*Light encoded for your awakening journey.*
Several years ago, I was working night shift as a Clinical Lab Scientist at a local hospital. There were two of us to cover quite a large area. Our specimens arrived about 50-75 yards down the hall from where the majority of the testing occurred. The Blood Bank was across from where specimens were received. Microbiology was one floor up. We also had to go to the ER to collect legal alcohol and urine drug screen specimens on people arrested for driving under the influence which was downstairs at the other end of the hospital. We clocked at least five miles per night. Lunch often consisted of eating standing up in the hallway. Obviously, we felt over worked and under paid. My partner was not one to complain to anyone in authority about anything. I, on the other hand, went and told our boss that we needed help. About the second or third time I did this, she told me that, “(partner’s name here) never complained and all I did was complain. If I didn’t knock it off, I was going to have a heart attack by the time I was fifty!” Needless to say, I did not stay. My partner left not too long after I did. The two of us were replaced by three people.
AHA!!! Vin-di-cation!!! I was right!!! But, more importantly, so was she. I am a definite “Type A” personality. I was totally stressed out and exhausted. I did need to learn a way to manage my stress aside from eating junk. I took up meditation. That was about thirteen years ago and I AM still meditating.
Meditation is so fabulous! Why doesn’t everyone do it?? I don’t know. I think everyone should do it. There are several benefits to meditation. It reduces stress, anxiety, depression, blood pressure, heart rate, fear, and loneliness. It increases focus, the ability to cope with problems, longevity, peace, immunity, self-acceptance, relaxation, awareness and spiritual growth. It helps to manage pain, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and addiction. It improves sleep and compassion. Frankly, there’s hardly enough time and space to cover all the wonders of meditation! It benefits mind, body and spirit. So, why wouldn’t you want to do it??
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. It is currently practiced worldwide by people of all religious persuasions and economic statuses. The best thing about meditation is that it doesn’t have to cost a dime (or a ruble or a peso). Meditation can be as fancy or as basic as you wish to make it. You can simply sit under a tree and do it or you can spend money to take classes, buy music, pillows or a chair. I spent money on a meditation pyramid a couple of years ago and I LOVE IT!! Meditation is very much about what you want to put into it. The most important investments are time, sincerity, and dedication.
Let’s talk about ways to meditate. While doing research for this post, I found articles that listed three, four, five, six and twenty-seven ways to meditate. WHAT?!?!?! I thought meditation was supposed to be relaxing? That’s just waaaayy too much. Ain’t got time for that. Not to worry, that’s why Aunt Jeannie is here. It’s mostly about how they broke it down.
Being the scientist that I AM, I AM partial to the Institute of Noetic Sciences’s (IONS) classifications. IONS divides meditation into to four basic categories—Concentrative, Open Awareness, Mindfulness, and Guided meditation.
Concentrative Meditation (aka Contemplative Meditation) is basically a meditation that concentrates and focuses one’s attention on one thing. That thing may be your breath, a sound, a flame or any other image or item. The objective is to turn your mind off to all other thoughts and feelings and keep your attention narrowed to that one thing exclusively. If your mind wanders, simply make a note of it (without scolding yourself) and return your focus to your selected item. It is the antithesis of multi-tasking, that bane of our modern day existence. Common examples of this type of meditation include chanting (the classic OM or other mantras), Chakra (focuses on the seven energy centers of the physical body), Kundalini (focuses on the chakras with the intention of awakening and moving your spiritual energy from the base of the spine up through the crown of the head), Pranayama (focuses on breath, also called “yoga breathing”), and Transcendental Meditation (silent repetition of mantra to one’s self rather than chanting aloud).
Open Awareness Meditation is kind of the opposite of Concentrative Meditation. One’s focus is not upon one thing, but upon all surrounding things without honing in on any one thing in particular. The practitioner is aware of the breath, birds chirping and cars going by outside, the ticking of the clock, the buzz of an insect, an itch of the nose, a gurgling belly. You get the idea. It’s about practicing detachment. There is no judgment or reaction to what is being experienced, just passive observation. Rather than shutting out all else, all thoughts and sensations and sounds and images are noted and allowed to pass like clouds floating by on a summer day. Actually, that sounds quite lovely. I may have to try this type of meditation. Practicing Open Awareness Meditation trains one to let life’s little annoyances like traffic jams, rude people, noise pollution, and your husband not putting the toilet seat back down roll off the back like water off a duck’s ass. Who couldn’t use that kind of Zen? The Zen Buddhist meditation called Zazen is an example of this type of meditation.
