Presence Meditation: Awareness of Thought and Breath

Over the years I have practiced a number of Buddhist meditation techniques, including Mindfulness of Breathing, Loving Kindness, and Anapanasati on a daily basis. Whilst learning about Eckhart Tolle’s teachings, I developed a meditation technique to directly cultivate Presence.

Focusing keeps your eyes on the road, but awareness lets you enjoy the scenery. Almost all the satisfaction of a sitting comes not from watching the road but from those sideways glances at the scenery. Awareness is complicated because...

The animals and the natural world are relaying messages to guide and support humanity during this time of great change on the planet. The four-leggeds, winged ones, creepy crawlers, and more are coming to assist in this evolution of consciousness. As we release the self-imposed barriers between us and them, we are able to transcend the illusionary veil between us and hear their language. We are given the gift of their wisdom when we connect in love and respect and cross through the barriers that separate us.

Here is a powerful healing meditation to help you lose your fears about love and to cleanse your heart chakra. You may want to tape-record this meditation with soft background music, so you can easily listen to it once or twice a day.

We are linked with plants through our breath. When we focus on this breath and consciously connect to the plant by giving and receiving the breath, we find ourselves intimately connected to the plant and it can be a very moving experience.

Tonglin practice is rooted in the breath. If you can breathe in and out, you can practice tonglin. The essence of the practice is to breathe in the suffering of another person and to breathe out loving-kindness, compassion, and healing. As we breathe that healing out, we are making the greatest gift we...

The word mantra means ‘mind protection’ in Sanskrit. A mantra carries a vibration and frequency that extends beyond the simple meaning of its words. In the highest sense, mantras carry thought waves that can energize the prana through constant repetition and they can reach deep into the subconscious mind to access the collective consciousness. More simply, using mantra can help overcome mental chatter, and prepare the way for an expansion of consciousness.

Meditation by Orin and DaBen: I allow myself to relax and go within. I release thoughts of my outer world for now. I breathe in relaxation. I adjust my body until it feels comfortable. I let my thoughts...

Meditation for Busy People: Whenever you have time, just sit silently with closed eyes. It will help. It will help you to be more at ease with yourself.

Most of us do not remember our past lives, however it is possible to access some information through a guided past life session. People have different experiences in a past life session. A friend of mine found themselves speaking in a foreign language! Others may have flashbacks or wonder how they knew about something.

Practising mindfulness meditation for ten minutes a day improves concentration and the ability to keep information active in one’s mind, a function known as “working memory”. The brain achieves this by becoming more efficient, literally requiring fewer brain resources to do these tasks.

You are made of energy that is constantly vibrating. This energy is changeable and transformative. It is amazing how our body, mind and soul has the ability to heal and change. Watching people change, heal and transform has been one of the most humbling and exciting experiences of my life.

Meditation needs great work. It is arduous, it is an uphill task. To remain non-meditative is easy in a way. You have not to do anything about it, you are already non-meditative, everybody is born non-meditative. But to become meditative really needs great courage, great determination, great patience, because to go beyond the mind is the most complicated phenomenon.

The heart chakra is where matter and spirit meet. It marks the halfway point, with three chakras below and three above. This is a very important chakra indeed, as it’s our center of love and connection. Here you move into a greater awareness and love flows from you. You are peaceful, joyful, and compassionate. Your actions are no longer self-serving but are motivated by helping others overcome suffering.

In Australia, about one in six adults practise meditation, while one in ten practise yoga. People often turn to yoga or meditation as a way to to take time out and manage the stress of their day-to-day lives. Stress is common, and ongoing stress can contribute to the onset of a range of psychological issues, such as depression and anxiety. Meditation and yoga have been shown to reduce people’s self-reported levels of stress. This is likely due, at least in part, to the effects that meditation and yoga have on the brain’s stress response system.

The old lower reptilian brain is designed to keep you from being eaten by a tiger. The higher brain does the opposite, it turns on your body’s ability to rejuvenate and feel a sense of inner calm and meaning. That feeling of well-being is meant to be your natural state. 

How you breathe reflects your self-esteem. How you breathe directly correlates to your enjoyment and satisfaction in life. If you breathe deeply, you imbibe of life and what it has to offer. If you are a shallow breather, perhaps you are not confident and feeling safe.

