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How to Properly Meditate for Maximum Spiritual Benefit

Discover the Divine Universe Inside of You

By JonesPublished 4 years ago 9 min read
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There is a Universe Inside Each and Every Person

Disclaimer: this is going to be a pretty long blog post, as it is packed with a lot of information. There is much to discuss when it comes to this topic, so be prepared.

"Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom."

Hello my divine friends! today I would like to share with you my perspective on meditation, and the method that I found has benefited me the most. Meditation is a journey in which the persons awareness traverses the infinite spiritual universe within. Learning to traverse this universe can be tricky for some, which is why some may find it difficult to meditate for prolonged periods of time.

In this blog post I’d like to first go over the principles one must accept before embarking on their meditation journey, clear up some misunderstandings about the nature of meditation, and finally, inform on how to properly meditate for maximum benefit.

There are three things one must accept before they embark on their meditation journey. Accepting these three principles will open you up to the infinite universe inside you and allow you to begin gaining real tangible benefit from your meditative sessions.

First, you are not your thoughts or your emotions, you merely observe them. This is extremely important to realize before meditation because it will allow you to recognize the flowing river that is your thoughts and emotions, so that you may begin to separate yourself from that river and observe from afar. The feeling of separating your pure awareness from your thoughts/emotions is akin to taking off a very heavy backpack for the first time. Even that does not fully describe the sensation of recognizing your separateness from your thoughts and emotions, but to be able to achieve this state you must accept that they are separate from you, then you will slowly begin to realize it during your meditation journey.

Your thoughts and emotions are like this river

Second, each person has two separate entities inside of them, the ego and the true self. It will be difficult initially to determine which thoughts/emotions arise from the ego, and which arise from the true self. The ability to differentiate is enhanced when the intuition is sharpened, which will come naturally through the meditative practice. The general rule of thumb is that your ego is associated with thoughts that arise from depressed or limiting feelings, and the true self is associated with thoughts that arise from uplifting and freeing feelings. Keep in mind that thoughts can influence feelings as much as feelings can influence thoughts.

Lastly, there is an infinite higher power that determines which thoughts and emotions arise in your mind, and why. There is always a divine reason as to why our thoughts and emotions arise in the moments that they arise, even if we are not yet aware of the reason in the given present moment. To gain maximal benefit from meditation, you must accept this principle and allow it to enter your subconscious beliefs, even if you are not truly convinced of its truth in that present moment. This last principle is extremely powerful and will help your spiritual progress tremendously. I will in the future write a blog post about the importance of beliefs for spiritual growth and evolution.

Next, I would like to clear up some misunderstandings one may have before they embark on their meditation journey. Clearing up these misunderstandings will be vital in gaining maximal benefit from each session of meditation.

First, you do not have to force yourself to clear your mind when meditating. Meditation is not forced. Meditation is a natural flow. The mind and its processes are like a river. Most people are submerged in the river of their own mind. But to learn to exit the river, one must first explore their surroundings. What I mean by this is that you must let your awareness explore the thoughts and emotions that arise rather than tuck it away or ignore it. Let them rise, acknowledge that they exist, let them be, then let them pass without reacting to them. The main principle here is acceptance. Accept that this thought or this emotion is currently occupying the mind at this present moment. Allow it to stay for as long as it wants, then let pass on its own naturally. This may be difficult at first for some people with depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other form of subconscious trauma. But with dedicated practice you will learn to unclog the river of the mind, and these troubling thoughts/emotions/sensations will pass in time. Guaranteed.

Second, you do not have to stay still while meditating to gain benefit from it. In fact, forcing yourself to stay still even though you have the urge to move may actually hinder your meditation journey, and avert you from meditation all together. Again, meditation is not forced. It is a natural flow. It is an exploration of the present moment. If you feel the urge to move around in any way, you should express that. One may get the urge to move in response to a thought or emotion, or in response to a physical sensation (itching), or simply in response to the experience of being in the meditative state. I myself tend to move my torso in a circular motion, and make facial expressions when I am in deep states of meditation. So, please feel free to move as you wish during your meditation sessions, and allow the movements to come naturally and without hindrance.

