How to Advance Meditation Practice
After you've been meditating on a regular, even daily basis for a few months or more, you may be searching for ways to keep your practice fresh. Try these suggestions to go to the next level of altering your consciousness and going within.
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Instructions
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Have a particular focus in mind. Instead of simply training your attention on your breathing as beginners are taught to do, look for other matters in your life or in the world you would like to better understand and take a look at with the detached eyes of an observer. Direct your mind towards only one concern, issue or area of your life at a time and allow insights to flow through. You may want to record your experiences and epiphanies afterwards in a meditation journal.
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Turn certain activities into a meditative practice. This does not mean quieting your mind to ignore everything that is going on around you. Instead, you center yourself into your experience. You get into the groove of what you are doing so that you find yourself more peaceful in the moment. For example taking a stroll, jogging, gardening and painting can each become a meditation unto themselves.
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Avail of music and other recordings created especially for meditation. Different recordings are for different purposes. There are subliminal ones, where you don't consciously hear prerecorded words which help you attain a particular goal such as to stop smoking. Another example would be guided meditations, where you follow the voice on the other end as you are directed deeper inside yourself towards new discoveries.
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Use your meditative state as a springboard for intuitive and healing purposes. If you are an intuitive reader or an energy healer--any sort of spiritual practitioner, in fact--it always helps to begin any session with a clear mind not bogged down by worries stemming from the ego.
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Join a meditation group if you have not tried it before. It is important that the one you decide to be a part of resonates with your goals and principles. On the other hand, if you were introduced to meditation and spirituality in a group atmosphere, now might be the time to explore what works for you as an individual. In this case, your practice need not be solely solitary, just a little more so where you experience what a change in regimen has to offer.
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Develop more discipline by extending the normal length of time you meditate. If you are serious about growing through meditation you might even want to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage to a very different locale where your comfort zone will more than likely be challenged. India is a popular choice for such a journey.
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Tips & Warnings
This is by no means the end of your spiritual path; it is but the next step forward! Continue your exploration when you are ready for more advancement.
Be patient. Instant bliss or enlightenment is not guaranteed even with a regular meditative practice. Remember, the journey is the destination.
Do not put on any meditation audio programs while driving, operating heavy machinery or while engaged in any activity that involves safety issues and concerns.
Resources
- Photo Credit Leprechaun Art & Photography
