Blessings, sweet Children of the Light! Today, we're continuing our conversation about self-healing by delving into the realm of meditation. There are so many different kinds and ways to still your mind. But how do you know what's right for you? Let's dig in and find out! "Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to train the body."
CONCENTRATION MEDITATION
This method of meditation is exactly as it sounds: it is the purposeful and intention focus on a single point. This concentration point can be the breath, repeating a word or mantra, staring at a candle flame, or counting rosary beads.
For this method to be successful, you'd simply refocus your attention on the chosen object when you notice your mind has begun to wander. The trick is to simply let the thought go and not engage it. This technique has been proven to improve your ability to concentrate.
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
This method is similar to the Concentration Method. However, instead of letting thoughts go, we observe each thought as they flow through our mind.
Through mindfulness meditation, one becomes more aware of the tendency to judge experiences as good or bad, instead of allowing them to simply BE.
Both Mindfulness and Concentration methods are often combined.
WALKING MEDITATION
Also referred to asMindful Walking, it is simply the process of walking while being aware of each and every step and each and every breath.
By placing our footsteps one after the other, slowly and in silence, we can create joy with each step.
It is best to do this with bare feet, whenever possible. The reasoning being the sole is a sensory organ through which we can perceive the ground while standing and walking. In other words, the feet can directly assimilate and ingest nutrients and Energy from the grass/ground. Thus, the act of walking barefoot on the Earth is said to have many grounding effects as well.
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
This is one of the most common techniques used today. It allows for your mind to settle inward beyond thought to experience the SOURCE of thought - PURE awareness.
Transcendental meditation is traditionally done using a mantra while seated comfortably and is typically practiced for 15-20 minutes, twice per day.
In this state of restful alertness, your brain functions with significantly greater coherence, and your body gains deep rest.
TRADITIONAL HINDU / BUDDHIST / HATHA YOGA MEDITATION
This is the meditation that is favoured by the yogis. For this one - unlike the others - position is vital. To attain the proper posture, one must sit in the full/half lotus position with your spine straight, and your head, neck, and shoulders all in alignment. The reason for this is that, when the body is realigned using this posture, it directly affects one's state of mind.
Also unlike the other methods, sitting or standing is necessary. This is because lying down tends to make us drowsy as it's the same position we use for sleep.
The right attitude for this meditation is to be poised: alert yet also relaxed. By doing this type of meditation, relaxation and alertness are in perfect balance.
The object of attention can be a mantra, the breath, but is often a Sanskrit word or syllable like "OM".
GUIDED MEDITATION
Again, it's named for the way it's performed. This is when the object of attention is someone else's voice and they lead you through a series of visualization techniques.
This technique can be quite useful at teaching the mind to be still for longer periods of time.
Some examples of guided meditations can be found below:
As always, this isn't every single meditation technique. You may also want to learn about Tai Chi, Chi Kung / Chi Gong, Singing Meditation, Dancing Meditation, and Yoga Meditation. Please JOIN us next week as we continue our journey inwards! Much Love and Light! ~Andrea Gustafson Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Twitter!
Today on our call we discussed some basic methods of clearing your Energy bodies as a form of self-healing. But first, let's go over the basics of what your Energy body is first.
In most alternative healing modalities, we consist of at least 5 subtle Energy "bodies": the physical, the etheric, the emotional, the mental, and the spiritual.
The Etheric Body
Your Etheric Body appears as a bluish-grey color or shadow, extending approximately one inch from your physical body. It is responsible for the transfer of life energy or vitality from the universal energy field to your physical body.
Your Etheric body is a body of Etheric or subtle matter which furnishes the basic blue print for your physical body. Every cell in your physical body has an Etheric counterpart.
The Emotional Body
The Emotional Body is more fluid and of a higher vibration than your Etheric body. It appears as colored clouds in continual motion, reflecting the quality and intensity of your emotions. This is the part of you that likes to "jump out" in times of trauma and shock, to produce a feeling of emotional numbness, which will allow you to slowly integrate the knowledge of the shock in your own way.
The Emotional body, which is also known as the Astral body, is the seat of your emotions. It is the bridge between your mind and your physical body. Your emotional energy governs your fears and hopes, loves and pains. It governs the extent and nature of your personality expression upon the physical plane.