Despite the seeming explosion of meditation in modern culture, there seems to be a lot of confusion about what it is, being used interchangeably for thinking, daydreaming or contemplating on a particular issue. With lack of a cohesive understanding about what meditation is, it can naturally lead to confusion about how to practice it and what it is really supposed to do.

A peaceful and relaxed mind is a prerequisite to meaningful meditation. Breathing techniques as they are taught in Tibetan tradition are millennia-old methods with great contemporary appeal because they harmonize body and soul quickly and effectively. Breathing brings about life!

Preliminary findings from a study conducted with business students at Simon Fraser University show that even 10 minutes of classroom meditation can gradually increase students’ levels of physical, mental and emotional awareness.

To experience timelessness, you need to focus intently on the moment at hand. You cannot allow your mind to wander over events of the past or wallow in deep concern over the future.

The word spirit, from the Latin spiritus, means “breath” and is also associated with “light.” Anything that interrupts the breath weakens the life force, diminishing our light. When we hold our breath, we obstruct our ability to see, be, and respond to life. Our spirit, our breath, and our light are inseparable.

When you do a meditation on compassion, reflect upon the manner in which sentient beings undergo the experience of suffering. First, in order to have a very strong force of compassion, visualize a being undergoing active sufferings. For example, you could vividly and clearly visualize...

To empower your life, you have to seize responsibility for it. You cannot wait and hope that God or yet another 'miracle pill' will somehow solve the problems of pain, dissatisfaction, and depression. You will not change your state by doing nothing about it or by blaming other people for your pain.

We usually think that meditation is done sitting, but it can also be beneficial to practice walking meditation. In this case, walking with the eyes open, one is more mindful of the outside world. The purpose of a walking meditation is to cultivate awareness, and to use the very act of walking as a focus of your concentration thereby allowing you to have a wakeful presence.

Buddhists believe that all our actions are dependent on our state of mind. A mind that is not well controlled is liable to cause a great deal of harm to itself and others, while a peaceful mind creates a comfortable atmosphere for itself and everyone around.

Meditation has been hailed as a way to boost mental health, help chronic pain, reduce stress and build a new appreciation for the world around us.

Stress is part of life, especially when you have a career, family, and other responsibilities. But we can’t let it control our lives. We have to preserve ourselves if we want to accomplish everything and maintain balance.

The purpose of meditation is to slow down so that we can see clearly into the nature of the mind, making it possible for us to become fully present in each moment, to gain understanding of the way things truly are. It can give rise to the deep sense of calm that comes from really knowing something for yourself.

Visualizing, that is, creating pictures or images in your mind, works effectively on three aspects of our being: our physical bodies, our emotions, and our spiritual or soul level. Your body will believe the images that your mind focuses on, and here’s why...

Deep within you is a place of infinite calm, an oasis of peace, love, wisdom, power, healing. All you need lies within you, surrounds you and enfolds you. Fulfillment far beyond your human desire is there, awaiting your recognition and acceptance. There within your reach — moments away — lay freedom and paradise...

When we first go to the gym to develop physical fitness, we start with light weights and gradually increase these weights over time as our muscles develop. It is the same with meditation...

“It is necessary to be awake all day long, in order to sleep well,” Nietzsche wrote in Thus Spake Zarathustra. In the context of Yoga Nidra, this affirmation takes on a new meaning and is a teaching of great importance. And we can also add that it is up to us to sleep well at night, in order to be truly awake.

If you want to feel less pain, meditate more often. According to this new research, it can genuinely erase the emotional reaction to pain.

Dance as liturgy or ritual has always been a way to honor the sacred, the mystery, turning into the spiral of life and the universal, the ever-present flow of the Divine force. It has profound implications for healing, psychotherapy, spiritual growth, and the full unfolding of human potential.

Many people have misconceptions about meditation and these can sabotage your ability to enjoy the benefits of it. The biggest misconception is that you “should” be able to clear your mind. You are not expected to clear your mind. What you will do is find you’re getting better at ignoring the thoughts...

Events are going to happen to us on account of actions committed in the past. But the good news is that through our present responses, we mold our future — constantly, moment to moment to moment. The choice is...

