Meditation Secrets Revealed

1. Visualizations – I frequently lock wonderful feelings and experiences into my memory by taking a few moments during the height of the experience to remember and take in everything around me. Recently, I was in Lima, Peru, standing on the beach watching the sunset with two friends and listening to the waves crashing dragging and pushing small rocks back and forth while my friend played a beautiful tune on his bamboo flute. This was an extraordinary moment for me because it filled me with peace, clarity, and joy. There was something unusually beautiful, special, and magical about the experience and I made sure to remember it in vivid and full detail. Spending thirty seconds burning the experience into my mind and then locking it in by creating a single image or photograph, I can now call it up any time to re-experience those sensations and that mood.

2. Breath- I concentrate on my breathing when I want to feel calm, energized, or patient, however this technique can be used for any mood or emotional state. Slow, deep breaths typically have a relaxing and calming effect while fast shallow breaths speed heart rate and other biological systems.

3. Smile- I love this because it’s so easy and it does wonders when I am starting to feel crappy or start to worry about something. It is amazing what happens when you smile at other people, they almost always smile back. Just the act of smiling improves your mood and improves other people’s moods also.

4. Acceptance – In January, I decided that I needed to apply to graduate school and by April I had taken the proper exams, filled out all the paper work and sent my application to the program. I was terribly excited at the opportunity to study at a graduate level, but I was also aware that I had a lot of competition and it would not be easy to get accepted. I made sure that all of the hard work that I had put into the application process would not bring my hopes up and as I received my letter of rejection, I took a deep breath, looked within and said to myself, “This is fine, take it in, don’t fight it, it is absolutely out of your control. You did the best you could and now, move on.” Acceptance is a powerful force and resource in my life. Instead of fighting something, I just let it wash over me, and once it has filled me completely, I let it go. I find this to be true in many situations and I frequently use this to ward of cold wind and low temperatures outside.

5. Perspective- People often get caught up in their own issues and it can be difficult see things objectively. When this happens to me, I literally imagine myself stepping out of myself, or floating out, and looking down at the situation. Having done so, I then ask myself, “Is your reaction appropriate for the situation? How would somebody else look at this if they were standing out here?” It also helps to think about you in the third person; I would say, “Vlad is getting really worried about this exam at the moment, is this something that he can do anything about? How would John feel if he was standing here next to me, looking at Vlad’s situation right now?” By shifting the angle from which you see yourself and viewing the situation from a third person perspective, you can disassociate from the emotional reaction and gain greater freedom and flexibility in your emotional responses.

6. Help others – I seize every opportunity to help others. From a place of selflessness, I want to help them better their situation and improve their life, meanwhile, I feel better about myself because I have given a hand to someone who is in need. This gives me a thrill of satisfaction and a boost of inner power.

I met a very beautiful woman a few weeks ago in New York City, she was sitting on steps in Union Square Park, and she looked terribly upset. Sitting down and striking up conversation, I quickly learned that she was expecting a phone call and that the had this movie running through her mind of what would happen if or when she received it. It was a downward spiral and the more often she looked at the phone, the worse it became. I talked to her and offered her some advice on ways to control and get rid of the mental movie. After a few minutes she actually began to smile, and even laugh. I soon left to catch my bus home, but this incident reminded me that anybody can help anybody, if only they would take the time to listen. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people have no idea how to control their internal dialogue or the mental images and stories that are cycling in their minds – gain mastery of those and inner peace is yours.

We all have a story in our heads, or at least I think we do. This story tells us who we are, how we should behave, what we think of the outside world and how we relate to it. It seems odd, but looking within myself one day I found a story unfolding, a tale of reality yet unconfirmed. But, I was already telling myself how this would happen and what it should be like. This is the story of my personal story, and how I changed it and what it means.

I began with a process of understanding and analyzing the personal story. What was I telling myself, how did it shape who I was, my interactions with the people and the world around me. I then took this story and gave it a solid shape, a form conjured up out of my imagination and a mysterious object, both ugly, and boring unfurled. There was nothing exciting about it, nothing beautiful or magical for that matter, it was mundane as a candy wrapper and more boring and ugly then an abandoned parking lot on a lousy winter day. Yes, this was the image that I received that my imagination called up to associate with the story. And so, sitting cross-legged in the tradition of many eastern mystics and fools, I began to shape my future destiny be unraveling this ugly mess and giving it beauty, design, light and mass. I gave it motion where there was stagnation, light where there was grayness, and laughter where there was despair. I fed it good thoughts, lots of love and many parties. People came and visited my newfound beauty, my crystal future which represented the present outlook as well as the future yet untold. If thought shapes reality, then this will be a great day to remember, if I can keep it up. For you see, I still find myself telling the story, although not in the same way. But the words are habituated and that will take some time as well as watchful awareness to get rid of. In fact, every time I now think these thoughts, it brings to mind the crystal beauty that I have seeded within myself, and it makes me smile. Every time I feel this, I give a great “Thank You” for life being so good to me.