PREPARING FOR MEDITATION
PREPARING YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Location
Pick a comfortable place where you can be alone and not be seduced
by the addiction of the external world. Make it secluded, private, and
easily accessible. Go to this place every day, and make it your special
location. You will form a strong connection with this setting. It will
represent where you frequent to tame the distracted ego, overcome
the old self, create a new self, and forge a new destiny.
Preventing Distractions
Make sure you won’t be interrupted or distracted by people. As much
as possible, eliminate sensory stimuli that could force your mind back
to your old personality or to awareness of the external world, especially
to elements of your familiar environment. Some common things to be
aware to avoid are electronics, any strong smells, and pets.
Music
Music can be useful as long as you don’t play selections that will bring
to mind distracting associations. If I play music, I typically use soft,
relaxing, trance-inducing instrumentals or chants without lyrics. When
not listening to music, I often put in earplugs.
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PREPARING YOUR BODY
Position, position, position
I sit up very straight. My back is totally vertical, my neck is erect, my
arms and legs are resting poised and still, and my body is relaxed.
What about using a recliner? Just as with sitting in bed, many people
fall asleep in recliners. Sitting upright in a regular chair, limbs
uncrossed, is best. If you prefer to sit on the ground and cross your legs
“Indian-style,” that’s fine, too.
Preventing Bodily Distractions
In effect, you want to “put the body away” so that you can focus
without needing to pay it any attention. For example, use the restroom.
Dress in loose clothes, remove your watch, drink a little water, and have
more within reach. Take care of any hunger pangs before you begin.
Head Nodding vs. Nodding Off
Since we’re talking about the body, let me address an issue that
may come up in your own meditation practice. Although you are sitting
upright, you may find your head nodding as though you are about to
fall asleep. This is a good sign: you are moving into the Alpha and
Theta brain-wave states. Your body is used to lying down when your
brain waves slow down. When you suddenly “nod” like this, your body
wants to doze off. With continued practice, you’ll become accustomed
to your brain slowing down while you sit upright. The head nodding will
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eventually stop, and your body won’t tend to fall asleep.
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MAKING TIME TO MEDITATE
When To Meditate
As you know, daily changes in brain chemistry result in easier access to
the subconscious mind just after you wake up in the morning and
before you go to bed at night. These are the best times to meditate
because you can more readily slip into the Alpha or Theta states. I
prefer to meditate around the same time each day.
How Long To Meditate
While you’re learning the process, every session will be 20 to 30
minutes. It is important to take a few minutes before you begin
meditating to clear your mind from all of the external stimulation. A
couple practical methods are starting with your eyes open taking deep
breaths in the nose and out the mouth or bringing your mind to the
present by thinking of a few things that happened yesterday or today
that you are grateful for. As you add steps, your time frame should
lengthen by about 10 to 15 minutes per step. Over time, you will move
more rapidly through the steps with which you are already familiar. By
the time you learn how to do all those in this process, your daily
meditation will generally take 40 to 50 minutes.
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PREPARING YOUR STATE OF MIND
Mastering The Ego
Typically, my mind, like most people’s, is either anticipating the future
or remembering the past. When that occurs, I have to settle down and
realize that those are all known associations that have nothing to do
with creating something new in the present moment. If this happens to
you, it is your job to go beyond the tedium of normal thinking and enter
into the creative moment.
Mastering The Body
If your body bucks like an unbridled stallion because it wants to be the
mind —to get up and do something, think about someplace it has to go
in the future, or remember a past emotional experience with some
person in your life—you must settle it down into the present moment
and relax it. Every time you do, you are reconditioning your body to a
new mind, and in time, it will acquiesce. It was conditioned by an
unconscious mind, and it has to be retrained by you—so love it, work
with it, and be kind to it. It will ultimately surrender to you as its master.
Remember to be determined, persistent, excited, joyful, flexible, and
inspired. When you do so, you are reaching for the hand of the divine.
- Dr. Joe Dispenza
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