Paying attention to several simple strategies will significantly enhance your meditation. Meditation is about being gentle and subtle and remembering that you are directing your attention to the higher, subtler parts of your being.

The following seven strategies have stood the test of time. So please give them a try!

Step#1: Create a Special Place


Set aside a special place that is used only for meditation. If you have a spare room, great, but it’s fine to set aside a corner of your bedroom. This will be your sacred space for self-discovery, so you’ll want to make it as inspiring as possible.
Here are some suggestions to make the “space” your own.

  • Cover a low table with a clean, light cloth
  • Place a candle on a table, a vase with fresh flowers if possible
    or an object that has special meaning to you.
  • You may also want to burn your favourite aromatherapy candle or oil.
  • cover yourself with a blanket or shawl which will help you turn within.
  • Like an athlete preparing for a race have your own routine as you prepare for your meditation time.

    Step#2: Prepare Physically

    Your meditation journey takes place in and through your physical body. Here’s how you can help prepare it for meditation:
    Together, these items will help create a meditative atmosphere.

  • Feel clean and fresh before meditating. If it isn’t possible to take a shower, wash your face and hands and comb your hair.
  • Wear clean, light, loose fitting clothes but be warm.
  • Take your shoes off before meditating.
  • Gently stretch your spine and go through the warm up sequence as taught in the course. Shaking, 5 sense meditation and box breathing.
  • You may use a sound or chant for a few moments to assist the process of letting go of your thoughts.

    Step #3: Sit Relaxed, Sit Straight

    There’s no need to sit in a special “yogic” posture to meditate. The aim is to sit comfortably.
    The important thing is to be still and relaxed, to have your back erect, and to have any object to gaze at such as a candle close to eye level.

  • on a cushion on the floor,
  • a meditation stool
  • or chair

    Don’t force the meditation, allow it to begin. Just like watching the opening scene of a movie you have not seen before, be inquisitive and curious about what you will “witness” in your meditation.
    People often ask if it’s okay to meditate while lying down. We don’t recommend it. Your concentration abilities may be less and it is likely you will fall asleep.

 

Step#4: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

In the beginning, five minutes of meditation a day is enough. Meditation is like an inner muscle that you are slowly but surely making stronger.
If you overwork a muscle, it becomes sore; if you meditate for more than five minutes and feel tension in your head, tingling in your fingers or get a headache, you know you have gone beyond your capacity.
Avoid the burden of expectation as to what your meditation is going to do for you or what your meditation experience ‘should’ be.
It is not possible to force the meditation experience, allow it to happen in a steady, soulfull way and be alert to the messages that will begin to arise from within.

Step#5: Choose the right time

  • Make an appointment with yourself and practise at the same time each day.
  • This establishes your circadian rhythm and over time your body will expect and “drop into” the meditation space at that appointed time.
  • Just as you feed your physical body several times a day at certain times, meditation nourishes your inner life so set at least one special time each day for your meditation exercises.
  • The best time to meditate is early in the morning, before you enter into the days activities. Gradually, the peace you get from your meditation will permeate the rest of your day.
  • Some people like to meditate when they get home from work, to help wash away the stress of the day. Others like to meditate just before going to bed. It is best not to meditate right after a big meal. So wait an hour or two before meditating.
  • Use the meditation structure : beginning – middle – end.
    In the beginning set the intention of being gentle and joyful as you go through your “prepare to meditate” routine.
    In the middle allow the meditation to happen.
    In the end give yourself a few moments to saviour the meditation experience and perhaps make a journal note. A reminder or a message to yourself,perhaps even a record of an insight that occured.

    Step#6: The Power of Music

    Music is often referred to as the language of the soul. Music that evokes for you a peaceful and calm atmosphere can greatly enhance the quality of your meditation.

    Step#7: You

    In the end, the most important ingredient in this whole process is you. It is you.
    A meditation journal is a wonderful tool. Verbalising what you are going through and/or what you are currently focusing on by writing down these self-revelations formalises and crystallises the most crucial process of listening to oneself

  • Always remember to begin your meditation with six or seven – long, slow deep abdominal breaths that release the myriad of thoughts and focus your attention within.
  • who experiences,
  • who is discovered,
  • who is the student,
  • who is the real teacher,
  • who is revealed,
  • who observes,
  • who allows.
  • Remind yourself of this often because this is the greatest gift of meditation:

    .