Meditation

A time of meditation in your day is crucial. I know some people don't like it and just fall asleep or feel there's not enough time. Its absence is a bit of a disaster though. This is because it is essentially a daily choice to breathe in only gentleness and clear air rather than reel from environment to environment breathing in the chaos, illness and anxiety that you happen to meet. You then go home and dump it in your own environment, on your pillow to pile up over time. Through meditation one can learn to breathe only your own breath and express only your own energy, also of gentleness and joy.
The aspects involve the closing of your eyes, your in-breath, your body alignment and finally your out-breath, which is your own expression of how you want your world to be. You are creating all of it. So the more conscious our choices, the better job we'll make of it.

The imprint on which you close your eyes is important. You are taking you back to you. Many people are closing their eyes to shut out the world. That's just a numbing and a distraction. So the quality of your intention as you close your eyes will determine the quality of the meditation. If you find it hard to do this, look down and then slowly and lovingly close them the last bit. This is a strong gesture to you and for you. Posture-wise, there is no need to sit cross legged! Just be comfortable sitting or lying down. We are preparing the body for the breathing we are going to do.

The next move is to begin the rhythm - the in-breath entering through the nose. One can concentrate only on the in-breath for weeks I gather (although don't forget to exhale or you might explode). The more one does focus on a step, the more aspects you identify about it. Try and make sure from the start that it is a gentle breath. If the intention is honestly gentle then the gentle breath will eventually come. This is not a soft breath or a slow breath. If the breath comes through the entire circumference of the nostril it is just a soft breath and is just a full breath of disturbed air, in whatever way; very unhealthy!The quality is gentleness and the rest becomes a rhythm, an ease and a speed that meets the need of the body.

Meditation is a conscious beginning. It can be worked on methodically and mechanically and develops a focus. Get to feel the quality of the in-breath. Soft breathing is just slowing down the body, it doesn’t connect you, it just puts the anger, frustration and anxiety in to an arrest of some sort. We don't want that, it doesn't deal with your own or leave it where it is in your environment. The breath naturally moves itself towards the tip of the nose. Gentle breath at the tip of the nose has its own sort of quality - a coolness and it retains that wherever you might be, in a sauna or a hot humid country. Try and remain mindful and not mindless. Its impossible to make the mind quiet, without it being an escape. All one can do is bring the mind in line with the impulses of the heart and then the chatter stops.

Then we have to engage the mind again to release the breath gently. We become the master. We don’t exhale by sighing or even releasing. It is just a gentle exhalation. If you can do the in and out breath consciously and gently, you can have complete mind control. You have brought your mind in line with your conscious intention, where you want to go.

You will find the room goes in to a stillness but also a coolness because you're not releasing endless disturbance in to the room, the stuffiness that is really just emotion. This is the real key to being centred, to not impose your energy on another. No more dumping it.

So focus on the tip of the nose as the breath enters. Make it gentle. On its way out, it has its own rhythm, its own speed. For some people the out breath is longer than the in-breath, for some it is shorter. The quality of the out breath you will notice is warmth. It is a fiery warmth, a gentle warmth, no discomfort. It is not soothing or comforting though, because it is not emotional in any way.

Once you've got things going, let go of the focus a bit and allow the rhythm to develop. You will find how deep you need to breath. Gentleness knows how to caliberate itself. Notice you are not zonking out, you are not going in to any sort of bliss, you are not going into escapism, meditation is really about raising awareness. But I'm really keen for everyone to start doing it as the repercussions of unconsciousness are serious. In as much as, if you don't chose your air carefully! and express the best of who you are on your out breaths, positive change is highly unlikely, on the individual or the wider level.

This DIY kit to meditation I got from a CD made by someone at www.universalmedicine.com.au who is obviously a great vibe merchant. I will outline the other part when I write again. I'm hoping to get everyone meditating and then move on to nutrition. The basic premiss is that we need to keep cultivating our relationship with the self, don't get distracted by the troubles around you. So, look after yourselves!