CDM Articles - The Practical Side of Meditation

This information is intended to assist you in your spiritual development and to enhance, but not be substituted for, any care you should receive from your licensed healthcare or mental health professional.

The Practical Side of Meditation
by Mary Ellen Flora

For many, meditation brings up images of people sitting in strange physical positions and chanting incomprehensible words. While these represent one aspect of meditation, meditation is not just about body postures or mantras. Meditation is for enhancing your entire life, including your work, relationships, communication and all aspects of your creativity.

Meditation can help you increase your energy, improve your health and focus your attention. All of these things can help you be more creative and productive. When you practice meditation as a part of your daily health and well-being program, you add a new vitality to everything in your life. All it takes is 30 minutes a day to bring a higher energy into your life.

Many will ask, "Where do I find 30 minutes a day to meditate?" You can begin with ten minutes and build on that. You can take the first ten minutes to meditate about a good time for you to give to yourself. Giving yourself a quiet time to turn within and reflect on you, your creations and your relationship with the 'big picture' can vastly change the way you live your life. You may discover greater meaning to what you do or the courage to change your life so you can do what you wish.

Meditation helps you slow down, let go of everyone else’s agenda, gain perspective of your issues, and get control of your emotions. The clarity you gain helps you focus on what is important to you. You emerge from your meditation with a simpler, clearer view of life and the focus to help you move forward with ease.

Meditation can be used to help you focus on an aspect of your life. You can meditate on a business issue, a communication challenge, a relationship or a creative project. By turning within to yourself, you will discover your unique answers. You will stimulate and validate your intuitive abilities and be better able to make sound and effective decisions. Meditation saves a great deal of time and increases productivity by helping you release unnecessary problems and emotions and to create a clear, grounded focus.

You need information to help you with everything you do; thus, you need meditation instruction to be able to use meditation effectively. Some powerful, simple tools that can help you create the quiet experience of meditation are grounding and centering. These tools are simple and easy to use. They can be used in daily life, as well as during meditation. Grounding is the foundation of a practical meditation because it helps you be in charge of your body and your creativity. Your body is like an electrical system and needs to be grounded just as other electrical systems do. That foundation, your grounding cord, makes you more in charge, stable, safe and focused.

Centering your attention a little above and behind your eyes, allows you to put your focus in the neutral environment of your head. This puts you above the emotional pull of your body. This neutral, non-judgmental view of life is of great value in any life situation, from family relationships to making clear business decisions. This neutral perspective gives you a mastery over your emotions so you are not so influenced by your or other people’s emotions.

Experience grounding and centering in your head now to begin your meditation practice.

Sit in a straight-backed chair with your spine as straight as possible.

Place your feet flat on the floor and your hands separated in your lap. This sitting posture helps you to ground and to have an open system for meditation. When you practice these techniques, close your eyes to help focus your attention within to yourself.

To ground, visualize a flow of energy moving from an energy center near the base of your spine to the center of the Earth. Allow energy to flow from your body to the Earth to create this grounding connection. Take a few deep breaths to relax your body and let it adjust to being grounded.

You can be grounded at all times. Practice grounding while meditating and it will become a beneficial habit. It helps you focus your attention on what you are doing and alleviates the spacey feeling you get when not grounded.

You can also use your grounding cord to release energy from your body. Close your eyes and create your grounding cord from the energy center near the base of your spine to the center of the Earth. Tune into some tension in your body. Visualize the tension melting and flowing down your grounding cord. Feel the tension leave your body and flow out of it down your grounding cord. In moments, you can change from tense to relaxed whether meditating, working, playing or whatever.

To center, remain seated in a straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the floor and your hands separated in your lap. Focus by visualizing your grounding cord flowing from near the base of your spine to the center of the Earth. Put your attention into the center of your head, a little above and behind your eyes. Focus your attention into this neutral place. The center of your head is your driver’s seat where you can be neutral about your experiences and in charge of your life.

From the center of your head, you can be above your emotions and still be aware of how you feel. You can be intuitive about your surroundings to help you to make effective, clear decisions. In the center of your head, you can be intelligent about your emotions, neutral about your affinity and clear about your life creations. Be still and experience focusing your attention in the center of your head.

These two meditation tools, grounding and centering, can assist you to quiet your body to help you meditate. They can also help you in your daily activities. You can be grounded and centered during a business meeting, a talk with your children, driving your car or any activity of life. These tools give you control, focus and freedom to express the uniqueness of you.

Meditation is practical because it heals you and brings you to life. You are here to live a full, healthy life and meditation is an important ingredient in any formula for living. Learn to be focused, relaxed and in charge by turning within with meditation to discover your strengths and capabilities.