I strongly advocate cultivating an inner receptivity, an inner listening and attunement to the signals of the Essential Self. These intuitions are the way the deeper self informs us and guides us. If you ask your Essential Self to come into your con­sciousness, it will...

When you see a trauma scene, or when you hear emergency vehicles, say, “I wish you well” or “God bless you, every one.” Be aware of these people in need, people who started an ordinary day...

For the ten problems of life — family troubles, work problems and money worries, finding your way in the world — I have no solution. But you have an eleventh problem. For that one I have help...

Over mild wine with a friend, I steered the conversation to one of my favorite topics, spirituality. After my second eloquent sentence, she burst out, “Oh, I don’t have time to be spiritual!” I started to clarify but she changed the subject to her impossible office job.

Life is to be lived, experienced, enjoyed. Fun, happiness, and new experiences should be consistent throughout your life, and it is up to you to make sure they are!

Meditation is the only way the mind can rest. All day long we think, emote, and react. All night long we dream. This most beautiful and valuable of all tools, our own mind, never gets a moment’s rest. The only way it can get a rest is when we sit down and concentrate on a meditation subject.

What is meditation? Here is a good definition: Meditation is listening. It is listening not only with the ear, but with the soul—not only to sound, but to the silent language of inspiration. "Listening" itself, as I use the word here, entails much more than listening with the ears. It means, among other things...

Your ancestry and your family tree extend beyond your biological family; every human has a spiritual, multidimensional soul lineage as well. You may have a strong connection to the Egyptian lineage. You may go as far as to say that you are...

Emotions are the entryway into the infinite. They are your route back to your self, and they provide an easy access to the peace that is already there, calling you into your very essence. You might like to start by finding a quiet space where you can sit without interruption...

Meditation is marketed as a treatment for pain, depression, stress, and addiction, but it can leave some people more distressed than at peace.

For many of us, family competes for our meditation time. This is perhaps one of our greatest struggles: how can we find time for ourselves without taking it from them?

This type of meditation is different from most meditation. Our approach to meditation is patterned after that of the Western shamanic spirit walkers or dream walkers and Hindu samadhi mystics. Samadhi mystics go into deep meditative states to leave the body...

Notice your emotions. What color or colors are they? What shapes do they make? Notice your thoughts. Again, what colors are they? What shapes do they have? Notice your emotions....

In the process of becoming all you can become, it is sometimes expeditious to have special help in cutting old bonds. Here is an excellent exercise in Creative Visualization.

Stopping the world to enter a meditation state of blissful peace and out-of-body timelessness is not easy for many of us. Many people find it difficult to tune out external distractions. To do this, you must control your physical senses. We can tell ourselves not to be distracted by...

Dedicated to the precise and dynamic performance of often challenging asanas, the hatha yoga developed by B. K. S. Iyengar seemed particularly ill-suited for being made into a spiritual practice, let alone into the eightfold path of liberation...

If we could choose one word that would define the lives of modern humans, it would have to be hectic. When, in recorded history, have we been so predisposed to incessant activity? We truly are driving ourselves insane. Our body/minds haven’t been prepared for...

The following visualization/meditation has been created to assist you in walking this glorious path of sacred sensuality. In order to embark on this ancient path, it is necessary to become personally acquainted with the rich and revitalizing flow of your Kundalini energy and the playful...

All kinds of discomforts disappear when we’re asleep, and changing our attitudes and thinking—our consciousness—can completely change our experience of living. That may be easier said than done; but there is a sure-fire way to make it happen.

Although there are many different approaches to meditation, all meditation methods share some basic characteristics and work in similar ways. The fundamental requirement in meditation is that we find some way to manage the monkey mind so that we can start training it.

Attention means a silent alertness with no thoughts interfering. Develop it. You can develop it only by doing it; there is no other way. Do it more and you will develop it. Doing anything, being anywhere, try to develop it.

For the last several decades, Westerners have been looking East for new approaches to health care. What was once the exclusive domain of hippies and New Agers has become mainstream.

Although meditation is independent of any particular lifestyle or diet, I would be remiss if I did not point out that what you put into your body will make a difference in the quality of your meditation and how quickly you advance in your inner experience.

