Active Meditation

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ACTIVE MEDITATION

Meditation When introducing meditation as a topic in my seminars, many people say to me "I can't meditate ", or "I've tried - and failed ", or "I always have so many thoughts", "I can't sit with my legs crossed ", "I can't think nothing " ... and more. What really prompted this E-Book is the

number of people who query the value of meditation, who say that they don't have time, or simply ask "What is meditation?"









What is Meditation? The Macquarie Dictionary (Australian) defines meditation as: -

"1. To consider in the mind as something to be done or effected; intend or plan. 2. to think deeply, reflect."

-

The Oxford Dictionary is similar; however it adds "exercise the mind in (esp. religious) contemplation."

I often find that dictionary definitions are fairly narrow and in this case I wonder about how those definitions fit in with: Passive Meditation (a process of emptying the mind); Prayer Meditation; or Active Meditation.

What is the Meditation state of Mind? From a technical point of view, meditation is when one is deliberately in a deep mind state, the Theta brainwave state. Do you remember the four different brainwave states? The Beta state is the one we predominantly live in; we can think of 9 things at a time in this state (we need to, to drive a car) and in this state we take on stress. The Alpha state is the relaxed focused state; we think of only one thing at a time in this state and we release stress in this state (the Peaceful Place method teaches how to do this in 30 seconds or less). The Theta brainwave state is the meditation state (it takes about 4 to 7 minutes to get to and I teach going down through the colours of the rainbow after you go to Peaceful Place). When you are in the meditation state; your mind is extremely acute and you have often lost that awareness of your body. The Delta state is deep sleep - no thinking. To get to the Delta state you go through Alpha and then Theta (as the dream state) and then to deep sleep - no dreams. At this time it is important to say and know that if you can go to sleep, then you can meditate. You can reach the Theta state by going to









to do is to hold yourself in the Theta brainwave state (without going to sleep) - that is the meditation state.

Positions to Meditate

There are no special positions to be in to meditate. There are no " have to's". I have meditated on a chair, on the floor, in a car, in the bush

sitting against a tree, lying on a lawn, in a train, in an airplane, in a boat. Others I know have meditated in a hospital bed, having an MRI, standing up in the corner of a room, and more ... there is no limit. I hope you've got the picture, that you don't have to sit with your legs crossed in a yoga position and you don't have to have your hands facing upwards with your forefinger and thumb making a circle. Here are some commonsense practical hints. Sit in a comfortable









lie down then have your arm from the shoulder to the elbow on the floor (or bed or lawn) and then from the elbow to your fingertips have pointing towards the sky - that is at right-angles to the top part of your arm. If you fall asleep then your arm will probably drop to your chest and wake you up - we need to be awake. By the way, if you cross your arms or legs then you could be disturbed half way through your meditation either by wanting to move your arms or legs because of the lack of blood flow and therefore some pain. As to clothing, have it comfortable and loose - if your belt or shoes are tight, then loosen them and have a blanket to keep warm if necessary.

Active Meditation A few words firstly about Eastern meditation. Most Eastern meditation is based on working towards "emptying the mind" or " having no thoughts". We talk to ourselves 65,000 times a day. It's a huge

challenge to have no thoughts (and I'm not sure of the real value of that) and many people who try to learn this type of meditation give up, saying that "they can't meditate " because they are always interrupted by thoughts. It's encouraging to know that you can have thoughts and still be in the Theta brainwave state - that is, still meditating! I much prefer the usefulness of active meditation that is, doing something in your mind controlling your thoughts using guided imagery (an audio CD or your own thoughts guiding you) and visualisation. When you are relaxed and in the deeper meditation state, the filter - the reticular activating filter - is open, allowing information to flow between the conscious and subconscious mind. With active meditation you consciously give the subconscious mind words and imagery to work with (this is visualisation using any or all of the five senses: see, feel, smell, hear and taste, and talking to yourself









moving through depression, creativity and so many more things (please look at my meditation CDs ).

Meditation produces enormous life benefits. Look at the way Thomas Edison used meditation to produce - literally hundreds of practical inventions. Most artists use it to get ideas. If you are a hands-on person wishing to come up with a design or manufacturing process, use meditation to help. Ask yourself questions.

