How To Understand and Enhance Your Meditation Practice

The mind will wander:

The mind's job is to keep you safe at all costs.  Even moments when we are sitting or lying down it is busy analyzing, digesting and recording.  For the mind, this is success.  Making it think of nothing goes fully against the mind's nature.  Think of your mind like a two-year-old child.  Would you expect a two year old to sit in the corner and be still and quiet?  If you are ever around a two year old you know that is impossible!

If the mind wanders simply return your focus to your breathing or to the object of contemplation.

Visualization skills:

Most guided meditations use visualization techniques.  Many have expressed that they simply cannot visualize.  With these clients I normally suggest the following:

Sit or lie down.

In your mind's eye, think of your kitchen.

If you were going to make a coffee or tea, which cupboard would you approach to get it?  What cupboard holds your coffee/tea mugs?  Where is the kitchen sink?

You can also use this technique to review the way you travel to work. If you drive a car, allow yourself to see or sense your car. How many keys are on your key ring?  What roads do you travel to arrive to work?

Do you get the idea? Simply allowing yourself to 'daydream' or review something you know well will enhance your visualization skills. 

Soul Energy:

Understand you are not your body.  For some this concept is already known, for others this information will be new.  Science tells us that every cell, every atom in the body regenerates itself every 5-7 years; this means the body you had 5-7 years ago no longer exists. 

Although science can explain many things, it cannot explain where the soul resides.  All the neurologists out there cannot determine where the soul is.  It is an interesting concept really.  And one that reminds us that everything is an illusion.  Whatever happened to you in the past happened to a different body.

It takes work:

Peace, happiness and harmony are lofty ideals.  And can be achieved.  Yet similar to balance, it takes work.  This is similar to being a student of meditation.  There will be some days when you come to the practice and feel you've had a good experience; other days may not feel as good.

We must learn to not judge the experience of meditation.  It is neither good or bad; it simply is.