If hate arises for someone or against someone, or love arises for someone, what do we do? We project it on the person. You project your love or hate or whatsoever. You forget completely the inner center of your being; the other becomes the center.

I choose joy. I choose the path of joy.  I am now willing to release struggle, and embrace the path of joy. I relax my body.

Meditating sounds easy. Sitting. Breathing. Focusing in a relaxed kind of way. So why isn't everyone doing it? Why do so many who start meditating, or open a book on the subject, fail to carry through and make meditation a part of their daily lives? 

Opening Meditation: Find a comfortable position. A nice comfortable chair will work, or you can lean against the wall or sit cross-legged on the floor. Whatever will be most comfortable for you.

Many things we do are imposed on us by necessity, or by the absurd. Why wear a tie? The fact is, many of the rules we obey nowadays have no real foundation. Nevertheless, if we wish to act differently, we are considered “crazy” or “immature”.

Emotions are the lenses through which we experience daily life and inhabit the world—how we love, learn, work, make meaning, and devise solutions to problems we face. 

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) teaches us that what makes the stresses in our life particularly damaging is how we mismanage them. The tendency to resist or willfully ignore our situation, misperceive and have fixed ideas about who we are and the reality we inhabit, is slowly replaced with mindfulness...

Part of letting go into the flow of life lies in realizing that you have never really been in control of your life, at least not from the perspective of the conscious mind. You simply have been mak­ing choices based on a very limited scope of awareness dictated by...

Fold your hands together in your lap, with the right hand underneath the left hand -- the position is important because the right hand is joined with the left brain, and fear always comes from the left brain. The left hand is joined with the right brain, and courage comes from the right side.

Every meditation technique has its unique charac­teristics, and invites you to experience meditation in a different way. They all invite you to direct your attention at one focal point, but these focal points may be essentially different...

Identifying these wounds, our patterns of hurt and how we defend ourselves, is valuable. Knowing what we do when we feel threatened, we can begin to recognize whether we unconsciously perceive our meditation as a threat and defended ourselves against it with a resistance that prevents us from doing it.

In daily life, walking meditation can be very helpful. A short period -- say ten minutes -- of formal walking meditation serves to focus the mind, develop balance and accuracy of awareness as well as durability of concentration. Beyond this advantage, the awareness developed in walking meditation is useful to...

Here is something you can practice to connect with your inner guide. Find a quiet spot in nature and sit comfortably alone. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Allow yourself to fully feel your body and be present in the Now.

Having a quiet mind is lovely, and there are some simple man­ual tasks that you can do with a quiet mind: washing dishes, rak­ing leaves, sweeping floors. But there are other tasks that are a bit more complex, where keeping a perfectly quiet mind may be inappropriate or even unsafe.

Scientists have known for a while that both of these activities alone can help with depression," says Tracey Shors. "But this study suggests that when done together, there is a striking improvement in depressive symptoms along with increases in synchronized brain activity.

Learning to trust your intuition takes time. The only way to accomplish this is through meditation — by silencing the mind and listening inward. If you have meditated before, especially on a regular basis, you know how much the practice can improve your mental fortitude. As a medium, I recognize that it is absolutely critical for me to have a clear and open mind...

Bombarded by the intensity and complexity of our life, it is easy to feel overwhelmed: “How can I possibly manage this situation?” We all need help, guidance, and inspiration to find our way and to stay the course at times when we may become distracted or dis­heartened.

Meditation is receiving from God. Prayer is petitioning God — it is a giving out. Meditative prayers are a type of supplication to the divine. In this type of meditation, you are making a specific request to the Higher and then receiving the blessing that the divine wishes to give you.

Though there is some advantage in doing meditation practice now and then, the real benefits come through establishing the discipline and momentum of daily practice. This is analogous with physical training: intermittent exercise may feel good on occasion, but does little to really develop strength, health, or vitality...

Before you start any action toward your Dream—a call, meeting, class, exam, presentation, creative session, difficult situ­ation—use this visualization technique: Send Love Ahead. I learned this most precious method from a study group in A Course in Miracles. Here’s how it works...