Some Challenges and Solutions You may well be in the middle of a meditation, say about overcoming anger,, when other thoughts come in. What do you do with these anger











thought and put it in a pilot-less aircraft flying overhead - the thought goes. If the thought comes in again then take that action again. If the thought keeps on coming then write the thought down and tell yourself that you will take action later, then go back to meditation. If it happens again, then say to yourself that you have taken the action of writing it down and you will handle it later, then let the thought go again - out your right ear. It generally won't come back. Remember also that some of these thoughts may well prove to be very useful reminders. Baroque music at 60 beats to the minute can be useful music to help to meditate when you're not doing an active meditation using a CD. The heart beat tends to get in time with the music, which in turn helps to keep you in the meditation state of Theta.









suggested to stand safely, with their back in the corner of the room. Recently one seminar participant was so overjoyed at using this standing position, experiencing meditation for the first time, having tried to meditate for years. There are always exceptions aren't there? When you are using meditation to go to sleep, this is an obvious exception. When you drift off doing the healing meditation, know that it still works when you're in Theta and I suggest that you stay calm and focused for as long as you can, for it can take considerable effort to meditate when one is quite ill and say perhaps battling cancer. If you drift off and find yourself on say a beach on a tropical island while you're meditating about self-confidence (for example), then just tell yourself to come back to your Peaceful Place and then continue to listen to the active meditation on CD. You have remained in Theta. All that's happened is that your thoughts have wandered. You get better and better at focusing in meditation as you practice daily meditation.

How do you get to the Theta State? The science behind getting to the Theta state using the rainbow colours is what helps us. The outside colour of the rainbow is red and it has the longest wave length and therefore the coarsest vibration when you bring it into your body through guided imagery and visualisation. The next colour, orange, has a lesser wavelength and a lesser vibration. This continues through all the colours so that the









How do you know when you are in the Meditation State? You will be able to easily recognise when you have reached the Theta brainwave which is unlike recognising the Alpha brainwave state. (That is the Peaceful Place. I recommend that you that you know when you are in Alpha by? recognising the same sense each time when you say "Sit in your chair " - that is, when you reach Alpha using Peaceful Place). With the meditation state you will recognise being there using any one of the following indicators: your mind will be extremely acute, your legs and/or arms could feel extremely heavy, legs and/or arms could feel extremely light, no feeling in your body, or you experience the patterned bright colours similar to a kaleidoscope.

Spiritual Meditation The process of Active Meditation when one is doing the chanting of God's names, for example "Hu" - the ancient name of God (known as Spiritual Exercises) can be equated to " Going to Spirit " or "Going to God ". ".

So what the latter process does is to awaken one to the Soul within you and Soul is that dynamic, forceful, unit of Energy. Soul is an extension of God or Spirit. To go within and ask for direction from your Higher Self, that part of you connected to Soul, which knows your purpose this lifetime, can be a very useful process.









notice the benefits. If you say you can't fit it in to your busy day, then I suggest getting up earlier - yes, that means reduce your sleep time. Meditation is better than sleep and remember as adults we only need 8 hours rest a day that is, 8 hours made up of Delta (deep sleep), Alpha (relaxation) and Theta (meditation). So, here's to the benefits you achieve by deliberately meditating each day.









Improve Meditation Meditation is an important tool which we can use to relax and release stress. Learn about the process of meditation and how to improve your meditation techniques.

Why is it important to improve meditation? Our ability to meditate is one of our most important skills. It is the means by which we can relax and release stress, consciously enhance our ability to heal, reprogram our subconscious responses and begin to contemplate and understand our spiritual connection. (Spiritual being the increased connection to, or understanding of, self).

How Can We Improve Our Ability To Meditate? Much has been written on the subject. One method taught is the "emptying of the mind". The approach taken here is often the teaching of a Mantra. I know that you can achieve so very much in the meditation state (my personal example of changing hatred, anger and revenge

to

acceptance,

cooperation,

unconditional

love

and

forgiveness), however the method I used was directing the subconscious mind with the conscious mind in a state of alertness. So what I am talking about here is active meditation - actually doing something with your mind, using guided meditation or guided











actually showing the effectiveness of a person applying a meditation technique.

How Can Our Methods assist in enhancing meditation? We can and do actually take over our mind consciously, guiding our thoughts into the subconscious. This way we can actually form new habits or improve habits. You will actually be able to feel the change in your body during the practise sessions. For instance you may not be able to feel your arms or legs, but your mind is extremely focused and active! In the Life Skills Seminar we improve the ability to meditate by teaching and practising the following skills: 

The ability to consciously relax any time anywhere.

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A complete scientific explanation of how the brain works.

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The ability to develop an active meditation technique

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The ability to develop specific Mind/Body exercises for developing meditation.









Towards Spiritual Meditation Meditation A few words firstly about Eastern meditation. Most Eastern meditation is based on working towards "emptying the mind" or "having no thoughts". We talk to ourselves 65,000 times a day. It's a huge challenge to have no thoughts and many people who try to learn this type of meditation give up, saying that they "can't meditate" because they are always interrupted by thoughts. It is important to realise that you can have thoughts and still be in the Theta brainwave state - that is, still be meditating!

