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Contents Introduction Meditation Space Journaling Meditation One – Preparation Meditation Two - A Meditation for Visualization Meditation three – Guided visual meditation Meditation Four - Meditation - Clearing Space In Summary
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Photographed by Fiona Doubleday
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Introduction Meditation is a process by which we calm the mind and learn to live in the present moment. It is a life tool that helps us deal with the stresses and strains of modern life. I have been meditating for many years and run e-courses through my website www.scottishislandmum.com This free e-book is designed for those of you who would like to give meditation a go in your own time and in your own space. Take your time with this resource and don’t feel you have to do all of the exercises. They are incremental in the sense that one leads to the other but they also stand perfectly well by themselves. Meditation takes practice so don’t be disappointed if results are not immediate. I would always advise repeating the exercises as many times as you can to embed the practice. In essence, you are training your mind and that is not an easy thing to do. Meditation Space Feel free to find a space that you are comfortable in. It should be a quiet space and it is useful to have a cushion and blanket to aid your comfort. I keep both nearby and only ever use them for meditation. That way as soon as I sit on my cushion and wrap the blanket around me my mind is automatically triggered into a meditative state. Some people find shutting out light helps them focus and just use a candle but others do not find that helpful. In time you will find what suits you. Journaling Journaling in response to your meditations is a good idea and I have used this to aid my practice for many years. In this introductory e-book we just touch on journaling but there are options to extend that work if you would like. On my website you will find various courses and all of them include a strong element of creative journaling.
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Meditation One - Preparation Preparing to meditate. For the purpose of this book this is the preparation we will adopt. Sit or lie comfortably and listen carefully to your breathing. Focusing on the action of inhaling and exhaling deepen your breathing pattern very slightly. Slowly close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. Keep your breathing even, focus on your neck and shoulders. Let any tension from those areas seep into your chest and arms. Focus on your chest and arms and allow that tension to seep into your hips and pelvis. Focus on your hips and pelvis and allow that tension to seep into your legs. Focus on your legs and allow the tension to travel downwards towards your feet. Let the tension remain there for a few moments. Gently blow the tension from your feet into the air around you and imagine it disappearing. Sit or lie still and let your body merge with the floor beneath you and relax. Focus back onto your breathing and just ‘be’
If you maintain this preparation every time you meditate your mind and body will learn it effortless.
Photographed by Fiona Doubleday
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Meditation Two - A Meditation for Visualization Prepare to meditate as described above. Visualize the planet, a huge sphere slowing rotating through space. Think of yourself as born of that planet with your body coming from the same matter and elements. Visualize the atmosphere above you; a bubble that surrounds and protects you. You are in your own bubble. Meditate on how secure and protected you feel inside your bubble. Consider how Mother Earth nourishes you and feel loved by her. Prepare to come out of your meditation. Journal – My Bubble In your journal, turn to a new page. Sketch how you saw yourself in your bubble and annotate your sketch with ways that Mother Earth nourishes you. Give your page a title and date it. Repeat this meditation at least twice more and if you have any new ideas add them to your journal page.
Photographed by David Newell www.flickr.com/photos/105987366@N05
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Meditation three – Guided visual meditation Visit the youtube video ‘Finding Stillness.’ www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_dsED8mKPQ&edit=vd Watch it once through. Then think about trying to place yourself somewhere in each and every slide/photo and watch it again. Note the places you felt the most comfortable. Prepare to meditate as before focusing on your breathing and releasing tension. Using your mind’s eye pick up a paintbrush and gentle wash your mind with light blue paint. Let the paintbrush slip from your hand. Slowly begin to replace the blue with images from the Finding Stillness video. Let the images emerge slowly and drift away calmly as new images begin to emerge. When you have recreated as many images as you can remember pick up your paintbrush and wash your mind with the same light blue paint. Focus on your breathing and slowly open your eyes.
Silk painting by Fiona Doubleday
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Meditation Four - Meditation - Clearing Space Prepare to meditate. Concentrate on your breathing and close your eyes as you breathe out. Keep your eyes closed. With your eyes closed listen to your breathing and become aware of your chest rising and falling. Focus on that and nothing else. In your mind pick up an eraser and gently start rubbing out all your thoughts until all you can see is the rising and falling of your chest. Put the eraser down and concentrate on your breathing. Prepare to come out of your meditation. Open your eyes as you breathe in. Journal Pick up your journal and turn to a new page. Draw a circle as large as that page. Write words or short phrases that, reminds you of what you rubbed out with the eraser. Taking a red pencil, circle the ones that were difficult to erase. On the next page tell your journal why you think these were difficult to erase. Do this exercise at least once a week for the 4 weeks and see if any patterns emerge.
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In Summary These four meditations give you a flavour of simple exercises that only take a few minutes each. By repeating them you will allow your mind to settle more easily and begin the process of cleansing and clearing. Our minds are full most of the time and meditation is deliberately clearing and cleansing so that our minds and our bodies may breathe as one. The little journal exercises allow you to reflect on your meditation exercises and sometimes it is in these reflections that wisdom is found. I hope that this small e-book has given you a sense of where you might go by bringing meditation into your life. You need to see this time as an investment in all your other activities that dominate your life. Meditation is capable of delivering a sense of ‘lingering contentment’ and that is something we all aspire to have in our lives. If you would like to continue with meditation and journaling check out the e-courses available on Scottish island mum. www.scottishislandmum.com ***STOP PRESS*** Scottish island mum will be releasing a free Intuitive Journaling e-workshop on the Summer Solstice this year. Sign up on this link. www.scottishislandmum.com/2014/05/25/intuitive-journaling-free-eworkshop/ This workshop will be repeated on a regular basis and is a great way to extend your journaling skills. Many thanks for your attention. Fiona Doubleday Scottish island mum. Xx The e-book remains the property of Fiona Doubleday. Please do not copy or share any of it without prior permission. Thank you.
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