Question of the Month: How Can You Get Better at Meditation?

As shared above, I have used?these 2 meditations?as my mainstay practice for decades. Though meditation is not a complicated idea, it is still challenging for most of us. I would love to set you up for success by providing you with some more preparation, based on my own experience. Before experiencing my guided meditations, please review these notes:

a.?Visit my website www.azimkhamisa.com?there is a preamble on my meditation methodology and two separate guided meditations – the first is on forgiveness (of self and others) and the second one is on manifesting your goals. Both are free downloads.

b. It is best to meditate twice a day instead of only once a day, as the results are tenfold better and more noticeable. I suggest one in the evening and morning. Do it daily.

c. Meditate in the same "space" each time as each meditation can layer to achieve a deeper and more profound experience.

d. Wear comfortable clothing, sit with your feet flat on the ground,?your back straight, and your palms in your lap facing upwards (an open/receiving position).

e. Meditation is when there is no thought or mantra – which is hard to achieve because the mind is a thought-making machine. But with practice, you get better using the techniques shared here.

f. A?"mantra"?is a Sanskrit word that means “not of the mind”. A mantra can be a word or a place. Some like the beach, some like the mountains, a favorite vacation spot, a sunset, a full moon a garden, or it can be a word like OM, Peace, Love, Spirit, Christ, or an attribute of the Divine.

g.?Use “Nadi Shodhana,” or alternative nostril breathing to magnify the experience.?Close the right nostril with your right thumb, breathe in deeply, and then conversely breathe out of the left nostril. Release the right nostril and close the left nostril with the two middle index fingers. Breathe in and out of the opposite nostrils and repeat this alternative nostril breathing exercise a few times. I recommend 10 times because the breath is the reins of the mind.?This practice stops the mind from actively thinking and producing unconscious thoughts.?Acknowledge this feeling when there are no thoughts in your mind – a blissful meditative state.

h. Ignore outside noises especially if you live in an urban venue – just treat these noises as the furniture in your room. Do not give any energy, awareness, or attention to these noises.

i. Keep your full attention and awareness on your heart's center.

j. Meditation sharpens your intuition and enhances your other five senses. Meditation, to intuition, is like fragrance is to your sense of smell.

k. With practice you will spend more time in "the gap" – the gap is where there is no thought or mantra.

l. With guided meditation, you do NOT need a mantra as you are being guided. If you are meditating without guidance, use a mantra to cut your thoughts and put you into the gap.

m.?Meditation is about listening, and it can offer you a "download" from your higher self, so a still quiet mind is important to cultivate.?On the other hand, prayers are an upload. It is important not to confuse meditation with prayer.?Personally, I get a lot of my "ah-has" and insights in my meditations.

n. Feel free to email me at?[email protected]?if you have any questions before, or after your meditation practice.?

Meditation can deliver you to a place of Aloha -- presence with God -- within your own very nature. Not only that, but it can reveal to you other hidden messages in your mind, the secrets that only your heart and intuition can glean, and an opportunity for you to connect to the part of yourself that exists beyond who you think you are.

My wish for each of you is that you can experience more of the sacredness, beauty, and blessings that life has to offer you. The best way to tap into the unknown, observe the radiance of existence, and share love with those on your path is by going beyond what meets the eye.

May the spirit of Aloha, and the real meaning of the word, inspire you to explore the ephemeral powers of turning inward through meditation.

Aloha.