Some Challenges and Solutions You may well be in the middle of a meditation when other thoughts come in. What do you you do with these thoughts? Pretend Pretend that the thought has come in say through the left ear and then let it go out through the right ear. Or pretend pretend that you capture that thought and put it in a pilot-less pilot-less aircraft flying overhead overhead - the thought goes. If the thought comes in again then take this action again. If the thought keeps on coming in then write down the thought and tell yourself that









If you drift off and find yourself say at a beach on a tropical island while you're meditating, then just tell yourself to come back to your Peaceful Place and continue to focus on your breath or chanting. You have remained remained in Theta. Theta. All that's happened is that your thoughts have wandered. You get better and better better at focusing focusing in meditation meditation as you practise daily meditation.

Two Analogies Explaining My Beliefs To write a little about moving towards spiritual meditation I need to explain a couple of personal beliefs which are a little na-na-nu-nu! When observing a patient connected to an electro-encephalograph, the read-out of the brainwaves (energy) are on a monitor screen. Invariably, say on a TV show, the flat line will appear and it shows "Brain Dead". What do we call that energy when it has left the body? There are many answers aren't there - here are some: Energy, the Light, the Force, Prana, God, Spirit, Chi, Soul, spark of God.... and there are more. Isn't our English language inadequate - same thing, but many different words. Now I'm sure you have heard of near death









To me, in the same sort of way, we are all inter-connected, because the God in you is connected through the body of God to the God in me. This also helps to explain unconditional love - when I love you I am loving that component of you which is the same as in me, that is, the God in you, which is joined to the God in me. Hence, I am loving me more and for me, it explains why "I can't love another unless I love myself." You can see how this avoids the personality - I may choose to like or dislike the personality, but I always love the God in another. I can also choose to love at a distance. So I believe that God (Energy) is everywhere, including within, and that we are all joined through God.

Another Personal Belief I believe that the "Light" - the Highest Light - when called upon for the Highest Good of All Concerned - is something physical which can fill and surround and protect you. God's Light. You can send this Light to others for healing, love, protection and many other things, always saying "For the Highest Good of All Concerned." (For a more complete









Spiritual Aspects The following ideas have come from my spiritual teacher, John Roger of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness. The passive process of meditation is one of emptying the mind and could be equated to "Waiting for Spirit" or "Waiting for God".











A Word on Spiritual Exercise The following suggestions have been taken from the book Fulfilling Your Spiritual Promise Volume 2 by John-Roger for doing spiritual exercises. Sit in a comfortable chair, upright if possible and do not use music. Call yourself forward to the Light for the highest good and ask for spiritual protection. Chant Hu or Ani Hu silently (Hu is Sanskrit and is an ancient name for God, and Ani adds the quality of empathy.) You can focus your attention in the centre of your head directly back from your forehead. After chanting for 5 minutes or so then stop and listen within - you are listening for the Sound Current. If you lose focus start chanting again - then listen again - and so on.....









So, remember that meditation produces enormous life benefits. Every meditation you do releases stress - the first component of anxiousness and worry. If you're in an office and are "snowed under", daily meditation will help to set priorities and see solutions more clearly.

Usefulness of Peaceful Place For some time now a friend of mine, who has done the CHI Seminar, Seminar, has been speaking with me about the "awesome" (his word) uses there are for putting Peaceful Place (PP) to work in your life. My intention with this is to share my friend's letter which describes his uses for PP and to ask you to respond and send me additional ways that you use PP. I really want to encourage others and expand









The real value of PP is that it gives you access to the subconscious mind.

Troy's Letter

…

Hi Sandy, Having since attended the CHI Seminar ( in October 2006) I have been actively using my Peaceful Place (daily and a few times per day) as an inner place of freedom to go g o and manifest my goals and a nd to t o release the stress of the day and a nd doing this with tremendous success. The five year plan I made more myself in the CHI program I expect to achieve in 4 (and that is saying something, given

that reached pretty far with my goals)… But not only this I feel so much m ore freedom in my life, free to be the person I want to be having overcome many ma ny blocks which were preventing me from being happy, and getting clear about









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It allows you to step outside your conditioned mind and step into the intelligence which created all.

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Release Stress.

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Effectively use the Creativity process

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Enhance Visualisation

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Get beyond my intellect

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Radiate love to others

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Create habits

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Developing Intuition

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Develop access to Subconscious intelligence

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Receiving love

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Receiving Inspiration

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To be nothing and to be everything

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To be free of roles

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To focus my mind

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To become aware of thoughts and letting go of thoughts









So, let me take this opportunity of really of urging you to let me know (and therefore others) the special ways you are using PP and help me to build this library of awareness.

REF: 1. Meditation 2. Improve Meditation 3. Towards Spiritual Meditation 4.

Usefulness of Peaceful Place

Active Meditation

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