Hi everyone,
Welcome back,
It's Ed.
I'm so glad to be with you this morning to talk about how we can make our meditations better,
How we can feel more calm,
More peace,
More relaxation.
But really there's so much more to that,
Which is what mindset,
What do we really need to know about what happens in meditation that will allow us to feel more calm,
To feel more joy?
Sometimes feeling calm and joy in meditation is not necessarily what the mind and body needs.
And what I mean by that is when the mind goes in in meditation and the body goes in as well,
The body then begins to release its stresses and strains just like in sleep.
And when it does that,
The body increases its activity.
And if that happens when we're meditating then our mind is asked to think more thoughts because the mind and body must be on the same level.
So thoughts come into our mind not because we're not meditating correctly,
Not because we're not good at meditation,
But because when we rested the body we excited the release of stress in the body,
Which is going to,
Through the central nervous system,
Demand that our mind become more active.
And therefore we come out of a quietness with thoughts.
The key here is to take the thought and say,
Oh,
I'm no longer doing my practice,
And then come back to your practice,
Be it meditation,
I mean mantra or breath or whatever your practice may be.
This is so important because so many people lack a calm and peaceful meditation or have trouble continuing meditation because they feel that their thoughts are a barrier,
They feel that their thoughts are signposts,
That they're not doing it correctly.
Somehow,
And it's because of improper instruction or inadequate instruction,
People aren't given the mindset that thoughts and sensations are part of meditation and should be honored and should be not fought but allowed.
When we can treat our thoughts without resistance,
Then we are opening the doors to being in a presence that allows all of the spiritual experiences that we want to happen in meditation to happen.
But if the body is tired due to over exertion or lack of sleep,
You may fall asleep in meditation,
And that's just what the body needed.
And if that's what the body needed,
Then that meditation was perfect.
So if we stop thinking that we need to have this super conscious experience in every meditation,
And that we just accept what the body needs,
Then we begin to understand that we just don't meditate from the neck up,
But that our body is part and parcel of our meditation process.
This is probably one of the most least taught principles in meditation.
And everyone naturally assumes that they want the supernatural,
The super conscious experiences all the time without any physical release,
Without any physical release of stresses and strains.
And it's just not true.
It's just not true.
So in this meditation,
You're going to learn how to deal with thoughts,
How to deal with sensations,
How to have practiced the mindset of being present with whatever happens in meditation,
Thoughts included.
And know that sometimes our meditations will have some of the stuff that we want in it,
And sometimes it won't.
But either way,
We will be looking for the results of our meditation,
Not in our meditation,
During our meditation,
But outside in our day.
For if we meditate properly and allow the stresses to be released in the body,
And allow the mind to learn to be in these deep levels of consciousness,
Then we will take those experiences out from our meditation and put them into our day.
And our day will get better.
More peace during the day.
More awareness of our consciousness during the day.
So let's begin.
Good.
So what I'd ask you to do is to sit with your feet on the floor if you can,
And your hands in your lap so you're nice and supported in the meditation.
And just close your eyes.
You don't have to do anything right now.
I'm going to show you how you can lead into your own meditation,
Or I'm going to show you in this meditation tips that you can call upon,
Or call into times in your meditation when you may be having a problem.
So let's just take a nice deep breath in through the nose,
Out through the mouth.
And let's do another one.
And this time I'd like you to imagine that light and energy is coming in through your nose and filling your body with a pleasant light and energy.
And that with every exhalation you're letting go of more stress,
More tension.
Good.
One more nice deep but comfortable breath.
And now return back to your normal breath.
Become aware of how your breath is adjusting now.
Feel how wonderful it is to breathe,
How life-giving breath is.
Good.
So I'm going to ask you now to begin your practice.
If you don't,
Then I ask you to put your attention on your breath.
Feel your chest rise with every inhale and feel it collapse with every exhale.
Notice,
Pay attention to how the air feels in your nose.
And just become aware of your breath.
And we'll do this for a few minutes and then I'll come back in.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Okay.
So if you can,
I'd like you just to stay in this nice,
Hopefully beautiful and expansive state,
Doing your practice but also listening to me.
What kind of thoughts are you thinking?
Are you having thoughts that maybe you're not meditating correctly or you wish that a thought wishing that you didn't have a thought?
Just say,
There you are thought.
I'm going to come back to my practice now.
Thank you.
And then just let it be in the peripheral vision of your awareness.
It's almost like walking down a crowded street and there are people walking all around you.
You do not put your attention on the people walking around you,
Unless you bump into something.
No,
You put your attention first on where you're going.
