A Guide To Meditation

I have received a number of pms asking for assistance on meditation and how to go about it, I thought I might as well make a thread with whatever knowledge I have.


What IS Meditation?

Meditation is simply an active attempt to control your mind and reduce its inner chatter, with the goal of the complete cessation of the inner chatter. Inner chatter is what causes all our suffering, and without it we are peaceful and serene, for our reality forms within us, not outside, it is our perception and response to our reality that is our consciousness and our experience of existence, not the substance of that which is being perceived.

There are various kinds of meditation with various intentions. There is no set 'level' or degree of mastery that validates you doing a specific kind of meditation - some might prove more noticeably beneficial when you are newer to spirituality and conscious exploration of your inner space, but all will help at various levels and you can do whatever calls your fancy. Be sure to try different ones when you feel plateaued or bored with one kind.

First, there is emotional meditation. The purpose of this kind of meditation is to sooth the anxious, vexed, confused, or grievous mind. Do not take these meditations to be 'beginner only' or 'superficial' meditations as I used to, they are very useful at any level, but especially good as an introduction to one who has never actively meditated before. These are usually guided meditations in the form of audio, with soothing ambient music and sounds such as the ocean or birds and crickets. These can also be in the form of text that you memorize. They have a voice that guides you through your emotions, and helps bring you to your 'happy place', to a serene, calm, relaxed state of mind. Use these as a beginner especially, but take my word when I say that even the advanced meditator can gain alot from them, especially when caught in a frustrating meditative rut. These can be find as mp3s everywhere on the internet, CDs are available (I would recommend these if you can/want to spend the money as the quality of sound makes a difference), and can be found on youtube. Find one that meets your fancy, and go with the directions.

Then there is energy meditation. We all have subtle energy bodies that govern our physical existence and state of mind very profoundly, more than you would be able to believe. They govern our physical well being to a large extent as well, influencing the corrosponding organ to the corrosponding chakra, or energy center.
We have thousands of chakra centers all over our subtle energy bodies, these are energy nodes. The goal of chakra meditation is to become aware of the different chakras and guide energy to and from them in an attempt to balance them and add energy where they are deficient or reduce and re-distrobute energy if they are relatively excessive. There are seven that are especially important and that are the ''main'' chakras. These are:

- The crown chakra, at the top of the head. The corrosponding color of the energy in this chakra is pure white. This chakra is responsible for spiritual connection to the universe and according to some new age philosophies to your 'higher self'; for your connection with divinity. Excess energy in this chakra in relation to other chakras causes a lack of grounding in physical reality, frequent experiences of god, excess thought of a spiritual nature, 'having your head in the clouds'. A lack of energy. A lack of energy in this chakra causes a complete disbelief in anything over and above science and what one can see with ones eyes plainly, a disbelief in miracles and miracle related things, the ultimate experience and path of spirituality is impossible with a deficient crown chakra.

- The third eye chakra, a half inch above the center of the forehead between the eyebrows.Its corrosponding energy color is indigo. This chakra is responsible for intuition, the developement of psychic abilities, and is the gateway into 'seeing' divinity. It is responsible for the degree to which your inner voice or guidance is present to you and how much it speaks out over the inner chatter of compulsive thought. Excess energy in this chakra causes one to fall into trances frequently, excess and unintentional psychic experiences. A lack of energy in this chakra causes one to not see reality as it is, get lost in ones false perceptions of what is going on, causing fear, doubt, anger, confusion, and a general lack of alignment with reality. It can also cause a subtle fuzziness in perception and awareness that few can notice. Visually, you are strongly aware of less in your visual field than if this chakra had more energy and was being used.

- The throat chakra, near and around the adams apple in your throat. The corrosponding color of the energy at this node is blue. This energy center is responsible for creative expression, especially musical, and is responsible for expressing yourself verbally to people around you. It is responsible for your truthful and integrous expression of yourself to others (and to a degree, to yourself) An excess amount of energy in this chakra can cause you to talk too much and stifle other people. A lack of energy causes you to feel stifled.

- The heart chakra, in the middle of your chest. The corrosponding color of this chakra can be green or pink, or both. It is the energy center that governs the sense of love, connection, compassion, empathy, and acceptance for yourself, your fellow beings, and for the visible world of manifested existence around you. Pink leans more towards romantic love, while green towards a larger, more all-inclusive love of existence. Excessive pink energy causes one to become hopeless involved romantically and ignore other aspects of existence. An excess of green energy causes one to love too unconditionally and get hurt often in the process. Important note: This is only a problem due to relative excess of energy. When there is more energy in the heart chakra than in others, one will continue to shower people with love, but the lack of reciprocation causes hurt. When one garners large amounts of energy in this chakra but other chakras are energized as well, one can love unconditionally, without feeling hurt in the process. A lack of energy in this chakra causes a lack of feeling connected, feeling isolated, lack of self acceptance, a lack of joy and love and a feeling of being abandoned.

- The solar plexus chakra, just below the rib cage. The corrosponding color of this chakra is golden yellow. This chakra is responsible for your sense of self, self confidence, and sense of superiority, inferiority, or equality when it comes to society and your social circles. Excess energy in this chakra causes one to be domineering and oppressive. A lack of energy here causes you to feel inferior, withdrawn, and quiet. A balance causes you to feel perfectly equal, which is where social interaction is the best experience.

- The navel chakra, an inch to two inches below your navel in the higher abodminal region. The corrosponding color of this chakra is a deep orangish yellow. This energy center is responsible for your self expression, will power, creativity, and acceptance and expression of your sexuality. Note: This is not your sex drive, your sensuousness, rather your acceptance and expression of your masculine and feminine traits. A relative excess of energy in this chakra causes an imbalance in sexuality and expression of sexual traits, causes one to become too serious and driven not stopping to smell the roses. A lack of energy here causes inacceptance of ones sexuality, a lack of will power, and a lack of general self confidence. Note: This is not self confidence in relation to your peer circle, but self confidence about you as a person in life and your place in it.

- And the root chakra, which is located at the base of the spine, in between your anus and prostate (in the case of males). Its corrosponding color is blood red. This chakra is responsible for your sense of grounding in reality, your ability to deal effectively with reality, your general physical energy levels, and your sex drive. A relative excess of energy in this chakra causes restlessness, excessive sex drive, and materialism. A lack of energy or grounding in this chakra causes lethargy, low sex drive, and an inability and lack of will to deal with immediate reality.

There are various guided meditations that can be found for chakra meditation. Chakra meditation need not be guided, you can simply get into meditation and bring all your focus and awareness to the position of these chakras to energize them. To know which chakra needs energizing, assess your personal traits based on the excess/deficit symptoms listed. To add energy simply bring your focus to it and visualize light or energy flowing there. To remove energy, focus on the chakra, and visualize energy moving out of there. Eventually, you will actually be able to see or feel the energies a little depending on whether you are a kinesthetic or a visual person. Eventually, it will no longer be imaginary visualization, these energy centers will be felt VERY intensely, think the feeling of very strong electric buzzer at the energy center.

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