Creating Meditation

Whether we wish to create space in our lives for prayer, meditation or quiet time, all of us need a protected time and place to unwind, regroup, and reconnect with the Divine. With everything and everyone pulling us in every possible direction, we all long to return to our center. Here are a few simple suggestions to help you create meditation-balance in your lives.

1. Pick a protected place where you will be undisturbed.

2. Create a consistent dependable time, when you are neither too tired nor too wound up to relax without falling asleep.

3. Commit to a regular practice, slowly building up length of practice over time.

4. It may be best to avoid lying down, as you may drift off to sleep.

5. If you are on the go, or simply too hyped-up to relax, then consider a walking meditation outside, surrounded by nature. Ideally, find a place where your feet touch the natural (unpaved) ground.

6. Stick with it, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

7. If you are outside, engage all of your senses. Smell the air, feel the earth beneath your feet, listen to the wind and to the birds, notice the different colors and textures.

8. If the calmly sit by the edge of the river and serenely watch your thoughts flow by technique is not working, try a waterfall, instead. This works for some of you more dramatic types, or those of you who, literally, have a lot to let go of—people, attitudes, emotions, relationships, beliefs. Visualize whatever you’re letting go of at the top of Niagara Falls and then watch with excitement as it/they plunge dramatically into the raging waters below. If you do this long enough, eventually the sense of excitement and drama dissipates. (I have fun with this one!)

9. Remember to begin/end with a blessing and gratitude.

10. Enjoy this time! You’ll be amazed at how many problems get solved, how many solutions appear, and how many creations manifest when you step out of linear time into this space between space.