Meditation Tips

Meditation should be practiced in a clean place, either in- or out-of-doors, depending on your circumstances. It is recommended that you sit in a cross-legged position, keeping your spine straight. Most people find that sitting on a small meditation rug or cushion makes their meditation experience more comfortable and consequently they are less distracted by their physical body.

The goal in meditation is the complete cessation of all thought during the period you have set aside for meditation. This will take some time for most of you to achieve.

In the beginning, it is advised that you practice meditation while focusing on a physical or mental image, in order to help you to gradually develop your concentration skills. Once you have developed your concentration skills to a high degree, you will find it relatively effortless to slip into a state of meditative emptiness.

Initially, when you first begin the practice of meditation, don't fight with your thoughts or try to suppress them with your will. This will only frustrate you and bind you to your thoughts even more strongly. Instead, spend your time concentrating on your visualization or focusing on a mantra or yantra.

For the first three months of practice, spend about fifteen minutes meditating twice a day. After about three months of consistent practice, increase your time to thirty minutes. After six months of consistent practice, increase your session time to forty-five minutes. After a year of practice, increase your session time to one hour, twice daily.

Once you have reached this time level, it is not really necessary to add more time to your meditation practice. Instead, what becomes of paramount importance is to decrease your thought flow during your sessions. When you can successfully meditate for two hours a day, with few - if any - thoughts, you will be ready for the advanced meditation techniques.

The best times of day to meditate are in the morning, during the period of sunset, or before going to sleep. Meditating in the morning clears your mind for the day ahead. It fills you with higher energy, so that you will have a happier and more creative day, and it also makes it easier for you to practice mindfulness during the day.

It is very easy to meditate at sunset. At that time a special doorway opens up between the interdimensional worlds, allowing you to meditate powerfully and also to recharge yourself with energy for the evening ahead. If you cannot meditate at sunset, have your second meditation before going to sleep at night. You will find that you will sleep more peacefully and your mind will be clear and energized when you awaken the next morning.

Do not be discouraged! In the beginning of your practice you may feel like you are wasting your time. Initially, you may find it difficult to concentrate, and you will probably spend more time "thinking" about meditation and other topics than you will actually spend concentrating and meditating. This is quite normal.

Just keep practicing. Even after a few weeks you will begin to notice that your mind is much more clear, that you are happier, more aware, and have more physical, mental, and psychic energy. After several months of consistent practice, you will also notice that you require less sleep.