Six tips to deepen your meditation

For me meditation is one of life’s great pleasures.

I look forward to the moment(s) in the day when I Tune In and sink into the wonderful energy that resides within. I emerge from my meditation in an altered state, joyful, energised and feeling connected. However not everyone feels that way.

For some meditation is a chore to be achieved because everyone says it is good for stress and it’s the right thing to do.  For these people meditation is like dieting, something  of a challenge  where  they have to discipline and control an unruly mind.  They achieve success for a while but often give up; it’s just too hard to keep the discipline in place.

Even regular meditators can have an off day, when it’s difficult to get into the right frame of mind or they might have a break when life gets too busy.  (Even though those are usually the days when you really need to meditate).

I thought I would share a few tips that will help you to prepare and enhance your meditative state.

1. Take the mystique away.

If you want to make something easier to achieve, take its power away.  Think about meditation differently.  Take away all the images of romance, mystique, the spiritual dance and worthiness.   These are images that that are often associated with meditation.  Instead, think about meditation as a working tool that gives you access to the back end of a machine. You take the lid off your conscious mind and it’s like opening up a machine and seeing all the wires hanging out.  If your mind is busy, you will see all the messy thoughts that are creating your  busyness.  It is pointless trying to control or tame the very thing that you are trying to have a look at.  Just be curious and interested in seeing how the back end works, don’t try to change anything, just observe.

2. Make the most of your feelings

Feelings are usually the problem for frustrated meditators. Their minds are so busy, that they don’t realize that it’s actually their feelings that are causing their difficulty in meditation.  They try to avoid the feelings in their meditation. Instead of resisting your feelings work with them.  You have opened the back of the machinery so poke around it and find out what your feelings mean for you.  In that way you will quickly harmonize your feeling state and your active mind state to achieve the deeper levels of meditation you are seeking

3. Meditation works anywhere.

A deeply relaxed meditative state independent of ritual, discipline, time and place can be achieved anywhere.   This tip sounds obvious.  You can meditate anywhere. It’s a toolkit you carry around inside you. Think of meditation as a power nap for your brain.  Five minutes before you get out of your car to go into the office; five minutes at your work station or in the local park, beach and so on.

4. Create/Use a multi-sensory approach

Enhance your sensory perception. Switching off your analytical mind can be achieved by engaging with your senses. Touch, sound (beautiful music, laughter, birdsong), sight, dance, smell of a fragrant garden, incense will prepare you and enhance any altered state of consciousness.

5. Rhythm

Potent rhythm can also awaken and engage your senses. Focusing on the pulse of your own heart beating; your breath moving in and out of your lungs; the shore of a beach with the waves moving in and out.  These are rhythms that can be immediately focused on. Other types of rhythms focus on the natural cycle of life, visualize and engage in the wonder of the sun rising and setting;  a day in  busy city, waking up and the busyness of everyone starting their day; drums beating in rhythm or a bud opening to full flower are images that ignite the senses. Your meditation will deepen once you move from analytical mode to sensory mode.

6. Gratitude

The feeling of gratitude can enhance meditation. By spending a few minutes focused on what you are grateful for you can prepare your inner self for de-stressing. Your brain can only focus on one thought at a time, changing your focus from its normal analytical process to a more loving emotional state will enhance and deepen your meditation.

Busy mind, busy life is the signal your inner self is sending you to say that your brain needs to recharge.

Even a five minute meditation will give you the energy boost you need. 

You will be surprised at how much more creative you become when you let yourself meditate.

Lucille Henry PhD.