Establishing a daily practiceWritten by Robert Morgen
It’s important to establish a daily practice and then stick to it. This doesn’t mean dedicating 12 hours a day to meditation, it just means creating a space in your home where you can take a few minutes and meditate and do exercises. I advise people to start with some of basic exercises and devote 10 -20 minutes a day as they develop their physical and mental abilities. Many people quite simply overload themselves and expect too much too soon, then get discouraged when they don’t see results they thought they should see. Getting Started Set aside a corner in one of your rooms. You can stock it with whatever accoutrement you wish. Many folks have cushions, candles, incense and a small CD player for music or guided meditation CD’s. Use whatever tools and accessories you want to, as there’s no right or wrong at this point. Once you’ve created your ‘sacred space’ then all you have to do is use it. Set aside a few minutes each day and begin working on your breathing and Full Body Awareness. Don’t worry at this point about how long you meditate, just get into habit of doing it. The effects of meditation are cumulative, so 5 minutes a day everyday is better than 20 minutes once a week. Eventually you’ll get to point where you don’t need any accessories and you can clear your mind and meditate anywhere, at any time, but for now don’t worry about that, just create a pleasant, sacred atmosphere and get started.
| | Full Body AwarenessWritten by Robert Morgen
Now that you’re comfortable working with your breath it’s time to bring rest of body in. Continue breathing as I’ve outlined in my article on Breathing. Now in addition to feeling your breath flow and your stomach and ribs expand, I want you to feel energy that flows into your body with each breath. For me it feels like a lightness, or a very light feeling. It may feel different for you so take some time here and just open up and feel energy. Now when you draw energy in can you feel it pooling at your center of gravity just below your belly button? Now as you breathe just let that pool of energy expand throughout your body. Can you feel it flowing down through your legs and up your back and down your arms? Take some time here and practice this feeling that energy pool expand through your whole body. Later we’ll expand it out even further, but for now just let it flow. This exercise should help you to feel rejuvenated and refreshed as you’re drawing energy from an infinite pool. Do this exercise whenever you’re depressed or down, and eventually as you progress you’ll learn to do it all time. It’s a habit that you have to grow into.Awareness and Intention EVERYTHING is about ‘Awareness’ and ‘Intention’. Now that you’ve begun to build an awareness of energy, called Chi, Ki or Prana in some circles, you’ll be able to do things with it and move it around in your (and other peoples) body. We move energy with ‘Intention’, and this is a very important fact. EVERYTHING is energy! Our thoughts, our actions, our beliefs, everything around us and everything we see, feel, hear, think and do is energy. Intention is what we do with that energy. We are all connected in a vast energy pool that encompasses everything that is, was and will be. It doesn’t matter whether a person believes in it or can feel it; they still have ability to affect it. How many times have you seen a person with a negative attitude who continually draws more negative reactions to himself? He’s broadcasting his intentions through his attitudes with result that he becomes a human ‘crap magnet’, drawing in all negative feelings and emotions and experiences.
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