Some have found that meditation can be a way of relieving stress, adding balance and harmony to your life as well as improving your energy level and finding inner peace. It is said that one who regularly meditates needs less sleep and goes to sleep without the help of pills or other inducers, therefore awaking more refreshed.

There are several methods of meditation. One method is called Transcendental Meditation. Begin by sitting on a straight-backed chair. Sit firmly on the sitting bones, rocking backwards and forwards and from side to side a few times to locate the point of balance where your weight most fully presses on the chair seat.

Place the right palm on the right thigh and the left palm on the left thigh in line with the right hand. Sit tall with the back straight, though poised rather than rigid. The head should be in line with the spine and the chin kept level, forming a right angle between the chin and the front of the neck. In this position abdominal breathing is facilitated, and the feeling is one of alertness and poise, conducive to poised awareness.

Sit motionless, poised and comfortably. Breathe quietly, gently, smoothly, and rhythmically. Breathe through the nostrils and down into the abdomen. Gaze in a relaxed way at any object that provides a pleasant or neutral visual stimulus for the duration of meditation. After a few minutes, close your eyes and view the after-image in your mind. The object may be alternately gazed upon with your eyes open and then visualized with your eyes closed.

After some time the meditation may be entirely visualization of a favorite object, such as a flower, a rock or religious symbol. Observe a relaxed and passive attitude towards distractions, including thoughts and images that pop in and out of the mind. Each time you become conscious that your attention has wandered away from the object of meditation, return it gently. Do this as many times as necessary, maintaining the relaxed and passive attitude.

The technique described above is a basic technique called Visual Meditation. For the most effective results try meditating once or twice a day, beginning with ten to twenty minutes and developing to twenty to thirty minutes per session. The best times to meditate are mid-morning and early evening. It is best not to meditate on a full stomach; wait three to four hours after eating. []
By Tess
9/3/01