TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION (one of the many different forms of meditation) © 2005 FairyWoman.com Wearing comfortable clothes (nothing tight or restrictive), sit down in a comfortable position that you can maintain for a while. Dim the lights or close the blinds. Take the phone off the hook — whatever you need to do to ensure you are not disturbed for a brief while. Begin by taking a few long, slow, deep breaths to clear your mind. Concentrate carefully on the breath of life going into your body, hold it briefly, then concentrate on its going out again. Over and over: breathe in slowly, hold, breathe out slowly, until your heart rate begins to slow and your body relaxes a bit. Then, drop your concentration away from your breathing and just sit, breathing naturally. Do not attempt to bring any thoughts to your mind, consciously, but rather let thoughts materialize as they will. As soon as a thought appears, acknowledge it, dwell on it for a moment, then dismiss it. "Dismissing" it means that you should put it on your mental "will worry about it later" list. When the next thought appears, do the same — acknowldge it, then dismiss it. If a thought you have dismissed resurfaces again, do not think you have failed; just acknowledge it again calmly, then dismiss it again. If you continue to do this for a short while, your mind will eventually come to a "blank" state where you see nothing but a blackness/blankness in front of your eyes. Once you are there, just allow yourself to float aimlessly on this sea of blackness/blankness for a while. Enjoy its comforting caress enfolding you. Enjoy the feeling of being inside the Womb of the Universe, no cares, no worries, safe, protected, and floating. Stay there are long as you want, or as long as you think you need to. If any thoughts do surface again, just calmly acknowledge them, and dismiss them again. Continue floating on the sea of blackness/blankness, the watery abyss of the universe. When you feel it is time to return again to the "real world," do it slowly. Keep your eyes closed, think of something pleasant that you enjoy, like a crisp, red, crunchy apple. See that apple (or whatever) in your mind's eye and focus on it, letting it be the anchor you grasp to return to the real world. Move your arms or hands, if you like, slowly, gently, peacefully. When you feel ready, slowly open your eyes and let the real world come gently into focus. When you feel steady-enough to stand, do so, slowly. If you feel at all dizzy or lightheaded after you are moving normally again, perhaps eating or drinking something will help this feeling go away and return you more fully to your everyday life. You should feel calmer, more peaceful, and more relaxed. Congratulate yourself for a successful meditation. Do not judge whether you did a good job meditating or not — simply congratulate yourself for having done it, period. Repeat as necessary, daily if possible. Remember you are loved. © Mabon 2000 FairyWoman.com — ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No portion of this work may be reproduced without prior consent from the author. NOTE: This is a very old form of meditation. I only typed this particular description of how to do it. Also, this is only one of many forms of meditation — if this particular technique does not work for you, please do not give up on meditation altogether, as a different technique might be better suited to the way your mind works! I firmly believe that there is at least one meditation method that will work for any given person! May you find that method and obtain many blessings from it!