Hi Team,
As promised on my last post I have provided an insight into my chosen method of meditation. I probably use this one around 80% of the time as it doesn’t rely on keeping your mind still or clear but in fact gets you using your mind to focus on specific things. This not only relaxes you but charges you up for your day keeping you focused and less stressed. If you don’t believe me try it for a few weeks and reap the benefits. I rarely start my day without doing it.
Start by getting yourself comfortable. Ideally a quiet room sat upright in a chair with your head free standing (away from the head rest). Lying down works but it is easy to get too relaxed and falling asleep. Close your eyes and try to close your mouth and breath through your nose only. Long deep breaths. Keep your focus on the breath and if thoughts start to enter your head just acknowledge them and get back to the breath. Notice your senses such as the the feeling of the seat or your clothes touching your body. What can you smell, hear and taste? Do this for a minute or two only.
The first three stage are about living in the now or the present moment.
Phase 1 – Love & Compassion
Imagine a person you love such as a partner or child. What thought makes you feel the love for them such as a smile or a hug. Imagine them in front of you. Then imagine a bright light coming out of your chest filling the room with love. With each breath expand the light further to the house, then the street, then the town or city, to the country, then the world and finally the universe. Feel the love for everything in the universe. This should only take a few minutes.
Phase 2 – Gratitude
Imagine three things you are grateful for in your work life, three things about yourself and three things in your personal life. More if you wish. The key is to focus on feeling each of these. Feel your senses imagining details such as colour, smell and feelings. The more detailed you can imagine these the more beneficial this part of the meditation will be. A gratitude practice is imperative to a happy and joyful life. You start to appreciate everything in your life and around you. Only spend a couple of minutes on this.
Phase 3 – Forgiveness
This is a tricky one for a lot of people but super important to follow. Lots of us have been wronged in some shape or form. This makes people bitter but the only one suffering is you and those around you.
Forgive, release and let go. Not necessary because those who mistreated you deserve it, but because you do. Let forgiveness liberate you from your past.
Allow it to take away all the resentment you kept in your heart
for all this time and allow yourself to fill in that empty
space with love, inner peace and compassion. If others mistreated you in the past it doesn’t mean you
have to continue their work.
Imagine this person in front of you and feel what they did to you. Only do this for a couple of minutes. Then offer them forgiveness and let go of the anxiety and feeling it creates in your mind and body.
Stages 4 to 6 are more about the future using visualisation techniques.
Stage 4 – Future Dreaming
Imagine three years from now. What kind of person do you want to be? What do you want to own or have in your life? Who do you want to have in your life? What relationships you want to have? How is your health and financial situation? Remember to think big. Don’t be scared to get ambitious and once again see and feel the detail related to these scenarios in the now. Imagine you are living this amazing life now. Thinking about what you want and where you want to be in the future will create amazing opportunities in your life. Be careful as this also works the other way. If you imagine negative thoughts then you will indeed attract more fear related events into your life.
Stage 5 – The Perfect Day
To get to this life in the future how would a perfect day look? How do you feel now about your amazing life. Be specific with the detail and feelings to get the best out of this stage. Spend a few minutes on this only.
Stage 6 – The Blessing
This is not a religious thing. Imagine a positive vibration from your head to your toes. Feel blessed for everything you have in your life as well as what you will have in the future. A minute will suffice for this stage.
These six stage seem a bit woo woo and out there but consistent use of them will blow your mind with less stress, better productivity and more focus. You will be generally happier and more appreciative of life. It definitely beats the hell out of mindfulness meditation where you try to focus and clear your thoughts causing frustration. Caveat, I still do the calm mindfulness meditations sporadically as I still enjoy this feeling.
Give this a whirl and let me know what you think. Meditation is much more popular nowadays and for a very good reason.
I hope you found this useful.
Own your day, be bulletproof
Rael
