Before I learned to meditate my inner world was more or less in shambles! I had little control over the direction of my thoughts and feelings and I was at the mercy of my reactionary mind. Since learning to meditate, my heart and life have been infused with a sense of peace, power and optimism.
Meditation is the most powerful and efficient tool I know of for transforming one’s inner world and harnessing one’s manifestation power.
Firstly, I want to dispel any notions that meditation is boring, difficult or only works for some people. I’ve experimented with dozens of meditation techniques and while some may fall in this category depending on the person, the technique I’m sharing today is super fun, easy and quick- and if practiced consistently, it will surely give you instant results!
Before we dive in to the specific technique- here's an overview of some popular forms of meditation:
Chanting based meditations or a type of "no mind" meditation where a mantra or chant is used to focus the mind into stillness and the experience of being just "awareness." Great for manifesting because to be of "no mind" is to be in a state of complete allowance and offer zero resistance in terms of conflicting thoughts, feelings and beliefs. When we are in this mode, the things we want in our life flow into our experience more readily.
Visualization or imaginal scene based meditations to take one to another vibrational reality and head space all together. Great for Deliberate Manifesting and evoking feelings of fulfillment.
Affirmation based meditations or pro-active thought based meditations where one is affirming certain thoughts such as "I Am Love" or "I Am So Grateful For..."
Observing based meditations like Vipassana- I have the least experience with this type of meditation because unfortunately I find them a bit dull, although very transformational. Many of my friends practice this type of meditation. Again different strokes for different folks.
If you are new to meditation, I recommend practicing in a comfortable seated position. The idea being that you don’t want to be distracted by your legs falling asleep or a sore back. Unless you are practicing Karma Yoga (Meditation in Action) you really want to lose yourself in the experience- so the less distractions the better.
In my humble opinion, one of the easiest and most effective meditations anyone can do is a Gratitude Meditation. While sitting comfortably think of a dozen things in your life you are grateful for. They can be huge and broad or small and specific. In addition to thinking about what you are grateful for, think about why you feel grateful for these things, people or experiences. The “why” will help you draw out feelings of gratitude.
I like to think of our feelings as rocket fuel for any meditation practice. Using our thoughts in meditation is like taking an automobile to our destination, but when we incorporate our emotions and feelings, we fast track our experience. Feelings make the experience "real."
Just practicing this for 5 minutes every morning will attract more abundance in your life. After all where attention goes, energy flows! Sometimes if you’re struggling with something to be grateful for, start looking at what life would be like if you didn’t have what you do in fact have. Also, it’s helpful to consider the things you may be taking for granted.
I love the book The Magic, which is a follow up to the famous book and movie “The Secret.” In “The Magic,” author Rhonda Byrne explains how not being grateful for something is essentially taking that something for granted. When you factor in the law of attraction- that which we give thanks for, we will be given more of.
For example, I used to be unhappy with the shape of my legs. Then I met someone with a lost limb. Wow, that gave me a much needed perspective. Now, I am so grateful I have the legs I do! We often take for granted just how lucky we are and how much we really have.
Everyday in my gratitude meditation, I practice feeling appreciation for the health I have, my inner and outer beauty, my skills, style, wealth, health, abundance, friends, family, partners. I’m grateful for my sense of humor, my education, travel experience, my plants and crystals. The list goes on and on. Sometimes someone will make me laugh till my stomach hurts. I’m grateful for that and by focusing on that my subconscious will automatically draw more of that to me. Just think what happens when you buy a new car. Before you know it, you see your car everywhere right? This is the power of attention and selective subconscious awareness.
If we can incorporate gratitude into our daily lives at the more subtle levels such as in our attitude and thoughts we will begin to experience the magic that makes the world go round. You know your gratitude meditation practice is working because you cannot help but feel good. This is the sign that you have shifted your energy and on a quantum level you will begin drawing more and more abundance and experiences that will give you even more to be grateful for. The energy of gratitude is exponential!
A quick way to know you are not experiencing gratitude is to watch your words. Do you find yourself complaining or frustrated? Try and see the positive side of the situation. Perhaps you are learning something… there is probably a silver lining in there somewhere.
In my Coaching Sessions, we discuss how outlook and perception influence our reality. Incorporating a daily gratitude practice for even a few minutes a day upon waking can be incredibly transformational. It's a great way to kick of the day.
Thanks for visiting!
Blessings,
Meniyka