Meditation is the process of expanding your awareness. Meditation is the process of silencing your thoughts and getting in touch with the deepest part of yourself. Meditation makes you powerful, happy, and eventually Enlightened.
The best time to meditate is in the morning after you have taken a shower. If you meditate in the morning you will have a great day. Your aura will be pumped up, and you will have more fun and energy during the day. The next best time to meditate is early in the evening around sunset. You should start by meditating 15 minutes twice a day. You can sit on the floor on a cross legged position with your back against the wall, or against the edge of your bed, or you can sit on a chair. The important thing is that your back is straight. When you sit down to meditate you should listen to music that will help you relax. The music of Zazen, Kitaro, Cusco, Joaquin Lievano, and other New Age Artists is highly recomemded. In particular, there is an albun called "Enlightenment" by Zazen. This album was been specially designed to help you meditate. It will help you block out all of the thoughts and impressions from the world, just like if you were sitting on top of a mountain somewhere.
While meditating you are going to concentrate on three different chakras, or energy centers. We have seven main chakras, but by concentrating on just three of them, we will awaken all of them. First, concentrate on the navel center -- the center for power. It is located about one inch below your navel. Place your fingers there while you meditate to help you concentrate in that area. Then, concentrate on the heart center -- the center for balance and happiness. It is located in the center of the chest. Again, place your fingers there while you meditate to help you concentrate in that area. Finally, concentrate on the third eye -- the center for wisdom. It is located in the center the forehead, right above the eyebrows. Place the fingers there while you meditate to help you concentrate.
Concentrate on each center for 5 minutes. Each song on this tape is approximately 5 minutes long. So, we are concentrating on one song per chakra. You should keep your eyes closed while you are meditating. When we are meditating we are moving our energy from the navel chakra up the spine to the heart, and then up the spine to the third eye. If thoughts come in and out of your mind, just ignore them. Focus on the music, and concentrate on your chakras. Sometimes you will feel a warm sensation or energy vibrating around your chakras. Concentrate on that feeling or just concentrate on the pressure of your finger over that area.
You could also try meditating with your eyes open and concentrating on a Yantra. A Yantra is a geometrical design that was created in Tibet. It is an ancient secret tool for empowerment. Life is very much like a Yantra. Life is truly relational. True wisdom is to see and understand your relationship with the Universe. And when you start to understand your relationship with the Universe, then success, happiness, and love will follow.
It is good idea not to eat a big meal before you meditate. Unless you are really hungry. It is also a good idea to take the phone off the hook, or turn your answering machine on. If you are serious about meditation, you should start by meditating 15 minutes twice a day, then increase that time to 30 minutes, then 45 minutes, and eventually 1 hour twice a day. And you should meditate with a teacher of meditation as often as you can. Remember meditation will bring you power, balance, happiness, and knowledge.
Every person has within the subtle physical body - the body of energy - three channels of energy. The two channels on the sides are called the Ida and the Pingala. When you are meditating, you are trying to awaken the shakti energy that is dormant at the base of the spine in the lowest chakra. By concentrating on the different chakras, you are awakening this energy and moving it up the spine through the Shushumna, which is the main channel of energy. As this energy passes through each chakra, different states of consciousness are experienced.
The chakras can be represented by seven small yantras, this way you can get a geometrical representation of each energy center. Each chakra can also be represented by a mantra.
The Muladhara, or root chakra, is located at the base of the spine. This is gathering center of shakti energy. Its symbol is a square with an inverted triangle. In the center of this yantra is the snake symbol of the latent shakti energy. Its mantra is Lam.
The Svadhishthana, or sex center, is located in the center of the pelvic region. It is the center for sexual energy. Its form is a circle with six petals, containing a white crescent moon. The center is inscribed with the mantra of the water element, Vam.
The Manipura, or navel center, is located about an inch below the navel. This is the center of willpower and energy. It is represented as a lotus with ten pedals. Within the lotus is a red triangle with a t-shaped swastika mark. Its mantra is Ram.
The Anahata, or heart center, is located in the center of the chest. It is the center of balance, love, and harmony. Its form is a lotus of twelve petals with a hexagon in the center. Its mantra is Yam.
The Vishuddha, or throat center, is located at the base of the throat. This is the center of creativity. Its symbol is the sixteen petal lotus with a downward pointing triangle. At the center of the symbol is the ether element. Its mantra is Ham.
The Ajna chakra, or third eye, is located in the center of the forehead. It is the center for wisdom and psychic seeing. Its form is a circle with two petals and an inverted triangle bearing a lingam emblem. Its mantra is Om.
The Sahasrara, or crown chakra, is located at the top of the head. It is also called the thousand petal lotus of light. This chakra represents the ultimate goal of meditation, the union of Shiva and Shakti. It is represented by an inverted lotus of a thousand petals. Symbolically, it is showering the subtle body with its spiritual radiance.
The Ida and the Pingala are helping you move the shakti energy from the lowest chakra, up the spine passing through the Shushumna, and through all the chakras, so that you can reunite with the shiva energy with its shakti. The union of the dynamic shakti with shiva brings power, liberation, and enlightenment.
