So what's so important about centering and grounding and why is it important to know about it and practice it?
Allowing your mind to be concentrated enough to focus on your goals
is key to preventing scattered-brain, unfocused, disjointed, and then
spiraling out of control. And any of you who have been through tough,
stressful, trying times, know what I'm talking about...there always
seems to be the demons knocking at the door trying to drive you out of
your mind with fear and intimidation.
Fear and intimidating will kill anything positive.
Fear will take away any good energy in a split second.
Fear will remove you from the place you want to be into a dark abyss that is never-ending.
Fear is something you need to get away from quickly, and it can overcome you quickly if you let it.
The purpose here is to arrest it before it gets a start.
Fear is like a horribly addictive drug...what if's, shoulda's, oughta's, coulda's and uh-ohs are not going to give you the results you want.
So how do you get out of this?
Practice some quick and easy techniques. Practice, practice, practice.
Here's a typical outline for meditation:
- Start breathing deeply - into your stomach (not your chest) and allow your stomach and diaphragm to move...we want your body to move so your breath can feel your core. You should be sitting down or laying down.
- Concentrate on breathing for a couple of minutes - in and out calmly, slowly and deeply - at least 10 deep breathes.
- Start relaxing from the top of the body to the bottom - head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, diaphragm, pelvis, thighs, legs, feet.
- Now let your body sink even further into the chair or chaise or bed.
- Picture a white light or white flowing substance above your head, and it is going to move like a thick rich liquid through you body, starting with your head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, diaphragm, pelvis, thighs, legs, feet. It's going to fill all these areas and make your whole entire body glow from within when each part is filled.
- Now think of the specific goals, desires you want to accomplish - health, wealth, friendship, purpose, whatever it is.
- Allow yourself some time to just float with what you have accomplished and congratulate and acknowledge what you have done - in this session.
- Close the session by gently returning to either wake up or drift off to sleep.
That's it. Doesn't this sound just dreamy - OK bad joke - but I love doing this, and it usually takes about 15 to 30 minutes.
From these steps you can even make your own meditation tape/mp3 and have it say exactly what you want.
There are some other helpful techniques tomorrow.