Then you also know,
Oh there's this guy on the left here,
But your primary attention is on where you're going,
Which is in this case your meditation practice.
What you will find is that when you,
In the analogy,
When you get to the corner of the street,
He'll go off to the left and you'll keep going.
They'll come and they'll go,
But you won't lose your primary focus on your practice.
Good.
So what I'd like you to do as practice right now is,
Let's imagine that you're feeling a sensation in your body or you're having a very powerful thought.
In these instances,
We want to find out where in the body is this experience happening that's causing this predominantly dominant thought or this sensation that's in your body.
So stop your practice for a moment and let's do a body scan.
Start with your toes and come up through your body,
Becoming aware of any strong,
Outstanding sensations in the body.
You may start with your toes and all of a sudden feel something in your shoulder.
Good.
Then go right to the shoulder and feel the sensation without any judgment,
Without any thinking.
This may be something new which is to feel without thinking,
But it is something that you can accomplish,
Especially it's a little easier in meditation since the mind is a lot more not in control.
Good.
And feel that sensation until it either wants to release or grow and release or move and release.
And know that you're releasing that anchor in the body that will free the mind to stay more attuned to your practice,
Be it mantra or breath.
Give you a few minutes to do that.
Good.
What you're accomplishing now is in a way really a miracle because what you're doing is you're recognizing that for every powerful thought there could be a powerful sensation in the body or vice versa.
And you're making that connection between the two.
And what you're realizing is that while your mind can think lots of thoughts,
The sensation in the body is much stickier,
Heavier and stays and moves much slower.
So when you begin to invite that sensation to release,
You're really releasing the anchor to all of your triggers.
And the body is a little slower to give up its hold,
The stressors hold on it,
Than the mind is just to think another thought.
So we always go to the body and we realize that once the body releases this stress,
This pocket of tension that we may have held for years or decades that the mind will then just be free to think whatever it wants.
Yes.
Good.
This is an incredible connection,
An incredible dynamic between the mind and the body that you are connecting with right now.
It's not spoken about enough.
But when you do it in meditation and outside of meditation,
It has unbelievable results.
And these results will allow you with the proper mindset to allow thoughts,
To allow sensations to occur.
This mindset will allow you to not judge your meditation as much,
To look and value whatever happens to be in the moment,
Not in an expectation of what your meditation should be or shouldn't.
And in that present moment anything can happen.
When you're not judging and you're not expecting,
That's when everything happens.
That's when you open up the door,
You open up that concrete vault to what's inside of you and you let it come out.
And that's when the powerful meditation experiences that you're seeking,
That's when they can come out.
Not that they will automatically or regularly,
But when you open up those vault doors,
Which is feel without think,
Expect nothing,
Be in the moment in your meditation,
That's when everything starts to happen.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
So let's practice that being in the moment right now and I'll let you continue for a couple of minutes.
Begin.
Good.
Good.
You're beginning to get it.
You're beginning to sense the effortlessness of your practice,
Making it effortless,
Making it present in the moment,
And allowing the body to participate in this meditation consciously.
Oh,
There you are,
Sensation.
You're allowing the body to be part of this.
You understand now that your body meditates with your mind.
With this mind-body integration in your meditation,
More joy,
More calm,
More love,
More possibilities for cosmic experiences,
For Kundalini,
For energy,
For consciousness to awaken within you.
Knowing full well that when it awakens within you during meditation,
You will then take it with you when you end your meditation and get up and go into your day.
And you'll be sharing it with the ones you love,
With the co-workers,
With your friends,
With your beloveds.
And even though you may not recognize it at first,
If you continue to meditate regularly in this easy present way,
The accumulation is inevitable.
It is not an if,
It is a when.
And that when depends on you,
Your physiology,
Your life lessons,
Your Earth school.
But it's a when.
Wonderful.
This is how we meditate.
This is how we improve our meditation and improve the quality of our life.
So what I'd like to do right now is have you stay with your eyes closed.
Ending your meditation in a particular way is very,
Very profound.
Your mind may tell you,
You're totally awake,
Let's just get up and go do that thing.
But no,
Come back to the room,
Come back to your body.
Wiggle your fingers,
Your toes,
Stretch.
I like to rub my palms together and put them over my eyes and feel the warmth and come back into my body.
Then once you're back,
You feel like you're totally in your body,
Then slowly open your eyes.
This way,
Coming out of meditation won't be jarring because coming out in a too jarring way can cause discomfort or headache.
And this is the way I suggest that you handle your meditation practice or your new practice with these added benefits and you will notice it very quickly in your life.
