Make A Meditation Space and De-Stress

A loved one of mine just went through the harrowing (and thankfully successful) experience of a stem cell transplant for leukemia. Thanks to meditating twice a day, I was able to keep my bearings and manage five straight months of stress. I recommend it, and here’s what I think you need for this healing and rejuvenating practice:

Meditation can be all about simplicity, with no extraneous trappings.

One of the most disciplined and long-time meditators I know uses nothing for his meditation space except his bedroom, and the bed’s pillows and headboard. He simply closes his bedroom door, gets himself comfortable, and proceeds to meditate. The key for him is that he has a practice technique he follows, Transcendental Meditation.

His example is a good one, because it shows that all you need to meditate is the intention and a method.

I come to meditating from an eclectic blend of traditions, and I find all that I need to meditate is the intention of the type of meditation I plan to do at any one time. For example, do I want to do a visualization meditation, a mantra meditation, a breath meditation, or what? One of my favorite meditations is on Adyashanti’s CD (with book) called True Meditation (Sounds True, 2006).

Adyashanti has now put out CD called Spontaneous Awakening with 50 hours of his teaching, and it is available from Sounds True.

On Care2 we have dozens if not hundreds of meditations of all types; you can find them in Care2’s Healthy Living channel and learn about more meditations in our Care2 Body, Mind, & Spirit newsletter.

I also like to meditate holding a crystal, as crystals are great amplifiers of energy, and I find that my meditation is often enhanced by this.

Many people like to meditate with music. Look around on the Sounds True website for meditation music, or try the CD that goes along with the book Sounds Like OM distributed by Red Wheel/Conari.

Others like to meditate with candles, and I do too, on occasion, especially when I am concerned about somebody. Candles are symbolic of Spirit for many. Meditate with beeswax, not petroleum-derived or aromatherapy candles made of petroleum. Read here The Brilliant Beeswax Candle, Natural Air Purifyers and More.

Another idea is to search for a local spiritual center that teaches meditation so that you start with a discipline of some sort. Just keep I mind that if the type of meditation doesn’t grab you, another type will, so don’t be discouraged.

Read more: Spirit, Guidance, Self-Help, de-stress, meditation, rejuvenating