Articles > Balanced Living > Conscious Meditation

"Stress contributes more to ill health, lost work hours and long term misery than any other factor"

You really cannot afford put off doing something about it any longer

Of course you know that meditation is one of the simplest and most effective ways of handling your stress. And most of you will no doubt have considered trying it sometime, But, the problem is that you put it off, or there is no course at a convenient time near you, or there seem to be so many types of meditation and you do not know which one is best, so you end up doing nothing.

Honestly, it does not matter which type of meditation you use, they all have at their heart the simple fact is that we need to learn be BE here and now. That is the true secret of meditation, and of relaxation - and the end of so much pain and misery that we all suffer because we are so stressed,

To live consciously in the here and now is fundamental to many Eastern cultures and philosophies. And, I have come to realise that it is an essential part of each of our lives if we wish to attain optimum health.

The reason for this is simple. In order to be able to balance all the aspects of a full and fruitful life, we need to be able to appreciate exactly where we are right this very moment.

The essence of this is acceptance. Acceptance of ourselves as we are at this present point, acceptance of the world that we have been born on, acceptance of our place in this world. Acceptance is more like a absolute force of physics than a fundamental truth, although I have found that acceptance and truth are so entwined that they are inseparable.

I have found that I, personally, can make no real forward progress without truly accepting all the circumstances where I find myself and also accepting the person I am right now - with all my foibles, prejudices, fear, skills, experience and potential. It is only when I have a clear sense of this moment in my life, that I am able to truly transform. I believe this is because when we let go of our expectations, our worries and our fears, we naturally enter the movement of life that is the flow of nature and the universe around us. You do not have to think big, you simply have to turn down the mental processes and still yourself enough to be in touch with your intuitive or essential self.
Okay, I hear you say, that sounds like just what I want to do, but where will I get the time, how can I release the responsibilities of everything else I must do. And, if I stop worrying all the time, I will stop being me, because everyone in my family worries and I am a worrier. Right?

Perhaps not. Consider the possibility that several of the most potent and I believe long term destructive things we do are simply bad habits. Habits that we do not recognise as habits only because so many people fall into the patterns that they seem an inevitable part of life.

• I KNOW that it is possible to reduce the time and energy we waste on worrying. And I know that by doing so we can instantly find ourselves in a less negative mind set.

• I KNOW that we can care deeply and passionately about many things, and still release the habits of worry and anger.

• I KNOW that fear need not stop us in our tracks, but that it can be both a useful tool in growth and it can be drastically reduced.

• Best of all, I KNOW a simple way to prove this to you. All you need to do is to be aware that this is possible, and that you wish to progress beyond the place where you seem to be trapped by old mind patterns and negative attitudes, and the obsession to get everything done as quickly as possible.

Here we go:-

Whenever you have a moment to yourself - perhaps on the train into work, whilst you are waiting for something to happen, during a tea or coffee break (simply any time when you are alone or when you are in a place where you are not expected to interact with those around you e.g. in front of a boring television programme will work for some people) - try this:-

Focus your complete concentration on your breathing. Allow your breathing to slow down and to become easy and calm.

Once you are in tune with the rhythm of your own breath, then very slowly expand your awareness to the rest of your body. Be aware of any tension, and let go it - sometimes you will find it useful to tense a muscle or give it a we shake or stretch to help you release the tension - great, do it.

Once you are feeling very clearly aware of your body, slowing reach out your senses to the place you find yourself. Allow your sense of judgement to be still. Just look out, listen, smell, feel what is around you, as if you had found yourself waking up in a book or movie. Simply be aware of what your senses take in.

Then step back into the moment.

This wee exercise takes only a few minutes of time. It need never prevent you from doing anything pressing in your life. But I can guarantee that if you repeat it when you have a few moments, when you think of it, preferably a couple of times a day, but whenever - then you will be accepting this moment more fully, you will be living in the here and now.

Because of that, you will be able to engage with your own potential self. Try it. You have nothing to lose!

Some early reflections of the process

• It is an art to learn to let time pass, to feel the flow of it, quick and rippling, gentle eddying.

• To push acceptance of self outward to the physical here. To this place of comfort and rest and out - to the dear planet on which we rest.

• To unfold and to become part of the universe at this instant.

• And the next many moments. Allowing thoughts and feelings to flash across the inner canvas of self, or lurk in the waters of the lower conscious. To feel . To know. To be.

• Still. Like a conscious meditation, a spiritual recharging.

• And later sharing with a dear friend some aspect of the inner picture, or capturing it gently in words, movement or colour. Or not.

• I am. And later, when I am ready, I will do.