself.
What am I? What is this consciousness? What is my purpose? Why am I doing this? Who is breathing? Who is the doer?
I am not this. I am not this body. Keep repeating these words and asking questions. They are the most powerful tools to fight things that disturb our mental state and drive us to greater levels. These questions and statements confuse us in the initial stages. Practicing this will make us aware of our self, and we flow into the higher conscious and larger being.
After practice and complete understanding of this technique, one leaves the body and the ego. Our mind is dissolved. Time and space disappear. This is called Samadhi. In this stage a person, our mind is the most relaxed and pure state. Nothing could shake or do anything to a mind in the Samadhi state. All the greater gurus and yogis attain this state. This method might not be much effective in the beginning. Starting from basic meditation and slowly adopting is also a good exercise.
Mirror gazing meditation
Image source http://zerotoinfinitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Mirror-Tratak1.jpg
Mirror gazing meditation is the best practice known to enhance psychic abilities. It pictures the actual potential of the self, eradicating the inhibitions. It is simple yet powerful meditation. To start with, sit in your usual meditative pose. Sit in front of a mirror with a distance comfortable to your eyes under normal light. Gaze into your own eyes for about 20 minutes. During this process, the mind tends to confuse or become weird. Not to worry, it is normal to have such experiences in the beginning. The focus gets away, and you might see amazing images in the mirror.
In any case, do not push yourself or focus too hard. Take it easy and focus on a relaxation. Do not over stress your eyes and you may blink to relax your eyes in the midst.
Benefits of Mirror Gazing Meditation
● Enhanced concentration and willpower.
● Increased creativity and mental activities.
● Being aware and living in present movement.
● Better controlling of emotions.
● Experiencing unconditional love, peace, and calm.
Splashing eyes with cold water would help in relaxation of eyes. In the case of abnormal blood pressure, psychic or issues with eyes, it is better to check with specialists or a doctor in advance.
Eye Gazing Meditation
Eye gazing meditation is also an ancient practice. In the ancient times. It was guided by gurus to the students to open up and break their inhibitions and to learn the true self. It is simple, yet most powerful. It is like any other meditation. But rather than looking closing eyes and observing inside, we look into the eyes of others.
Here are the guidelines for eye gazing meditation.
Sit in a comfortable meditative position opposite to a person. You may place your hold the hands of the other person or place it on your lap.
Gaze into the eyes of the other person. Do it for 15-20 minutes.
During eye gazing meditation, your emotions flow out. They may flow out as laughter or tears. You may let go. It is okay to cry, laugh or smile. The emotions come out and reduce the impact on your mental levels. It is okay to blink during the course. You may practice this with your partner or any comfortable person.
Benefits of eye gazing
● Emotional stability.
● Increases connection to the self.
● Ego calms down.
● Enhanced spiritual connectivity.
We all are the embodiment of gods. Gazing into the eyes reveals the true self and connection.
Meditating in eye gazing is important for deeper levels and understanding your partner. It reveals the self to the other and makes one understand the true love lies inside but not on the physical level.
Hand mudras for meditation
Mudras are sacred hand gestures. Each mudra has specific importance on the physical and mental aspects of humans. Below link has all the details on understanding and using mudras for meditation.
https://theconsciouslife.com/mudras-meditation-in-your-ha nds.htm
Dancing Meditation
Image source http://nslps.com.au/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=20670&g2_serialNumber=2
Dancing meditation goes by the name itself meditating while dancing. This is an ancient technique in India, African, and South American tribes and the middle east. This is one of the sacred practice in Shamanism. Lord Shiva dances to keep the cosmic worlds in balance. It keeps the dancer in the present without dwelling in thoughts or stress. Dancing keeps our minds relaxed and free of inhibitions. While dancing our body loses the physical self and flies out into the consciousness. One must completely surrender the self to dance. Dancing like nothing could come between you and the dance.
