“Spiritual meditation is the pathway to Divinity. It is the mystic ladder which reaches from earth to heaven, from error to Truth, from pain to peace. Every saint has climbed it; every sinner must sooner or later come to it, and every weary pilgrim that turns his back upon self and the world, and sets his face resolutely toward the Father's Home, must plant his feet upon its golden rounds. Without its aid you cannot grow into the divine state, the divine likeness, the divine peace...and the fadeless glories and unpolluting joys of Truth will remain hidden from you.”

~ James Allen, The Way Of Peace

What's All This Fuss About Meditation, Anyway?

On a most basic level, meditation is highly effective at reducing stress and creating a sense of calm, by lowering your brain frequencies to take you into a deep state of relaxation. But more importantly, meditation quiets the incessant chatter in your mind. This helps you create a strong connection to the Universe, which is where you will begin to hear the voice of your Higher Self (the connection between you and the Universe). Don’t worry if you don’t hear it yet. It can take some practice to learn how to listen. Your Higher Self is always trying to talk to you, but many of us haven’t yet learned to discern its voice from that of our ego-mind. With practice, you will!

The reason we want to listen to our Higher Self is that it has all the answers to all the questions we will ever have. It is all-wise, and all-knowing, and it will never fail us when we need it. Once we have a strong connection, we can turn to it whenever we are perplexed or confused about a decision we have to make, or wonder what is best for us in terms of our life’s vision and purpose. It knows the answers, even if we (in our ego mind) don't!

If you are new to meditating, or if you’ve tried it in the past but felt that you never achieved a true meditative state, I highly recommend Holosync Audio Technology from Centerpointe Research Institute (more on this below). At the very least, try the free 20-minute demo from their homepage. This audio technology will take you into a deep meditative state in mere minutes, without any effort on your part whatsoever.

And, I might add, it’s highly pleasurable!

You may also want to order a wonderful book on the subject called Meditation: A Simple Eight Point Program for Translating Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life, by Eknath Easwaran.

My Basic Steps Of Meditating

There are many different techniques to get to the meditative state, but the following steps work for me:

• Find a quiet place to sit. Turn off the phone ringer, the cell phone, the tube, and lock all animals and children out of the room.
  
  
• Sit in a comfortable chair, but not too comfy. Keep your feet on the floor.
  
  
• Keep your legs uncrossed, slightly apart. Put your hands on your legs or the arm of the chair. Keep your hands open and relaxed.
  
  
• Close your eyes.
  
  
• Keep them closed.
  
  
• Focus on your breathing. Breathe into your lower abdomen, not your chest. Imagine the breath coming in through your lower abdomen, and flowing out of your heart. If you put your hand on your abdomen, you should feel it pop out like a bubble whenever you breathe in.
  
  
• Then see if you can feel the sensations in every part of your body, starting with your eyelids. See if you can relax them and let all strain flow out of them. Do this with your fingers, and see if you can feel them tingling a tiny bit. Feel your legs and your toes, relaxing. Imagine you are traveling all around your body, feeling each part, slightly tingly, and slowly relaxing and releasing.
  
  
• Focus again on your breathing. Feel the breath flowing in and out, in and out. If you find your mind filling with thoughts, start counting your breaths. Focus only on that, and if a thought comes along, simply notice it and let it flow away. Return to counting breaths.
  
  
• Eventually (and this may take some practice before you really feel it) you will experience a sense of deep relaxation, as if you are between the awake and sleep states. You may have some thoughts wandering through your mind here and there, but the chatter should be slowing way down by now.
  
  
• You may doze off to sleep, and that’s okay. If I’m particularly tired, that happens to me sometimes. Some people say this is forbidden, but personally I don’t have a problem with a little catnap at the end of my meditations.
  
  
• With practice (or on the first try, if you’re lucky), you will experience a sense of connection to Source (Universe), where all of your problems simply fade away. At this point you realize that nothing really matters in the grand scheme of things. You have no worries, and you are completely safe and loved. This is the goal, because this is what’s truly REAL!
  
  

If you still have difficulty meditating, just sit quietly for 5-10 minutes, and focus only on your breathing. Thoughts will probably be racing through your head, but if they intrude into your quiet space, simply continue to focus only on your breathing, as it goes in and out, in and out. Keep practicing, and eventually you will be meditating. In time, you will want to work your way up to 30 minutes a day or longer. An hour is optimal, but that can be a stretch for a beginner or for someone who has a very busy life.

There is no right way or wrong way to get to the meditative state. Try different things, see what works for you. I sometimes imagine a blank white wall every time a thought intrudes, and repeat the word “blank” in my mind until the thoughts go away. The important thing is to find that place where the world seems to stop for a little while, where you can quiet your mind, be still, and know that you are a part of a much bigger organism than your mind may believe. And most importantly, you are safe in this place!

Holosync Audio Technology

The Holosync Solution is a phenomenal CD program that takes you into a deep and highly pleasurable meditation state. I have meditated on and off for many years, and never before had I been able to reach such a deep level. It happens automatically, just by listening to the sound of rainfall and Tibetan bells (the audio technology is recorded underneath, but is inaudible to the listener).

I've been using Holosync for quite a few months now, and the changes in me began even while I was just listening to their 20-minute demo, when I was waiting for the CD to come in the mail. My husband Ron even said I seemed "different" after only two sessions! (I didn't even cuss when I dropped a full basket of soggy coffee grounds on the kitchen floor, for once!) I listen to the CD practically every day, and what a huge difference it's made. My stress and worry has entirely dissipated, and I find it much easier now to live In The Present.

(I might add, this was not the only thing I was doing to create more calm and less worry in my life--I was reading books, working with various people, etc., and all are mentioned here on our website. All of these things worked in conjunction to help me build an inner sense of peace. But Holosync has been a significant part of this process.)

Here are the benefits according to Centerpointe's website:

• Stimulate the creation of new neural pathways between the right and left hemispheres of your brain, balancing your brain and leading you to a high-performance state scientists call "whole brain functioning"
  
  
• Dramatically improve your learning ability, memory, intuition, creativity, and your ability to focus, concentrate and think more clearly
  
  
• Create true quantum leaps in your personal self awareness
  
  
• Significantly lower your stress levels, and lower the levels of harmful brain chemicals related to stress
  
  
• Create remarkable improvements in your mental and emotional health-even in areas that have stubbornly resisted change with other approaches
  
  
• Dramatically increase your production of vital (and very pleasurable) brain chemicals related to your longevity, well-being, and quality of life
  
  

It should be clear by now why meditation is such an important part of your journey. Without it, your progress will proceed at a snail's pace; with it, you will grow in leaps and bounds. You will finally taste the absolute euphoria that comes from a true connection with the Universe, and there is nothing on Earth sweeter than that (not even sex!).

Not only that, but there are many health reasons why you should meditate on a daily basis, the least of which is that you will feel better, live longer, and have many more beneficial chemicals flowing through your veins. Stress will no longer affect you, emotionally or physically. You will no longer want to kick the dog (or your spouse) if he or she annoys you. Your nerves will not be frayed. You will feel an inner calm only rivaled by good pharmaceuticals, but you'll never "come down". So why not make it a daily habit, even if for just 30 minutes?