MeditationTips

Witnessing the space between your thoughts can be an effective means to help you calm your mind and achieve aspects of meditation.

It can be common to hear people ask “How can I clear my head when I meditate?” Often, the more you try, the more that your thoughts seem to arise. This can be entirely expected, as trying to clear your head is also a thought.

So do not try to get rid of your thoughts, as for most people, this will not work. Instead, you need a way to bring focus to the mind, through a process called Ekagrata. Even in a noisy or chaotic mind, there will be spaces between your thoughts. So instead of focusing on the thoughts which you are trying to push aside, apply your focus on the space or gap between the thoughts. All the while, as you continue to focus on the space between the thoughts, witness this space become larger, so that it fills more of your mind. Continue to focus on the space so that it pushes more and more of your thoughts to the side of your mind or your thinking. Gradually this quiet space will grow to provide you with an opportunity to have some calmness of mind, from which you can continue with your other mindfulness or meditation activities.

Many people ask when or what time of day should I meditate?  There is no golden rule on the subject, but most will agree that the most important aspect is to create some time for you, irrespective of the time of day or any schedule.

While formal meditation practice in a peaceful place where you are unlikely to be disturbed is beneficial, there should be no reason why you can not apply aspects at other times or places in your life. You can apply aspects of mindfulness, meditation or Life Force cognition at any time and in any place. Indeed it can often be in these hectic or uncontrolled moments when you need the benefits of these practices the most.

There are many times throughout the day when you can apply your attention to help bring aspects of calmness within you. When you are on a train or bus, you could bring your attention to your breath. As you walk down the street, or through the park, you could focus on the sounds you hear. What’s important is that you are in that moment, mindfulness should not be a chore to be performed once a week.

Many of the aspects of Breathe with Purpose and Life Force Mindfulness, once programmed within your mind, can be easily recalled and applied at any time in your life. You can apply these techniques without the rigour of a schedule; all that you need is sufficient time on commencing any activity, then you can benefit from their application at any time in your life.

Pure attention is one of the highest forms of intellect. Often as humankind, we dive into the muddy water of emotional entanglements as we try to conquer or control things in our lives.  When instead, our best course of action would have been to pause, then become observant. As you try to understand something, it is usually best to set aside your preconceptions and observe it through the quietness of mind. This way, your observation will reveal what needs to be comprehended or understood.

Pure attention without judgment is not only the highest form of human intelligence, but also the expression of harmlessness. Take the time to observe through the quietness of mind.

A common challenge for many people undertaking mindfulness or meditation is that they cannot make their mind go blank or empty, however much they try. You will be glad to know that most people have noisy minds, so you are not alone in your struggle to tame the endless chatter of your mind.

The ultimate goal for anyone meditating is to achieve a full quietness of mind, but for many of us, this is simply not attainable. If you have a noisy mind, stop trying to achieve absolute silence of mind. Realise that often your own efforts to quieten the mind, fill your mind with the noise of the very thoughts you are trying to banish. While you may not be able to achieve a complete quietness of mind, you should instead be focusing on becoming master of your mind. The difference being, that as you become that master, you can learn to focus your mind with Ekagrata (focussed thought).

Applying Ekagrata enables you to focus on one thing, such as your breath, or repeating a mantra, or mindfully shifting your attention to a specific thought. As a master of your own mind, you are not thinking of everything at the same time, you are being intentional and focusing on one thing at a time. If stray thoughts enter into your mind, you acknowledge them, and push them aside to achieve that focus of mind which is Ekagrata. Become the master of your own mind with Ekagrata, so that you may learn to create a quiet space even within a noisy mind with KIA0006 .

Modern meditative practices have been influenced by Eastern philosophy, yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism; combined with some aspects of Western culture to evolve into a range of various techniques. Many of these techniques aim to bring serenity and balance within you, allowing access to other realms of consciousness. Most of the practices involve the participant setting aside some specific time during the day for undertaking their meditations.

Over recent decades, modern meditation has morphed, with mindfulness programs bursting onto the scene. Their key tenant is to live in the moment with non-judgmental awareness. Many modern meditative practices include techniques such as: mindful breathing, the body scan meditation, or letting thought arise and pass.

All techniques have their place. Ensure that you task your meditative practices with renewed focus, to help you adequately deal with the challenges of life. In whatever form of meditation you perform, always apply your focus and set clear intentions for the greatest benefit.

For many of us, it has become all too easy to fall into a pattern of unconsciously rushing through our lives without ever being fully immersed in the present moment. Even though many of us may practice meditation or mindfulness, often we do not seem to have the time.

The simple activity of pausing and observing consecutive breaths can help to calm or refocus your mind, to continue your day with the intention of remaining aware and mindful. Visit our webshop for a free complementary activity on Breathe with Purpose which expands upon simple breathing to bring calmness within you.

The first fundamental bundle helps you get started with activities to regain an understanding of how you think and act in the world. Each of the five activities builds upon the basic activities of mindful breathing and Line of Light to centre yourself, calm your mind, relax your body, balance your emotions.

This special bundle includes: Starting Out – which examines what are your intentions for undertaking activities such as Meditation or Mindfulness? The Second Step – provides the opportunity to comprehend how your mind orchestrates your own brand or personality. The Third Step – provides you with insight into how thoughts can control and cause emotional responses within you. The Fourth Step – enables you to consider how excuses of the mind can be a major factor in not making changes in your life. The Fifth Step – investigates how thoughts can lead to overthinking and how to stop thoughts consuming your life.

The fundamental Fourth Step activity investigates how excuses of your mind can be a major factor for not changing aspects of your life. You will investigate thoughts and emotional responses which arise due to the words or actions of others.

The activity will extend on your mindful breathing and Line of Light to centre yourself and bring your emotions into balance. Take this opportunity to reevaluate your thinking and realise how the excuses of your mind can affect you for not making changes in your life.

There are many different types of meditation practised across the world. In many western cultures, various meditative practices have evolved to include: mindful breathing, mindfulness and progressive muscle relaxation, to help people deal with life and improve their cognitive capabilities. Many aspects of meditation involve bringing your mind’s attention to the present without wandering back to the past or drifting into the future.

Task your mind and meditation with a renewed focus in order to more adequately deal with the challenges of life and living. Apply your focus and set clear intentions, so that you may follow through on this regularly during your meditations.

 

Evaluating your thinking will give you an understanding of the importance of quietening your mind. The fundamental Third Step activity touches on several aspects of the reality of your thoughts. Examine how your endless questioning mind and the mental victim within manifest as the realities of the thinking mind.

The activity extends your mindful breathing and Line of Light to enable you to centre yourself and relax your body. Then take the opportunity to consider how endless varying thoughts can control and cause emotional responses within you.

The fundamental Starting Out activity looks at your intentions for undertaking activities such as meditation or mindfulness. Then the activity examines how your mindset, inspiration and motivation play their parts to keep you focused and bring control to your mind.

The activity includes an exercise on mindful breathing to enable you to centre yourself. The Line of Light procedure is presented in the first principles to provide a method to bring calmness to your mind.