Meditation by Rev. Patrick J. Harbula

Author:Rev. Patrick J. Harbula
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

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MEDITATION PRACTICE

Let’s begin actually meditating. You can use the following meditations to get started on your meditation path or to add new techniques and styles to your existing practice. You can read these meditations into your own recording device and listen to them said in your own voice.

The first session, entitled “Meditation Sampler,” is precisely the format I use in my meditation workshops. It is a longer form offering many different styles and techniques in one extended session. I usually lead these for about forty minutes to an hour or so. Virtually everyone experiences them as feeling much shorter. At the end, I sometimes ask how long people thought we were in meditation. The answers usually vary, ranging from ten to twenty minutes.

I used to be hesitant about leading long meditations, especially with newbies. Then I remembered that I became really good at meditating by participating in group meditations called “transmission meditation,” which involved sitting with a group of people in complete silence for about three hours at a time, holding our attention at the level of the third eye (the point slightly above and at the center of the brows), and allowing our group to be a transmitter of light, love, and power as a service to the planet and all sentient beings. Sitting for long periods in meditation will definitely build the meditation muscle.

In the following Meditation Sampler, I offer a specific style or technique, then allow silence to practice it. I then introduce another style or technique, allow more silence, and so on. As I say in my trainings, feel free to completely ignore a specific technique, or my voice if you are listening, and continue with whatever technique you find most helpful. Feel free to use all these techniques together in one long session, or simply use those you like the best individually.

The last practice in the Meditation Sampler is an invitation to sing a simple but powerful Sanskrit chant. I find that if no other practice helps to calm and still the mind, Vedic chanting does the trick for most people. The words are “Ram Jai, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram Om.” In some Vedic traditions, Ram (pronounced “rom,” rhyming with “mom”) means “Supreme Being.” Jai (pronounced “jay,” rhyming with “hay”) means “praise.” Om (pronounced “om,” rhyming with “home”) has many meanings, including “God” or “First Cause,” and is a most sacred syllable used at the beginning and/or end of sacred chants, much like “Amen” is used at the end of a Christian prayer. In singing this song, we are praising and opening our hearts fully to Supreme Being or Creator in whatever form we understand It to be. You can also find many examples of simple Sanskrit chants on YouTube.

The seven meditations, beginning with Color Cycle here, are guided meditations designed to take you into a deep meditative state. Spend several minutes in the deep meditation beyond the guiding portion and see if you can extend that time as your practice continues to evolve.

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