This body is the projection of your longings, moods, feelings, appetites, and fears. Your emotional "self" is the expression of your mental "self" thus the emotional body is the expression of the mental body.
The energy of your emotional body impacts on your Etheric body, which in turn impacts on your physical body. Consequently emotional blockages prevent the manifestation of clarity of thought and direction in the physical body.
The Mental Body
Extending up to twelve inches from the body, your mental body filtrates thoughts down to your emotional body which reacts to the thoughts with an emotional association be it love, fear, happiness, anger, and so forth. A balanced mental body will provide you with clarity and direction.
The Spiritual Body
Your Spiritual Body also known as the Causal Body is a body of consciousness associated with your true spiritual path and direction in life. It is your highest potential and reflects your ability to manifest your souls true potential here on earth.
The essence of your soul's reality is the expression "to be" and this ultimately is the reason for your existence. It has the highest vibration of your auric bodies and depending on the development of your spiritual nature, this body can emanate up to three feet from your physical body.
JUST AS YOU WOULD KEEP YOUR PHYSICAL BODY HEALTHY THROUGH EATING HEALTHY FOODS AND GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP, WE MUST DO THE SAME FOR OUR ENERGY BODIES.
Why? Our energy bodies can act like sponges picking up negative energy from our surroundings. There may also be rips or tears from past traumas or critical situations. It's also important to keep our energy bodies clean so we're not inadvertently polluting the energy bodies of those around us.
So how can we clean our energy bodies?
Method #1: Releasing the Negative Self-Talk
We've all done it. We've all criticized ourselves for something (taking the wrong exit, spilling water, saying the wrong thing, etc.). But it's vital that we also look for the positive and give ourselves credit for what we do RIGHT ("Yes, I missed the exit on the highway...but that's okay because I found my NEW favourite restaurant!").
Negative self-talk is when we cut ourselves down, purposely shrinking ourselves in our heads trying to "make right" the perceived wrong. But in Dr. Masaru Emoto's work, he scientifically proved that thoughts and words really DO matter and affect our lives in some pretty substantial ways.
His work focused on the the effects of thoughts, concepts, and words on WATER. And what is our physical body mainly comprised of? You guessed it: WATER!
So how do you release the negative self-talk? It's all about self-compassion and self-forgiveness. Just be gentle on yourself and allow yourself to experience everything without judgement.
"Happy thoughts and positive thinking, in general, support brain growth, as well as the generation and reinforcement of new synapses, especially in your prefrontal cortex (PFC), which serves as the integration center of all of your brain-mind functions." Read more here.
Method #2: Meditation
Whether it's a quiet meditation sitting in the lotus pose or a mindful hike through the forest, clearing your mind goes a long way to clearing your energy field. When you expand your consciousness, you allow for more healing energy to clear away the negative.
Method #3: Prayer and/or Calling in Angels
While prayer can be seen as another form of meditation, releasing your trauma to God (or Source, or the Creator, or the Galactic Central Sun, or the Dao) is said to be one of the highest forms of surrender. By setting the intention that you no longer wish to carry this scar with you, you cleanse yourself of it's power over you.
You may ask for the Archangels (or Ascended Masters) to assist and they will always lovingly guide you and protect you.
A nice meditative prayer can be found here.
Method #4: Physical Energy Manipulation
This is when you physically remove the energy, usually with your hands. You literally dig in and pull it out. Those attuned to the healing properties of Reiki will be able to sense the denser parcel of energy and remove it from your field and return the energy back from whence it came. You can also do this yourself by running your hands over your body and through your energetic field with the intention of your hands acting as a sieve/strainer: the negative energy gets caught in the net and the beneficial energy stays put. Just remember to set the intention to return the negative energy or it will sit there, waiting to re-latch on to you again.
Below, watch as the practitioner performs an aura cleanse.
While this list is nowhere near exhaustive, hopefully it gives you some ideas and direction. Some other common methods of clearing your energy bodies are smudging, candles, gratitude, breathwork, colour therapy, spell-casting and rituals, chants, and affirmations, to name only a few.