Each person has an ego and a true self

Lastly, meditation is not always an easy or peaceful process. Some people, especially beginners, may have a difficult time exploring their own mind in silence. This may due to inexperience, agitation, or subconscious insecurities/trauma/negative beliefs. You must accept that meditation is not just an activity, but a journey, and you are a traveler. Some people start off in locations with thick jungle that they must cut through to get to wide open plains, and some start off already clear of any jungle. If you find yourself in thick jungle, do not fret. Use the meditation and the breath as your sword to cut through the thick jungle, and you will reach the wide open plains.

some people may start off their meditation journey in thick jungle

When meditating, the first thing you want to do is find a quiet place with very little to no distraction, like the corner of your home. sit down in a comfortable position. It can be criss cross on the floor, or sitting down on a chair, this is up to you.

Begin by breathing in through your nose, and out through your nose. When inhaling, you want to start by using your abdomen first, then your chest. The abdomen should rise up, then the chest should rise with it. Try your best to inhale as much air into both your chest and your abdomen as you can. When exhaling, allow both the chest and the abdomen to fall simultaneously. Make sure to use your abdominal muscles during and at the end of every exhalation. Try your best to exhale as much air out of the abdomen as you can.

For some with depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other subconscious impediments, there may be physical resistance in the breath, and it may be difficult to inhale and exhale deeply. You may also feel this resistance if your are not accustomed to deep breathing, or your breath is shallow out of habit. You must try your best to push through this resistance. This is like working out with weights, but you are working out your spirit instead of your physical body. As you practice and become more proficient in your meditation journey, this resistance will decrease and disappear completely.

As you inhale and exhale, try to focus on the subtle aspects of breathing. The air entering the abdomen and chest, the nostrils expanding to allow breath to enter, the sensation experienced at the peak of each inhalation and exhalation. Focus on how these feel to you. From there, allow the awareness to wander around the physical body. Feel the sensation of blood pumping in the different areas of the body, feel the heart pumping, feel the muscles twitching, feel the eyes moving. Start to become aware of any tense muscles inside and/or on the surface of the body, try to relax them as you become aware of them.

The proper way to breathe

Allow the awareness to roam freely, like a child in a playground. If the awareness is pulled towards a thought/emotion, don’t react, just observe it, and let it be as it is. Remember that nothing is truly under your control, and you have no obligation to react to a process of the mind, relax and let the thought/emotion dwell until it passes, then gently come back to exploring the physical body. Remember to inhale and exhale deeply through the nose throughout your exploration. Keep in mind that this a dynamic process. The awareness may shift unexpectedly to either the physical sensations, the thoughts, or the emotions at any given present moment. This is perfectly fine and healthy.

If you cannot breath through your nose, then using the mouth is fine. If you can breath through the nose, but only partially, there are two methods you can use to open up your nasal airway. The first is to press the back of your tongue onto the roof of the soft palate, if this cannot be done, you can also press the tip of the tongue onto the back of the hard palate for a similar effect. This method will support the nasal passage and allow air to more easily enter and exit.

The second method is to use the thumb and index finger of each hand to manually open the nostrils. To do this, place your thumbs into the inside of the nostrils, and use the sides of the index fingers to grab the nares firmly, then gently pull the nares down and to the sides of the face. Maintain this position and continue your meditation journey. As you breathe in and out through the nose, any built up mucus should thin out and disappear, and any congestion should clear up on its own after about 5-10 minutes of deep breathing.

Pressing the back of the tongue into the soft palate will support the nasal passage

Maintain the breath, and allow the awareness to roam freely for as long as you like, absorb the sensory information coming from the physical body, and allow yourself to withstand any turbulence coming from the mental and emotional processes for as long as the turbulence lasts. Whenever you are comfortable, you may end the meditation journey, and go about your day. You should feel much more calm and at peace than before the journey.

When done consistently, meditation will have powerful effects on every aspect of your life. You will transform as a person and become enhanced. You will achieve deeper states of peace and acceptance. The key is consistency, perseverance, and acceptance. I hope this post helps you on your meditation journey. If you liked this post please like, share with family and friends, and/or leave a comment with your thoughts. Also visit my blof at pranaarabia.com and follow me on my Twitter, Instagram, and Medium for more content. Salamualaikum and Namaste!

spirituality
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About the Creator

Jones

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