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One of the universal challenges in meditation is slowing down or
stopping the incessant chatter of the mind. Ah, you thought you
were alone in this? The truth is 99.9999% of people face this challenge.
Let's discuss a few quick ways to quiet your mind down enough so
that you can focus on your meditation. Feel free to try all the
techniques. Some of them will work better for you than others, so
find those and use them.
The setup
- Turn off the television, the radio, any outside noise.
- Tell the children that you need a few minutes of quiet time and ask them not to disturb you.
- Go to a quiet room where you usually meditate.
- Adjust the light in the room so that it isn't too bright.
(Most people find it easiest to relax in softly lit rooms.)
- Sit comfortably in a chair or on a cushion on the floor. Keep your spine
straight. If you are unable to sit, lie flat, rather than propped up on cushions.
Technique 1: Landscape
Close your eyes. Visualize a beautiful, peaceful landscape stretched out
before you. Continue experiencing this scene for a few minutes.
Use all your senses if you wish. See it. Feel it. Smell it. Hear it. Taste it.
Technique 2: Candle Flame
Light a candle. Gaze gently, without a sharp focus, into the flame for a few
minutes. Feel the tensions of the day flow out of you.
Technique 3: Meditation Music
Select some gentle, relaxing music. Many performers record music specifically
for meditation. Play a song or two and feel it carry you away.
Technique 4: Breath
Close your eyes. Place your hands gently in your lap with the palms facing up.
Feel the breath enter and leave your body. Do not try to control it; simply watch it.
Technique 5: Shining Light
With your eyes closed focus on your right eye. Imagine a beam of white light
shining into your eye, as though you were looking into a flashlight (torch).
Now do the same with the left eye. Then your right eardrum. Then the left eardrum.
Now do it in your right nostril. And your left nostril. Finally, shine the light
on the tip of your tongue, then the middle of the tongue, and the tonsils.
Repeat the whole cycle two more times, so that you perform the technique three times total.
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