What is meditation - the basics

One of my first memories is of waking to find my father meditating in my bedroom. It felt like a special father and daughter moment and so began my fascination with meditation. It gives me a sense of space and it's only within that space that I find serenity. For the rest of the day I am less affected by the mayhem of life. Meditation is essential to managing my life and it can do the same for you, and to begin all you need is an intention. Intentionality is everything. It's what puts us in vibration with what we want. Our thoughts create our reality. Our thoughts are energy and energy is magnetic to itself, so whatever you think, you attract.

Try these simple steps once a day for three weeks and you will feel a significant difference in your emotional balance and a general feeling of well-being. Don't feel overwhelmed with how much time this could take because remember, everything counts, even 30 seconds.

Some basics

One: Pick your meditation space. It's helpful to keep returning to the same place because the area will build up a specific energy that will deepen your practice. Sit in this place, breathe deeply in and out through your nose and state your intention to have and benefit from a meditation practice.

Two: The key to meditation is the breath. Most of us forget to breathe. We're concentrating so hard on the task at hand that we neglect the breath, which adds lots of unnecessary tension to our bodies. So sit in your meditation space, close your eyes and breathe slowly and continuously in and out through your nose, from your diaphragm. You can start with 1-5 minutes a day. Essentially, you trick your mind into meditation because deep breathing promotes a natural state of relaxation. When thoughts pop up, just see and accept them, but always bring your attention back to your breath.

Three: Maintain your connection with your breath all day. Be aware if you hold your breath and correct it. If you're in a problematic or stressful situation, bring your awareness to your breath and you will see and feel an immediate release of tension.

This will start you on your journey. Honestly, this is all I did for a very long time and I could feel a significant difference. I felt more centered. Before this I usually put my attention outside myself. I would look to other people for approval and end up giving away my power in the process, but that quickly began to change as I built up my breathing practice from 5 to 15 minutes a day. I wouldn't do it any longer than that because I think it can become too much and then you end up not doing it. It gave me a new awareness that my world and reality resides inside myself, not outside. But as I said before, intentionality is everything and most people I meet want to conquer the stresses of modern day living and meditation is the way to go. This is an accelerated time and the illusion is that we have more to worry about with less time to solve the problem. The reality is that meditation creates time. Plus, when you're in a relaxed state of mind you can get things done effortlessly.

You will also experience long-term benefits such as lower blood pressure and the ease of many physical discomforts. On a spiritual level, you will feel a deeper connection with yourself and have a sense of happiness, calm and personal power.

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