Dancing meditation is little different from the normal dance and is done in three phases or stages. Start by standing with eyes closed and comfortable deep breaths for first 10 minutes. You may exercise by jumping or swaying your body along with breathing. After the first phase of breathing, you may let yourself into the wild and spontaneous groove of dancing. This phase goes for the next 20 minutes. You may feel as a spiritual being or relate yourself to the ancient tribes. In this act, if you feel you may tap the floor with your hands letting out your anger.
You may stop and breath in the midst if your energy levels are down, or you feel like. The next phase is relaxation phase for 10 minutes. This phase is all about relaxation. Slowly lay back in comfort. Surrender yourself. You will be able to observe and feel the flow of energy in your body.
Things to follow in dancing meditation
● Music which eases the mind (Soft instrumental and non-vocals).
● Safer ground and surroundings.
● Not stressing or pushing our physical limits.
● Slow and rhythmic dance connect one to the self.
● Feel the music and the dance (Do not focus on dancing with rhythm, take it in a flow)
In the case of any physical health issues check with a specialist in advance. As dance or physical movements might affect the health condition.
Benefits of dancing meditation
● Boosts memory and reduces stress (Release endorphins).
● Increases flexibility and energy
● Weight loss (Removes fat, toxins and keeps healthy).
● Handling anxiety and depression.
● Enhances vibrations (increase in spiritual levels).
Dancing a free way to express you to yourself. It is fun and happening to dance and heal yourself. So, why not start it right away?
Standing Meditation
Standing meditation is the most modern one. Meditating while standing has fewer efforts in concentration but more in physical level. In this technique, the person is mindful and becomes aware of the physical senses.
Directions in standing meditation
Standing meditation as few things that are to be followed. They are:
● Place feet in hip width with toes facing straight.
● Slightly bend your knees.
● Straighten your spine to the maximum.
● Hold your hands near the abdomen or fold it into namaskar position at chest.
● Feel the gravity.
● Feel the weight of your body and the straightness.
● Breath in through the nose, hold the breath for 2-3 seconds and exhale through the mouth.
Benefits of standing meditation
● Eases out tension.
● Increases life force and distribution of energy.
● Relaxation of deep rooted stress.
● Increase of physical health condition.
● Increases blood circulation.
● Alertness and wakefulness.
These are few of the many benefits a person could experience through standing meditation. We often work all day and feel tired after a long days work. We are also prone to many health issues by sitting all day long. Practicing standing meditation during breaks or taking some time to do it would be fruitful. It will also cut down and relive us from the health issues we might face.
Things to do while meditating
● Keep breathing. Hara is the central conscious point in the body. Breathing from hara (belly button) slows down and stops the thinking process, increases relaxation of the mind.
● Be aware and witness your body and surroundings.
● Keeping yourself-warm and comfortable. Comfortable clothes keep your muscles away from contractions.
● Keep your skin straight inattentive position.
● Straight spine while meditating increases awareness and flow of life force energy.
● Relax your shoulders. Slightly rolled back and down.
● Place your hands in a relaxed state on your lap or in any supported positions. Later in this article, you will learn the different hand positions for meditation.
● The main thing to do in meditation is not to stress oneself. Let the mind go through thoughts and stress. Do not force them to leave. Observe and see the thoughts flowing. The thoughts will themselves ease out.
● Keep your stomach light before mediation. A full stomach will lead the meditative state into sleep. In such state, you will not be able to take the benefits of meditation.
● Do not be intoxicated as they may lead to disturbance in psychic levels.
In the beginning, one could start from 15-20 minutes of meditation after little exercise or yoga. 1 hour in a day is the usual time to spend on meditation. You mat later progress to 1.5 to 2,5 hours. Each session time can also be increased to 45 minutes.
Meditating in temples, nature and around enlightened gurus will give you deep meditation and also be able to absorb the energy.
You have learned many benefits of meditation mentioned in the above meditation. Knowing the benefits and the aspects of things would make us want to do it with more interest.
Below are the the practices and techniques for that would lead one into higher states of meditation.
