V. How 'bout some meditation

...let go, let go of all your cares and thoughts...


Before we start, let me give you some important guidelines. First, there should be absolutely no 'effort' involved during meditation. So contrary to common misconception about meditation, you should never 'try' to 'concentrate' because the word 'concentrate' itself connotes effort. You should even never 'try' anything as well during meditation, again because the word try itself connotes effort. So when I use the word 'try' it's in a loose sense, like 'try it' but not as in 'try harder' or 'keep on trying' because, again, these expressions connote effort. Instead, the key words should be 'let it,' as in 'let it go' or simply 'let go.'

So again, avoid trying, putting effort, concentrating, but instead, let it be. So let us start:

1) Relax and sit in any dimly lit room in any position you want - any position where you can sit comfortable for a long time (but don't get me wrong, you shouldn't meditate too long in the beginning). Relax but don't slump and instead, keep your back straight without being stiff or rigid. You may rest your back on back of your chair or on any backrest.

2) Close in your eyes and you will see a 'light' or brightness in your eyes - now that's your consciousness. Try not to lose the sight of that light throughout the session. And also, feel the rhythm of your breath and smell the air, just a bit though, and feel it circulating inside your whole body as if it's an energy. Do this naturally without any effort.

3) Imagine as if you are gazing something far in front of you instead of putting your attention too much inside your mind and your thoughts. You may sometimes open your eyes and actually gaze at something far away, like a moon, for example. (Zen meditators open their eyes when meditating.) Try to keep your attention away from your 'self' or your mind and instead keep your attention on the outside - your immediate environment. (Here's another common misconception about too much emphasis on the 'inner self' when dealing with subjects like meditation.)

4) Let alone whatever thoughts or feelings that come to you but don't encourage them and again don't lose the sight of the 'light' as much as possible so you won't be swallowed by your thoughts and feelings, and lose yourself - your consciousness. Many times you may not be able to avoid that but try to regain the sight of that 'light' once you realize you've lost it.

5) Once in awhile when you seem to lack concentration or attention, let some image float in your mind. Never try to concentrate on it but just let it float in front of you. Imagine as if it were somewhere far in front of you, like on a giant screen at a stadium, not inside your mind. It can be an image of anything, like your favorite celebrities, but avoid pin-up girls or the playboy playmates (just kiddin') - nothing wrong with them as long as you're not distracted. My favorite is the moon just naturally floating in the sky.

6) Aside from 'seeing the light,' imagine a long tunnel and at its end, a light glimmering ahead and let it be the signal that makes you feel and believe that everything will be absolutely all right (security), and that there will be this something, something good that will to come to you (hope) - this should be your general goal when you meditate. Keep it intentionally vague, it's better not to make it too specific. We're just interested to have that 'general optimistic feel' that will naturally open the parasol of success up yourself. You don't have to imagine it always, what's important is just that you constantly, or as often as you can, have that goal (the idea) in your mind.

7) Try feeling a bit of joy inside your heart everytime you meditate and make it a habit. Remember, joy is within you, not on the outside - it's just matter of choice or attitude. Eventually, you'll naturally carry over that feeling to your normal daily life. As a matter of fact, you'll carry over all the positive feelings you are trying to cultivate during meditation - security, hope (optimism) and joy to your normal daily life. Imagine that! that constant feeling of security, hope and joy, no matter what the situation may be.


Here are few tips:

- Don't meditate too much when just starting. Just meditate a bit when you feel like it and gradually increase the frequency and the lenght at your pleasure as you get used to it.

- Never make meditation an obligation or a duty, and avoid rigid routine or schedule. This is because we naturally hate regimented duties, which naturally awakens the 'little rebel' in us. Instead, meditate only because you want to, because you want to feel good, have peace of mind, and because you want to be a better person.

- Avoid falling asleep - try to hold it off as long as you can. But if you want to sleep, no problem, go ahead.

- Let your natural body rhythm free. When you meditate for a long time, there is a tendency for your body to sort of freeze up - your body turning rigid, your breathing becoming shallow, etc. Try avoiding that. One solution is to relax and fidget a bit, like tapping or vibrating your fingers and even your toes while meditating to keep the body rhythm going.

Try to cultivate that 'supernatural feel,' you know that feeling something beyond the 'usual.' People should not be stuck to the usual 'ordinari-ness' of life because that's what makes their world a bore and that puts limit to what they think they can do. You got to get out of that rut of ordinariness and start thinking that there is something beyond, far beyond. Doing that will automatically free yourself from your self-subscribed limitation and once you get yourself out of those self-limiting beliefs, you'll be open for greater things ahead and be ready to soar as high as you can imagine. [When you do that you'll be opening up a wide and bright parasol over you which radiate, and also magnetize, all the positive energy.] I believe many famous people naturally have that feeling that made them open to greatness to begin with.

If you practice meditation for many years, eventually you'll silence your mind - that means no more little jimmy's whining - and opens you up to your 'higher' mind. They say human is half beast and half god. When you master meditation, you'll silence the beast within and develop the higher mind. Meditation masters say that when that happens, you'll start to draw special power because you'll have no more obstacles that block the free flow of your will power or energy. Believe me I've felt some of those, but I'll not go into that as most folks are not ready for those kind of stuffs and I don't want to be seen here as some kind of quack or fake. [When you reach the high state of meditation, you'll be opening up a bright neon-colored parasol that projects its powerful rays way beyond because you would have cleared up all the congestion or blocks in the energy field and so your energy is completely free to move, and the best part is that you'll be controlling them yourself - your will power!]


Miscellaneous meditation

Total shutout: This is not a meditation in the true sense but can be useful in calming down your mind during the time of intense mental agitation. Do this 'meditation' when you've been through a very chaotic day and your mind has been through too much pressure and agitation - as when you go through lots of problems. Here it goes: Sit on a floor on a totally dark and silent room (you may wear earmuffs or an unconnected earphones) and bend your head slightly forward. You may cover your face with your hands if you wish. Now try to completely shut out your mind from all thoughts. Do this as long as you want or until you feel sleepy. Have a nice sleep afterwards. You'll feel a little calmer after that...


There is also an active form of meditation that you can do during exercises, which makes them doubly beneficial, but I think I won't have enough space here for that (I think we're limited to 10000 characters) so I guess I'll have to write about it on one of my future blog posts.



...and finally when your mind is totally clear, good things will fill up its void and you will be free to soar as high as you wish...


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Folks, I'll be taking a break after this, but if you miss me I'll be around other forum areas, so in the meantime, adios amigos and mabuhay.