10 ways to improve meditation

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10 ways to improve your meditation

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1. Find Your Spot Try and test different spots and orientations within the space you decided to meditate in until you are feeling that you are in the right place It’s sort of doing some ‘Feng Shui’ for your meditation spot It may sound funny but different spaces have different energy spots that affect us in different ways

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2. Set your intention Before meditation it is important to have a clear purpose in mind Confirm which type of meditation you would like to enter into: For example - Mindfulness meditation or insight meditation This send a message to your brain to follow a certain track without being confused by too many expectations

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3. Keep a Journal This is important to help you track your progress and use feedback to keep on improving Keep note of the time/date of the session and things like your mood and state of mind. Where you tired, bored, sleepy, anxious?

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4. Find the right time Different people have different times when their mind and body is in better shape and more responsive You have to try which time of the day works best for your meditation. Keeping a journal is a sure way of knowing this

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5. Exercise your Body One big obstacle to meditation beside your wandering mind is your body Sometimes you may be tense or tired and this may make your body twitchy and hard to find a comfortable and steady position Doing exercise before starting your meditation helps you immensely Do some stretching, Yoga, Tai chi, waking or whatever gets your body moving

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6. Use Brain Wave Entrainment Brain wave entrainment uses sound waves with the same frequency as our brain waves when we are in particular states if mind (for example the alpha frequency when in a relaxed state). These sound waves that are recorded on CDs, help the listener to automatically synchronize his brain waves with those frequencies and hence alter its states After a few minutes the mind starts ‘defragmenting’ and enters a more coherent state of mind

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7. Use the power of water There are times when you find it difficult to meditate because you are too sleepy in the morning or too lax in the evening. In this case take a reinvigorating shower to lift up the spirit. If on the other hand you are too tense and hyper-vigilant, take a warm bath with some bath salts to unwind your mind and relax your tense body

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8. Do some breathing exercises Good breathing in an essential practice in healthy living that we often overlook. It is also very important for good meditation whether you are focusing on your breath or not. In ancient Yogic tradition, the working on the breath (Pranayama) has been considered to be an essential part of the journey to self-liberation.

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9. Choose a mantra that sounds good to you If you use mantras for meditation, make sure that you choose a mantra that sounds good to you or you feel comfortable with. Traditionally, a mantra was chosen by a guru or master and then handed down to his student. Since people have different tastes and dispositions I find it makes more sense to find a mantra that you feel comfortable with. After all a mantra is only an arbitrary tool that helps you anchor your mind.

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10. Switch off all appliances If there are any electronic appliances within range (not just in your meditation room) such as PCs, TVs, mobile phones, etc, switch them off. These appliances are not only a distraction because they emit audible noise but also because they emit radiation than can interfere with the coherence of our brain waves and hence with our meditation.

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The End Presentation by Gilbert Ross www.soulhiker.com Thank You