Seeds and wild birds are my policy advocates.
Before we begin our candle gazing meditation,
Let's first prepare the space in which we'll practice.
Make sure that you have a candle and a means to light it nearby.
If you don't have a flame candle,
You could use a battery operated candle,
Any lamp,
Or really any object on which you'd like to place your focus for this practice.
The object doesn't even need to light up,
But for the purposes of this guided meditation,
I will use cues specific to a lit candle.
You should also find somewhere comfortable to either sit or stand for your practice and a safe place for the candle to rest at about eye level.
Candle gazing,
Or trataka in Sanskrit,
Is a meditation used to still the movement of the eyes.
Sometimes when we feel anxious or stressed,
Our eyes are constantly making fast micro movements in order to keep lots of things in our field of vision.
These jerky eye movements tend to contribute to a busy mind,
Scattered thoughts,
And ultimately even more stress.
However,
Keeping our eyes still and focused upon a certain point helps to stop these micro motions of the eyes and therefore allow the mind to become still.
When your gaze is focused on the flame or the light of your candle,
You will see nothing else.
This allows your mind to fully focus on the candle as everything else in the room fades away from your awareness.
At the same time,
Any invasive thoughts or distractions will also begin to fade away.
So let's set up the space.
Choose somewhere quiet where you will not be disturbed,
And if possible,
Try to lower the light in the room to make it comfortably dark and cozy for you.
Dim light is the best for candle gazing,
So if you can,
Try to close the curtains or lower the shades if there's a lot of light coming in from the sun outside.
Finally,
Remove any distractions,
Like your phone,
Or turn them off.
Go ahead and light your candle if it's not already and place it on a level surface,
Away from anything flammable,
And at or about near your eye level,
Wherever you will be sitting or standing during the practice.
Now begin to make yourself comfortable.
Come to sit either on a chair,
A floor,
Or a cushion,
Or stand,
But make sure that the candle flame is at about eye level and around two feet away from you.
How you sit or stand is up to you.
Just choose any comfortable position where you are sitting up straight and can remain still while meditating.
Settle into your position.
Take a deep breath in and out,
And take another one,
Even deeper breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
When you feel ready,
Begin to stare at the candle and allow it to become the main focus of your mind.
As you gaze at the candle,
Please continue to breathe naturally.
Hold your eyes steady upon the flame or the light,
Even if you begin to feel distracting thoughts intrude or even if you begin to feel bored.
Your eyes may begin to water,
But try to hold your gaze as steady as possible and try to allow the sensation to pass.
If you feel the need to blink or if you even get slightly distracted,
Don't punish yourself,
But rather gently redirect your attention back to the flame.
And engage with your breath by focusing on the sensation of the light from the candle flowing into you with each breath in.
Begin to notice the room around you fading until you're over.
Your only awareness is that of this candle and the flame.
If your eyes ever begin to grow tired from staring at the flame,
You can gently close them and instead picture the candle and the flame in your mind's eye.
Maybe even through your eyelids,
You can still see the soft orange glow of your candle.
Continue to hold the image of the flame in your mind until you feel ready to open your eyes again and repeat this as often as you need.
Meditation is not necessarily easy for a lot of people and while candle gazing can help you maintain focus and concentration,
It does take practice.
Thoughts may still pop up and the key is to allow rather than resist them.
Continue to hold your gaze on the candle,
Keep breathing deeply and naturally and whenever your mind wanders,
Know that it's okay,
Let it go and come back to the flame.
Continue to hold your gaze on the candle,
Keep breathing deeply and naturally and naturally and gently.
When you feel ready and comfortable doing so,
Gently close your eyes.
If you'd prefer to keep your eyes open,
You can instead turn away from your candle or go ahead and blow it out gently.
Once you close your eyes,
You don't need to continue to picture the candle in your head but rather give your eyes and your mind a gentle rest.
Continue your deep breathing.
Back in with your breath and allow your awareness to rest on your breathing for as long as you like.
Whenever you feel ready,
Allow your awareness to drop from your breathing.
Gently blink your eyes open if they were closed.
Carefully blow out your candle if it's still lit and enjoy the rest of your day.
Thank you for practicing with me.
Namaste.
Namaste.
