MEDITATION EXERCISES

MEDITATION EXERCISES

GROUNDING & VISUALIZATION EXERCISE

This exercise is meant to be done in three parts if you are new to meditation, or just a little rusty on your visualization. If you are up to the challenge then by all means, go for the whole enchilada! It's great for relaxation. If you are living with a spouse, roomate or have children, it's best to do your meditations when they are gone. However, life is not perfect so if you must do the exercises in the evening after work or start on a weekend, try to go to a separate part of the house (the garage if necessary) to insure that you will not be disturbed.

Remember when you were a child, how real all of the monsters were that were hiding in your closet and under your bed at night? How about your imaginary friend as you sat down for afternoon tea? Of course there was teddy, or a stuffed kitty cat that was just as real as your pet. Try to remember all of this as you think back to a time when imagination was actually reality in your world, before the teachers and your parents started to discourage you. Well it's time for you to bring those powers of imagination into the realm of reality once again.

This exercise teaches you how to ground your energies, while you learn to use your senses away from your physical body. In Shamanism it is very important to be able to use all of your five senses as if you were in your physical body. In addition you must fine tune all of the inutitive, and psychic (or sixth sense) that you do not normally use in your every day life. You must also fine tune your imagination to be able to bring all of these senses together as one.

Before you begin these meditations it is essential to have a journal to record the events of your meditations. Don't leave anything out, no matter how foolish it may seem to you. Take your time to record everything immediately, before you leave your space.

Sit up straight in a chair or with your legs crossed on the floor. Visualize your spine reaching down into ground like tree branches, as a bright energy bursts begins to steadily surge from the ground, up into the extended spine branches, moving all the way up your spine, then through the crown of your head into the sky. Feel the energy surge through your body.

When you are comfortable with this, then begin to visualize a blue light stream burst from the sky, through the crown of your head, all the way down your spine and into the ground. Continue to visualize the light that is moving up from the ground, through your spine and into the sky at the same time, feel the energy forces mixing together.
If you are new to meditation or visualization (or just a little rusty!) Continue with this portion of the exercise once a day, until you feel capable of continuing with part two of the exercise.

PART 2
Now visualize the light energies moving through your body in a swirling pattern, as it wraps around you, engulfing your body with white light.

As you visualize the light surrounding your body, find yourself in a green meadow walking along a stream or river of cools clear water. Stop for a moment on the river bed. Take a moment to gather together all of all of your problems, see them flow from your mind into the outstretched palms of your hands. The color and texture of the worries, problems or cares will appear as a gelatinous tar. Dump the problems from your hands into the water, allowing the river to carry them away.

Walk along the river bed until you see a clearing in the woods. Sit for a few moments, thinking of pleasant things, hopes and dreams for the future. Visualize your life as you would like it to be, free of cares, sickness, strife and worries. Feel the cool grass under your body, and a gentle warm breeze across your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face, smell the scent of the pine, and oak trees, the flowers in the grove nearby, the grass, the moss, and the smell of fresh river water. Carefully listen for the different animal sounds; squirrels playing in the trees, birds signing, hawks, ravens and eagles as they fly overhead. Listen the many different sounds the insects make as they go about their daily routines.

As you look up you see a Doe and her Fawn walk up to the rivers edge to take a drink of water. They look over across the river to watch you for a few moments before they drink. You meet their gaze, as you assure them that you mean them no harm. When they are satisfied that you are not a threat, they drink from the cool running water. As you turn your head you see a flock of Butterflies gracefully fluttering around a patch of wild flowers. You can see two Chipmunks playing at the base of a tree to your left. They speak to each other in a quick witted type of tone as if they are scolding each other, then run up the tree. You can hear a woodpecker in a nearby pine tree, pecking away at the bark.

PART 3
Out of the corner of your eye you see a human figure, she is quick, sleek, with long hair. Before you can turn to get a good look at her she is gone, but as you look to your side you notice that she has left you a small basket of berries, and a cup of nectar. You take a drink of the thick liquid. It has a sweet taste to it. It reminds you of Apricot or Peach nectar. It smells like Orange or Honeysuckle blossoms. You decide to pick up one of the berries, which look like Blackberries or Boysenberries. It has a sweet smell, as you pop it into your mouth it feels soft, the taste reminds you of a kiwi or a black cherry.

After you finish your meal you decide that it time to bid the forest farewell. As you leave the same way you came, up the river bank going with the downward flow of the tide, you silently bid the forest creatures farewell.

Slowly return to your body. Lay quietly for a few moments before you open your eyes. Take a deep breath, open your eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light. Once you have adjusted to the physical realm, record all of the events, impressions you may have had, as well as the clarity of your senses in your journal. Continue to do this meditation at least once a day. It is best if you can get into the habit of scheduling the same block of time each day, in order for this to become a habit.

PROGRESSIVE MEDITATIONS

Before you begin your cave and spirit journies, there are other meditation excercises you can work on as your progress, such as: Change the Seasons within your forest Meditation, jounrey into the center of different solid objects creating a little cave within them. The types of objects are only limited by your imagination. You can start with rocks, hillsides, metals, fruits, nuts, trees, etc. Always remember to surround yourself with the protective white light before you begin, and always drop your problems into a well or stream when you first arrive at your destination entrance.