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Author:
Pieter Heydenrych

"MEDITATE"

.. focus one's mind for a time for relaxation or spiritual purposes / think carefully about...



As I suspect you already know, this is easier said than done. However once mastered this will make for a most amazing pasttime, and remains without a doubt a worthy pursuit. It is with this in mind that I have decided to create this meditation course, which will step by step show you how to meditate and with the help of some exercises and aids.

To this end you will also find that this course has been developed to enable beginners (and advanced as refresher / and perhaps a slightly different perspective) without much effort to start almost instantly enjoying the benefits of meditation, which could be numerous including :

* Better physical health * Better mental health and abilities * Less stress

* Better sleeping habits

* And of course could also include personal spiritual growth, even if not philosophically associated.

* And many more not mentioned here....

Step 1

So as a start I would suggest that we begin with a fairly important aspect of meditation. An aspect which will have an impact on your meditations in the future :

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

Whilst most teachers will insist that you take up a lotus position, I have found that there is very little limitation to potential positions which are suitable for meditation at this level. Essentially three things to consider :

* It must be a position in which you would be able to sit (or stand) for at least 5-10 minutes, and with reasonable comfort, ensuring that you reduce discomfort, and following fidgeting to a minimum.



* It must be in a place where you will not be disturbed for the duration of your meditation. {there is little as unpleasant as being rudely awakened in the middle of a meditation session.}



* It must be a comfortable position, but a position which is not conducive to sleep. eg. trying to meditate lying down on your bed, is the easiest way to fall asleep rather than meditate.

For the sake of ease, I have found that simply sitting fairly upright in a normal chair is fairly suitable. It is OK for the chair to have armrests and soft cushioning as this will likely increase the comfort level by just enough to keep you going. If the chair has no armrests of course you could simply rest your hands in your lap.

Of course you are welcome to attempt a lotus position, as this will likely eventually prove to be a suitable position, however I have found that not only is it a difficult position to take for normal folk, but unless you are a seasoned meditator, you are likely to find that you get distracting aches in places which will force you to fidget

To avoid this I have found that a partial lotus (only crossing one foot over your leg, and the other underneath, or one foot accross and the other not totally underneath) with back support makes for a comfortable position for most meditations.

Again I must state that it remains unimportant whether or not your are able to sit in this position or not, and at this stage I would suggest that you can give up perfection for comfort, as this will have very little (if any) impact on the success of your meditations...

Oh.. and do not be afraid to stop reading to try find a comfortable position right now...

For more please visit our resources...

About the author:

Pieter Heydenrych is a Reiki master , who has developed a resource for guided meditations and meditation course material which is not tied to any specific religious philosophy, making it more accessible to all who wishes to practice meditation. The resources is also focussed on offering substantial benefit from meditation in minutes, and is growing continuously at http://www.letsmeditate.net

| Article Keywords: Meditation

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Meditation... Detailed Clarification on Mantra Meditation There are many doubts and misconception among people about mantra. Even many knowledgeable persons says that mantra is nothing but a boring repetition of words that doesn't affect our consciousness and the only effect it produce is to take the chanter ( the one who repeats the mantra ) into a state of sleep. There are many other wrong notions about mantra which, I think, exist because of the fact that people are not aware of the full mechanism of mantra. So before you start mantra meditation, it is essential that you clear all your doubts about mantra: The doubt (1): Mantra will take you into sleep: Fact: Yes but only if you use it as a lullaby. The most important thing in mantra meditation is that you should repeat it with the full awareness of its meaning. However, many people repeat mantra without having full awareness of its meaning. If you repeat a mantra in such mechanical way then it will not produce any effect and will remain an ordinary word. The emotional feeling in which a mantra is chanted is the most important requisite of mantra meditation. In its absence a mantra is no more than a lullaby. So always keep in mind that whenever you repeat a mantra, you should know what is the meaning of that Mantra. Otherwise you'll not be able to draw any benefit from it. The doubt (2): Language of most mantra is strange and difficult to understand. Fact: To some extent it is true but there is a reason for it. The entire concept of Mantra meditation began in India. That is why most of the mantras are in Sanskrit Language which is the language of the Vedas (the oldest written texts of the world). Though the language Sanskrit may be ancient & alien to you, what is still intact in various mantras written in this language is their phonetic...