Having taught meditation for over thirty years to thousands of people, I can really say that it is the sin­gle most important thing you can ever learn in order to expedite and enrich your spiritual life. Everything you learn in school, by analysis or by study, will be expo­nentially deepened because you meditate.

It is said that every tiny bit of restoration of wholeness within ourselves directly contributes to the restoration and awakening of all beings and of the whole world. The impulse of every movement toward healing, every moment of mind­fulness, every act of kindness we generate within ourselves, is directly shared or transmitted...

Finding and connecting with your spiritual core is both intensely personal to your beliefs, needs, and outlook as well as deeply necessary for strength and replenishment. Find time every day to stop, detach yourself momentarily from the hectic pace of ticking things off of to-do lists, and take part in a relaxing or meditative activity.

Vitality is natural to us. Vitality is an aspect of our life faculty. The word vitality stems from its root, “vital,” its two meanings applicable to our life faculty. Vital means “essential” or “necessary.” Vital also means “having energy” and “the ability to thrive.”

The subconscious is powerful but—by definition—not conscious. It has its routines, and it continues with them until something calls forth other reactions. That “something” can be an emergency of some sort, but it can also be us.

The meditation for the cultivation of compassion: begin by bringing to mind a person you know who is suffering adversity, whether physically or mentally. Bring this person to mind as vividly as possible, and picture the whole situation. Let a yearning arise for this person to be free of suffering and the...

Sitting quietly, doing nothing. But what’s the point, you ask? Why should I do this? Why should I waste my precious time sitting quietly doing nothing when there is so much to do, so much to accomplish and achieve?

We need the mental plane, and it can be our greatest ally; but it can be our biggest enemy. The mental plane has the capacity to take us to the past. It can also take us to the future, but the mind needs to be trained or it will...

You are blessed to be on Earth at this time, preparing for the new Golden Age. You are asked to make the most of this God-given chance. In order to be prepared you are expected to clear yourself of all fear and negativity and replace it with love, peace, joy and abundance...

While we all want to experience a deeper peace in our lives, most of us have little time to practice spiritual disciplines. As a teacher of workshops on happiness and spirituality, I’ve looked for quick ways to help people to quiet their minds.

Even brief sessions of mindfulness meditation—25 minutes for three consecutive days—can alleviate stress, new research suggests. “More and more people report using meditation practices for stress reduction, but we know very little about how much you need to do for stress reduction and health benefits..."

Very few people are sleeping well, so when you have not slept well in the night you are a little tired during the day. If that is the case, then do something with your sleep. It should be made deeper. You can sleep for eight hours, and if it is not deep you will feel hungry for sleep, starved...

Mind mastery is the ability to stop thinking whenever you want. You use your mind as the amazing tool that it is, and then ‘put it down’ when you’re done. As a result, a master of the mind enjoys freedom from problems because they no longer take their mind so seriously.

Clearing and opening the heart chakra releases emotional blocks and attachments. When this chakra is not clear, you may experience great ups and downs in your feelings and be subject to emotional drama. You may also be jealous, clingy, and demanding in your relationships...

Similar to getting an oil change every 3,000 miles, you benefit from doing some sort of Chakra Meditation regularly. Just as you wash your car when it is dirty, you can use a Chakra Meditation to clean up whenever you are not feeling your best...

I suggest clients use the Light Work - Space Clearing Meditation when there is discord in the house, yet remind them that to clear someone else’s space is unethical. This is a highly effective technique for clearing common areas if there is fighting going on in the home, you have a home office...

How do we integrate our spiritual practice into our daily life and professional work? How do we really bring it alive in the world, make it acceptable to our friends, co-workers, and clients? How do we celebrate our interconnectedness in our work and in our relationships in the world?

To help us embrace mystifying messages that flow through our own inner wisdom and the divine mystery, the following exercises activate four of our seven chakras — the Solar Plexus, the Heart, the Throat, and the Third Eye.

Working with the breath is the most time-honored meditation technique. Moreover, breathing meditation arises from its simplicity — the breath is always with us. When you practice breathing meditation, your mind follows your breathing. The air comes in and goes out...

Meditation is an essential travel partner on your journey of personal transformation. Meditation connects you with your soul, and this connection gives you access to your intuition, your heartfelt desires, your integrity, and the inspiration to...