Soul awareness meditation
Soul awareness is one of the advanced meditation techniques. This can be practiced once you can handle your physical and mental senses. As the advance stages have only benefits after the body reaches a certain level of awareness and consciousness.
● Sit in a meditative position. With eyes fully open graze softly at a wall or a distant pleasing view.
● Create a circle of visual consciousness with the minds eye (consciousness eyes behind the physical eyes).
● Imagine 12 o'clock and six o' clock at the top and as the top and bottom of consciousness field.
● Slowly sweep the attention in the clockwise along the circle of the conscious field. Again repeat this in a counter clockwise.
● Strain your mental ability in observing the outer edges of the conscious field with your minds eye. Do it till where the light of consciousness turns into darkness?
● Repeat this process to your maximum capability.
This is different from other exercise and experience in meditation is a must. You can perceive the complete 360 degrees of conscious field.
After practicing this meditation for a period our mind reaches a level where one can easily focus and concentrate. Awareness and control over thought process become natural.
You will be able to see your mind from outside and a new perspective. The conscious ball is seen in a visual field with more width than height.
In this stage, mediation can be practiced anytime or place. Either while working or walking along the streets. After practicing this for a period one can, easily practice the most advanced meditations.
Sweeping House
Sweeping house technique goes by the name. To sweep the thoughts from our mind. This is one of the most simple techniques.
This can be practiced along with sitting meditations.
● Interlock your hands and place them behind the head and resting the hands at the head and neck meeting point.
● Gently sweep your hand to the top, the imagining of gathering the thoughts.
● After hands reach forehead, use flicking motion as discarding all the thoughts.
● Practice this for 3-7 times.
This technique would take 1-2 minutes and can be practiced before going to bed, at the time of work or anytime that you wish to.
Relax and enjoy the peace and silence that you experience after the practice of sweeping house technique.
Enlightenment
We hear many of the greatest gurus to be enlightened. Buddha or Maharshi Rishi, they are enlightened. They have spent their lives in understanding and practicing meditation.
It is not an easy thing neither hard. Enlightenment all depends on upon the dedication and patience. Practicing and keeping our body and mind healthy is the key point for enlightenment.
There are few points that have to be followed to keep yourself in the pure state.
● Doing sadhana and prayers in groups. The energy multiplies when things are done in groups.
● Remembering and understanding the truth. Meditation is a pathway to realty.
● Do not limit you. Explore the world of spirituality.
● A healthy diet. A vegetarian diet is prescribed as meat imbalances the energies in the body and mind. A diet should also be followed basing Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
● Avoid intoxication. They distract the self from knowing the truth and diverts into miserable things.
● Having sex. Do not stop yourself from having sex if you wish to. Do it in a gracious way and enjoy making love. Many enlightened gurus have told that sex never obstructs the spiritual path. Even the enlightened masters have told that they had love after becoming enlightened.
● Do not make mediation or sadhana a competition. Let it become your nature and habit.
● Being self-aware of thoughts and being consciously aware all the time.
● Do not make the practices a business or extract stupid money out by teaching which one could get for free.
● Do not take advantage of any of these practices in illegal or unrecognized manner.
These are few of the things that are to be kept in mind while seeking for enlightenment. Understand that it is not a thing that one could get right away or by forcing one self. Having patience and understanding the life would lead into a blissful state and enlightenment.
Living in the company of enlightened people would enhance the practices. Gurus or enlightened people expand the consciousness and the psychic abilities of the ones in the company. Being a devoted disciple is plays a vital role in enlightenment. Do not doubt the process or the techniques. Do not become the servant of the teachers, but be a disciple in learning things. Understanding that you are a part of a higher being and consciousness. You are a part of the cosmos, and all the materialistic relations and problems would eventually fade away. Only the true you, yourself and the consciousness are the things that will remain.
Conclusion:
As you have read the article, you may have noticed that I have mentioned the words understanding and practice over and over again. I did that because that keep they are that keep you going, Understanding and practicing would always keep you alive, active and leads to ultimate bliss.
