9 Jewels of Meditation - tips to sustain your practice
By Nancy Fanara-Berrian Pr. FOI, Golden Isis Secheim Reiki Grand Master/ Teacher
It is often just as difficult to instill healthy habits, as it is to break the bad ones. For that reason, incorporating a meditation practice in your life is best approached as a lifestyle change. Radical self-care is an important step towards insuring our health. It is widely known that stress leads to a plethora of illness and disease in our culture. As Dr. Christiane Northrup said in a recent airing of her PBS presentation of “Mother Daughter Wisdom”, “…quality self care can save your life”. A regular meditation practice is an affordable and easily accessible means of quality self care available to everyone. Much has been written about how to meditate and what it is. This article provides suggestions for keeping up your practice once you have started one.
To help create and sustain a meditation practice:
Technique – There are different approaches to meditation. Don’t get discouraged if your mantra isn’t cutting it. It could be that mantras are the wrong technique for your personality type. Expose yourself to a variety of meditation styles. From experience you will discover which ones work best. For some a mantra will be best, for others creative visualization. For other still, who are more athletic, a practice such as yoga or tai chi, which engages a mind body connection through physical activity may be the best solution.
Make a Date with yourself - Life Coach and Author Cheryl Richardson recommends that we schedule time for ourselves, whether it be in our “Daytimer” or electronically using our email calendar system, just as we would any other meeting or activity. The logic is that we wouldn’t cancel a meeting or other commitment unless absolutely necessary, so we should have the same commitment to sticking to appointments for our own personal growth. Although she recommends devoting this time to journal, I am suggesting it is also a great tool for creating structure in your life to get a regular meditation practice in place.
Sacred Space – The tools of a meditation practice such as incense, a candle to focus on visually, soothing music and devoting a space in your home, have a very practical function. When used repetitively, these tools “entrain” the senses. Meaning these tools train body and mind to shift from active to receptive mode, through the experience of the senses. “Hey she lit that candle again, and put on that nice music. It must be time for me to chill out!” Viola! Next thing you know, you start reaping the rewards of a “relaxation response”. This will make your meditative state easier and easier to get into each additional time you reinforce the practice with these sense training tools. Choose a place in your home that is removed from the daily traffic of family members. Don’t be afraid to unplug the phone. Let housemates or family know that you are taking a time out and should not be disturbed for the next five to twenty-five minutes (with the exception of emergencies of course), or any amount of time that feels right to you.
Let go of expectations – Try not to get too hung up on things like posture and breathing, especially if you are just starting to meditate. Keep the goal of comfort in the body a priority. If you are too uncomfortable in the lotus position, or feeling dizzy with a particular breathing sequence, you will be too distracted by these concerns to enjoy the peaceful state intended by meditation.
Be Flexible – If on a particular day, you aren’t able to devote the usual segment of time to your practice, ask yourself what you can give to your practice. Can you take 5 minutes from your day to perform a more simple practice such as cleansing breathes, or take a brief walk out side to come back to center and re-balance? Any mundane activity such as washing dishes or taking a shower can be a tool for a meditative practice. Just focus on the activity at hand, surrender any other thoughts or concerns during the activity. Breathe. Focus. Send love to the self. Try it, it works!
Don’t beat yourself up – If you didn’t meditate today, don’t send yourself negative messages about it. Every day is a new day, and every moment a new moment. Practice unconditional love and forgiveness with yourself instead of judgment. Too many negative messages will only cause you to feel discouraged and the practice will slip further and further out of reach.
A meditation journal – Start a journal that is just about your meditation experiences. Include pictures, quotes, prayers etc. that evoke the feeling you wish to achieve in your meditation such as the quality of love or peace. Record your experiences. When you look back you will be able to see which practices were most effective and in general, you will be able to chart your progress and validate your experiences with perspective.
Resistance – If you continue to have difficulty coming to a simple practice daily that doesn’t require a lot of time out of your day, ask yourself what is going on emotionally? Sitting in silence we have the opportunity to hear our inner voice and notice our feelings much more acutely. Is there a part of you that wishes to avoid how you are really feeling about your current situation? A meditation practice will put you in touch with your truth and your feelings. But this is part of the advantage of meditation as a tool for self healing and growth. As we acknowledge those things in our life that aren’t working, we have an opportunity to change them. But the first step has to be the awareness of what the problem areas of our lives are. Once you’ve identified what isn’t working, use the awareness as a tool for healing and change for the better. Seek additional help in the way of support groups, life coaching, or psychological counseling; whatever it takes to heal and change the issue. As you clear these stumbling blocks in your life you will also clear the path to serenity in your meditation and it will become easier and easier to come to this practice as you bring your life into balance both internally and externally.
Inspiration – Books written with a spiritual orientation often help to induce a “meditation reflex”. It is believed by spiritual aspirants and teachers alike that the energy and intent behind words and ideas affect us energetically and unconsciously, if not consciously. In the process of my own journey, I have suddenly felt directed to go into a meditative state as a result of reading an enlightened work. It can be helpful to keep a book with you, on your coffee table or even by your nightstand to keep bringing you back to the desire to meditate.
Nancy’s Energy Healing practice blends Golden Isis Secheim Reiki, Shamballa Multi -Dimensional Healing, Usui Reiki, Integrated Energy Therapy amongst other modalities to facilitate soul level healing for her clients. She also teaches a variety of workshops and courses that focus on self mastery, spiritual and psychic development. Her strong and intimate connection with the Angelic realms and Ascended Masters has contributed to her work as a Channel, Medium and Intuitive Counselor.
During her priesthood studies Nancy became a conduit for a new band width of energy that emerged at the end of July 2005 called "Golden Isis Secheim Reiki”. To her knowledge she is the first “in—body” recipient of this particular attunement to the Divine Solar Feminine. As of 2006 she is devoting herself to teaching and attuning individuals to this energy healing modality solely. Those who feel called to Energy Healing, Self Mastery or to attune to the energies of Holy Isis and the Divine Feminine will most benefit. Nancy's background is in Liberal Arts and Psychology. She is an ordained interfaith minister through the Universal Life Church.
This article was posted by Nancy Fanara-Berrian
