Practicing meditation and visualization techniques has significantly helped improve, rediscover and nourish my inner self. While meditating, I try to avoid negative responses to interpersonal behavior (e.g., anger, resentment, frustration) and incorporate positive responses to such behavior. Visualization puts a clear, tangible, specific, and achievable intention of what I want to work in my life. The way I see it is, the more specific the intention, the more specific the results. I generally combine mediation and visualization to gain a more complete mental workout. Through mind/body and spiritual healing as well as applying love, gratefulness, and forgiveness I try to shift from an automatic system that is generally culturally imposed and try to replace negative feelings with positive feelings using consciousness and intention and try to merge my physical and inner Selves to a harmonious state of homeostasis.
To practice meditation and visualization I:
1. Choose a quiet place where I can avoid being disturbed.
2. Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
3. Eliminate distractions and interruptions during the period I'll be meditating.
4. Commit myself to a specific length of time and try to stick to it.
5. Pick a focus word or short phrase that's firmly rooted in my personal belief system (i.e. a word like peace, or love)
6. Close my eyes and visualize by using creative imagery like seeing the cells in my body healing; my immune system fighting off invaders; or I imagine myself in a very beautiful place whole, healthy and happy.
7. Relax my muscles sequentially from head to feet. This helps to break the connection between stressful thoughts and a tense body. Starting with the forehead, becoming aware of tension as I breathe in. Let go of any obvious tension as I breathe out. Go through the rest of my body in this way, proceeding down through your eyes, jaws, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, upper back, middle back and midriff, lower back, belly, pelvis, buttocks, thighs, calves, and feet.
8. Breathe slowly and naturally, repeating the focus word or phrase silently as I exhale.
9. Assume a passive attitude. Free from worries. When other thoughts come to mind, I simply say, "Oh, well," and gently return to the repetition.
10. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes without using an alarm. Then I sit quietly for a minute or so, at first with my eyes closed and later with my eyes open. I do not stand for one or two minutes.
3. Eliminate distractions and interruptions during the period I'll be meditating.
4. Commit myself to a specific length of time and try to stick to it.
5. Pick a focus word or short phrase that's firmly rooted in my personal belief system (i.e. a word like peace, or love)
6. Close my eyes and visualize by using creative imagery like seeing the cells in my body healing; my immune system fighting off invaders; or I imagine myself in a very beautiful place whole, healthy and happy.
7. Relax my muscles sequentially from head to feet. This helps to break the connection between stressful thoughts and a tense body. Starting with the forehead, becoming aware of tension as I breathe in. Let go of any obvious tension as I breathe out. Go through the rest of my body in this way, proceeding down through your eyes, jaws, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, upper back, middle back and midriff, lower back, belly, pelvis, buttocks, thighs, calves, and feet.
8. Breathe slowly and naturally, repeating the focus word or phrase silently as I exhale.
9. Assume a passive attitude. Free from worries. When other thoughts come to mind, I simply say, "Oh, well," and gently return to the repetition.
10. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes without using an alarm. Then I sit quietly for a minute or so, at first with my eyes closed and later with my eyes open. I do not stand for one or two minutes.
Great post. I love your techniques and found them very helpful. Keep up the good work.
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