The other day I caught an interview where Deepak Chopra talked about his 21 day meditations with Oprah. He has a sense of humor too - apparently, he jokingly suggested that if they got married she could call herself Oprah Chopra 😅
Meditation is a lifesaver though. There are so many good techniques but I believe that the best approach is to find one you love.
What matters is that we are consistent, if only for 5-10 minutes a day. I taught meditation at a conference for cancer survivors in Mexico, focusing on how to make it both enjoyable and effective.
You will find the highlights below:
🧘🏻♀️ Let’s Meditate (Youtube)
What Does Meditation Involve?
What comes to mind with the word meditation? In the past, it might have been a monk sitting calmly under a tree. Is meditation sitting still, quieting the mind, and listening to your breath?
While it can be exactly that, at this event, I wanted to propose that meditation can also be fun and creative 💜 Any activity that allows you to bring your mind, body and emotions into a state of peace can be part of an overarching meditation practice.
And why not have fun with it?
What Makes It Effective?
Most people meditate with the following goals in mind:
- To press the 'pause button' and leave worries aside.
- To relax and give the physical body some rest.
- To lift your mood when you are feeling down.
- To connect with your intuition (inner guide).
- To create moments of peace.
Those peaceful moments become longer with each session and eventually, calm is the rule and not the exception in your daily life. This builds over time, in several steps:
Step 1) Release The Day
I learned to meditate at The College of Psychic Studies in London, where most meditations focused on developing our intuition. In large part, this involves connecting with your emotions.
The first step was to release everything that happened that day, calming the mind and body. Visualizing a shower of light is one of my favorite techniques. This tells the subconscious that you're ready to relax.
Start by visualizing your Aura as a sphere of energy around the body, a projection of your mind and emotions. See light and color flowing through your Aura, cleansing it, and pay attention to how you feel.
The light washes through and around your physical body. You make the conscious decision to release everything that happened that day, how you felt about it, and to release your To-Do list, etc.
You’ll also find guided meditations on Youtube.com/c/reginachouza - these go with both of my books. Grounding, clearing and shielding your personal energy is covered in Chakra Healing & Magick.
Step 2) Emotional Balance
Creative visualizations make it easier for us to let go of daily stressors. The next step is to begin channeling your emotions; essentially how you feel about your life, interactions and about the past.
Our thoughts feed into our emotional state, and our emotions trigger thoughts that reinforce those feelings. This is a result of the mental and emotional layers of your Aura interacting (the Aura layers are covered in my books). We need a two-pronged approach for stress relief.
There are many ways to channel our emotions. If you read Chapter 3 from Chakra Healing & Magick, I have included energy healing tools that make it easier for us to listen to our emotions. Art, intuition and creativity lead the way.
Here is a meditation to get you started:
Step 3) Live For The Moment
I’m a huge book nerd. When I began meditating, I read up on Buddhism and other traditions where meditation is key. Apparently, the ultimate goal of meditation is to take that state of calm to your life - not the meditation itself.
If we walk away at the end of the session without changing a thing in our lives, it doesn't help as much. The idea is to be aware of where you are, focusing on what you are doing, how your body feels, etc.
This is known as Mindfulness. Initially, it may be easier to take short breaks and go through the following exercises:
- Take 1-minute breaks and listen to your breath.
- Ask yourself "How does my body feel right now?
- Set an alarm on your phone twice daily.
- Ground yourself to feel your body.
- Listen to your surroundings.
The last tip has been the one that works best for me. You know how some people turn off the radio when they are driving down the street looking for an address?
There is something in the way the brain works. I can't listen to my surroundings and daydream/worry simultaneously lol.
Step 4) The Water Metaphor
To use an example from a recent Reiki class; a student asked how regularly they should book sessions with a Reiki practioner, when the point of the class is learn to learn to channel healing yourself.
It was hot that day and I had a glass of water in my hand. I held it up explaining that you are the glass, while your feelings, thoughts and experiences are the water that flows into the cup.
It seems easy at first. But now imagine yourself standing with a glass of water in your hand and how it starts to weigh after an hour, after two hours, a day, a week, etc.
When we meditate or give ourselves energy healing, we pour some water out of the cup. A full Reiki session gives us a good clearing, but it doesn't empty the glass. Meditate daily to release that weight.
Finally, grounding yourself is like poking a hole under the glass and letting the water drip out continuously. It is the basis for any type of energy healing work that I might do; grounding is covered in my book, Chakra Healing & Magick.
Step 5) Find A Style You Love
Ideally, we'd take turns, meditating to release our thoughts some days and channeling our emotions on other days. The goal is never to completely 'blank out your mind' - that would be nearly impossible. The Buddhist teacher, Sogyal Rimpoche, tells us that meditation is like looking at the sky. Some days will be cloudy (thoughts), others stormy (emotions). Rather than argue with the clouds, Rimpoche suggests letting them go by. And in my experience, creative meditations like the one above allow us to lean on the wind for support.
Committing to a regular practice is more likely to be effective, so find a style that you love. There are many ways to meditate, here are just a few ideas to begin with:
- Listening to your breath, eyes closed.
- Counting down from 20 to 1 to calm down.
- Visualizing a work of art and stepping in (SEE HERE)
- Cooking or washing the dishes with 100% attention.
- Inhale white light, exhale gold for 2 minutes.
- Moving meditations like Tai Chi or Yoga.
- Mantras (especially with music).
Read Chakra Healing & Magick for more creative healing tools; the paperback & Kindle book are available on Amazon:
> Reiki in Cancer Hospitals
So this was a longer post than usual! But I’m sure it will help. I have volunteered at cancer hospitals in the UK and Mexico. Meditation is always needed as an emotional support tool for the family.
Reiki is allowed in many hospitals as a complementary therapy. Most hospitals don’t allow the words energy healing, but they do welcome meditations that build on the concept of the Aura, referring to the projection of your mind and emotions.
I have a book for families who are coping with cancer; A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love. Find it HERE.
Please share your thoughts and experiences below.
Reiki hugs,
Regina
Reiki hugs,
Regina