Super Simple Breathing Meditation

Meditation is a mental technique that has been practiced for thousands of years by people all across the globe. It's characterized by the absorption of the mind on a mental or physical object and used to develop or maintain a state of mind where one is completely focused on a particular object(s). The absorption itself is the central characteristic of meditation.

Meditation in its simplest form is about bringing your focus into the present, rather than dwelling on the past and anticipating the future. Meditation is the single most important tool for spiritual development and can be done pretty much anywhere and at any time whether you're sitting, walking, eating, laying down and so on. That said, "Sitting meditation" is the most concentrated of the various meditative exercises. Sitting meditation is the most effective way to meditate as it allows you to achieve the highest and deepest states of absorption. This is also the most practiced type of meditation.

Meditation is the heart and soul of any spiritual practice and wipes away the illusion of connecting to God/Source. It is the practice of looking deep within yourself, the world around you and allows you to experience the fundamental ingredients for peace and happiness. Essentially meditation has two major purposes:

Complete Rest and Relaxation - A fully relaxed and peacefully rested state that's beyond what sleep can give us and a full recharge of the body.

Deep Insight - Once you're completely relaxed, you will then begin to receive insight through the realization of wisdom which is the ultimate purpose of meditation and what eventually leads one to discover true peace, happiness, and unbreakable freedom from attachment and suffering.

A major benefit of long term meditation is the ability to slow your thoughts where your mind essentially becomes quiet and still. This brings you to complete rest, relaxation and leads to the reduction of chronic stress, anxiety, and depression. As these issues gradually begin to disappear it leaves you with a greater sense of well-being in mind, body, and spirit.

Meditation has a much deeper purpose that can give rise to deep insights about the true nature of yourself and the world around you. Meditation in psychic and mediumship development can be used several ways to gain access to specific information that you normally wouldn't have access to such as contacting your spirit guides, to tap into your creative and intuitive sides and other highly useful insight. This type of insight means wisdom is gained through a direct personal experience of realization which allows you to notice various things aspects of yourself and through regular practice, the mind will begin to heal itself.

Many development students quickly discover that they work best psychically in a more relaxed state of mind known as "alpha" state (brainwave). The more you meditate the easier it is for you to reach the alpha state when required.

Meditation is also linked to large amounts of grey matter, in the brain, which increases positive emotions and improves emotional stability. It also improves focus, concentration, creativity (right-brained thinking), empathy, compassion, improves memory and reduces the decline of cognitive function in the aging brain.

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Meditation quiets the mind and calms the soul.

Now that you have a better understanding of what meditation is and why we should be practicing it regularly, I'll move on to a very simple meditation technique: Breathing Meditation.

Breathing Meditation

First thing's first. Find a quiet area to sit where you won't be interrupted. If you're unable to sit in the full lotus or half-lotus position then simply sit on the floor or sit in a chair. For beginners, I recommend sitting in the half-lotus position over the full lotus position, therefore, I will only be describing the half-lotus position. If you're unable to sit in this position then I recommend sitting in a chair or even laying down.

Half-Lotus Position: The half-lotus position opens the hips and stretches the knees and ankles which is the most suitable for those that are less flexible in the lower extremities. Cross your legs and place your feet over your thighs. Place your left foot on your right thigh and your right foot on your left thigh.

Sit In A Chair: Again, if you're unable to sit in the half-lotus position or on the floor, you can also sit in a chair. Make sure that you plant your feet firmly on the ground (barefoot is best) and sit with your back straight. You can place a pillow between your lower back and the back of the chair to help keep your back straight. I also recommend sitting on a firm pillow, as well.

Relax: Take four really deep breaths.

Inhale through your nose (pushing your stomach outward) and hold your breath. 1 .. 2 .. 3 .. 4. Exhale out through your mouth (allowing your stomach to fall inward). 1 .. 2 .. 3 .. 4.

(Repeat this exactly as written 4 times in a row).

Your breathing should be the only thing you are focused on right now. Do not attempt to control your breath, simply observe it silently. Thoughts and images will come and go since it's nearly impossible to completely empty your mind. When you notice your mind beginning to wander, simply shift your focus back onto your breathing.

I recommend doing the breathing meditation when you first begin to meditate and do it at the same time every day for approximately 5 minutes and gradually work your way up to 20 minutes at a time. By this time, you'll have the breathing meditation down pat then you can move forward onto guided visualization meditations.

Stay tuned for the next post on guided visualization meditations where I will gently introduce you to beginners guided visualization meditation.