Meditation is an internally invoked personal practice. One can use a variety of items to use for focus. There are a great many different styles, and it varies according to beliefs, and personal practice. the history of meditation is bound up in a myriad of religious practices, even in prehistoric civilizations rhythmic chants and offerings to appease the gods were used dating back to 500 B.C. In 500-600 B.C. the Taoists in china and Buddhists in India began to develop meditative practices.
I am a firm believer that meditation can calm the spirit, help on center and regain balance, and believe me, some days I need it more than others. I also have taught my little people to use it as well. My oldest Grandson, Trey, was diagnosed with ADHD(kids diagnosed way too much for that imho). the doctors suggested medication for his outbursts. In reality, his parents were in the middle of a divorce at the time, and he had no way to express his frustrations with the adults in his life. This is where I step in. One particularly trying day, he came and sat beside me on a lounger out in the back yard..”Nana”, he says..”I try..really, but nothing works”..”C’mere angel boy”, I say..”lets do this”. So he lies beside me and we close our eyes. “I want you to take me to your favorite place” I tell him..”and describe it for me”…Trey is quiet for a minute, calm breathing, then he speak”we are walking to a secret garden Nana…we are walking up a hill to where there is an iron gate.” “Is the gate locked or open?” I ask. “It’s locked ” he says. “Can we open it?” I ask. “I can open it”, says Trey. We go inside the garden. “Tell me what we see Trey”, I whisper gently. He smiles and says “there are flowers Nana”…lots of flowers, of all colors. Some like yours here in the yard, some like we saw on the show about the rain forest”. I smile…”smell the perfume of those flowers Trey..let them waft around you, fill you with peace”. He smiles the most beautiful smile. “We can sit on the bench by the pool over there” says Trey..”let’s do that then”, I say. So we walk to the bench he has placed there in the garden. “I think I will curl up in your lap Nana, like we are now”, he says…”great, I tell him.”you know Trey, that you can come back here any time you need to…it’s a safe place for you to come and chill out..a place to regain some calm”. “I’d like that” he says. We sat this way for quite some time until Trey was ready to leave his sanctuary, and retraced our steps with him locking the gate behind us. He was considerably calmer, able to see things clearer, and continues to use this technique even now that he is older(he is almost 12 and pre-teen angst can make ANY day a “bad” day). For myself I like to walk to a cliff overlooking the ocean, sometimes walking down a path to sit on the beach below. My time with Trey was a guided meditation, allowing him to focus his mind on a safe place to be filled with calm and serenity. It does not have to be some big production in which we have to find special positions, music etc..although I have found that certain scents and music does help when I have had a particularly rough week. I’ve heard people say they cannot still their minds for “that long”..How long is that? I have been known to take a 5 minute break at work to go and quiet my mind when it gets crazy..can they not do that for 5 minutes? I think that they feel they have to have some profound experience, when in reality it can be as simple as Trey’s garden…something quiet, beautiful and with a sense of peace…whatever that is to you. There are even places online that offer free guided meditations, for those that need a voice to help them focus. I’ve used them when I am stressed and have trouble in focusing. I will provide you with links at the end of this if you are interested in trying some of them out. We all need peace in our lives, a way to recenter and find balance, or we soon get so stressed with the day to day that it affects us physically, mentally and spiritually. So why not give it a try..what have you got to lose except a few minutes?
Free meditation sites:
www.learningmeditation.com
www.meditationcenter.com
www.myinnerworld.com (they also have a facebook page)
Peace out
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