Mindfulness Meditation is a combo of the Contemplative and Open Awareness Meditations. It’s about being in the moment. One focuses on the thought, image, sensation or action at hand without excluding all else. There is still awareness of one’s surroundings. It is the multi-tasking of meditation, because one is allowing awareness of more than one thing at a time. I would include Yoga Meditation and Qigong in this group. Both are movement combined with attention to breath and a quieting of the mind. Mindfulness Meditation can also be practiced while doing daily tasks like washing dishes, folding laundry, eating, walking or running. These are tasks that we often perform mindlessly and when the mind is empty it all too often wanders on to negative thoughts, thus, increasing our stress levels. When we focus on th simple pleasures of the task at hand, like the warmth of the water while doing dishes or the birds chirping while walking, we begin to appreciate the beauty of the little things and, hopefully, realize that life may not be that crappy after all.
IONS’s last category of meditation is Guided Meditation. It is meditating to a recorded or live voice. It often uses imagery to paint a picture of peacefulness to create a state of relaxation. One is instructed to imagine a meadow or beach and to feel the warmth of the sun shining down, the sound of the waves crashing. etc. Affirmations can be used in Guided Meditation. It’s also used to visualize a desired outcome especially in sports training and surgical cases. There are tons of places to get Guided Meditations. Some are free, some are not. A couple of my favorite channels on YouTube are Steve Nobel and Arcturian Light. A couple of years ago, I found a young woman named Melanie Beckler online who channels angels. She has a website with an abundance of great information at www.Ask-Angels.com . She also has a meditation subscription available online at www.TheAngelSoulution.com . You must, of course, pay, that’s what a subscription means. However, it is worth every penny! She provides fantastic monthly guided meditations with lots of extra along the way. And no, no one paid me for these endorsements.
While wrapping up types of meditation, I would like to give a special shout out to Metta Meditation. This is also known as Loving-kindness Meditation. In this practice, one picks a few nice phrases and says them repeatedly while directing them to different folks/groups. One starts out directing the phrases toward themselves or a respected figure, then, on to someone they love. Next, the phrases are directed toward a neutral party and, finally, the statements are directed toward someone who is not liked at all. For example:
I AM beautiful. I AM strong and kind. I AM generous.
Don (Juan, my non-existent lover) is beautiful. Don is strong and kind. Don is generous.
“Miss Smith” (my 3rd grade teacher that I haven’t thought of for 40+ years) is beautiful. “Miss Smith” is strong and kind. “Miss Smith” is generous.
Jack (Ass, my pretend douche bag ex-husband) is beautiful. Jack is strong and kind. Jack is generous.
In the end, you can progress to such phrases as, “All Living things are beautiful, etc….” The goal of Living-kindness meditation is to work on the four qualities of Love: friendliness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. It can help you with self-esteem and self-acceptance. Loving-kindness meditation will improve relationships of all kinds by increasing your empathy, your positivity toward others, your patience with others and your ability to appreciate someone else’s good qualities while they are working your last nerve. Like when your spouse keeps throwing their dirty laundry on the floor, it will help you remember why you fell in love with the slob in the first place. This meditation basically helps to dampen any asshole tendencies you may have (and let’s face it, most of us do have a tendency to be a giant jerk wad on occasion (or often). I may have to try this myself. My inner asshole usually pops up while driving in traffic and someone cuts me off, tailgates or honks. I often have some not-so-nice names/words for those folks. I could really use some Loving-kindness right about then!
Hope you enjoyed my first post! I was getting a little long-winded, so I decided to break it up. Part II will be following soon. Thanks for reading!!!
Peace, Love and Light,
Aunt Jeannie