.png)
MEDITATION
Daily practices for all
It's often shrouded in mystery, but simply speaking, meditation is a technique which dispels the clutter from your mind and slowly quietens the thousands of thoughts firing away in your brain. Deeply relaxing, it provides your mind a much-needed breather. With regular practice, it will help you transform your life. Here's how.
It’s said that sleep restores the body, and meditation restores the mind. It helps remove the noise that’s distorting your natural inner peace. The technological environment we live in today is extremely problematic for repose and illumination as we are relentlessly bombarded by messages that are designed to distract, tempt and convince us. Meditation gives you the power to seize your mind back, even if it's just for some part of the day, and recall that peace and transformation, which is where it always is - inside.
​
You will find some of the meditations here very effective, and others may be less so. Everyone is different, so experiment to find what works for you. Remember this is your time, there are no rules, and you shouldn’t ever feel despondent about your practice. The most common reason people give up meditation is "I kept slipping into thinking", which is a futile reason to give up. To notice you were thinking, or to have observed your thoughts means that you were indeed meditating. Meditation is not a far away destination to be reached after years motionless inside a cave; it’s an internal state ready and waiting any time you want to connect to it.
​
As you begin to meditate more often, you will learn which method you need, and crucially, when you need it. Soon, you will become familiar with your unique rhythm, and will listen and respond to your own energy. You can lay down, sit up, lie on the floor, or even walk around; what you don’t have to do is you sit all day in the lotus position looking serene, because life isn’t like that. It’s unlikely you’ll fly around the room having an out-of-body-experience, or go into some sort of trance, and you certainly won’t need to involve mind altering drugs. Meditation simply requires you to concentrate on one thing, which is generally a mantra, a voice, or your own breath.
Here you will find a mixture of meditations some of which are guided, others which don’t require external direction, including ones for sleep, relaxation, positive affirmations, for loss, anxiety, depression or for losing weight, and cutting out alcohol. Click on the buttons below to take you to the meditations you would like to listen to.
​
MARK'S GUIDANCE
'There is no rush to reach what you imagine to be ‘enlightenment’. Enjoy your practice, have fun with it, explore it fully. It took me a number of years to learn which meditations suited me, but once I did, I was able to adapt them to nurture my own growth. You will soon be able to do the same. I am ardent about daily practice, and my routine is both simple and deeply enjoyable. You’ll find that if you take time to meditate every day, your life will change. I know because mine did. I practice in the morning before rising, but do what works for you. It will easily become part of your routine even on the busiest of days, as it swiftly becomes obligatory me time. To begin with, I suggest a couple of minutes to say thank you (link) quietly in your head and then 20 minutes to meditate.’
RELAXATION
Learn to let go
Relaxation is vital to go into deeper states of meditation. Most of us are subject to stress these days - we may not even be aware of it. The nervous system is switched into ‘fight or flight’ by looking at smartphones or making simple decisions such as which coffee to order. Use these meditations as often as you need to let go and allow body and mind to be calm.
MINDFULNESS
Improve concentration
These days our minds often feel jumpy and distracted, and mindfulness is the perfect anti-dote. It is one of the reasons it has become the 'now' form of meditation many of us have heard of and perhaps tried. It has its roots in ancient Buddhism, and is a very simple practice of awareness which instantly brings us into the present moment so we are more focused.
MANIFESTING
Focus on your goals
If we give something our attention, the more likely it will happen. These meditations will support you in manifesting changes in your life. Of course, there are no magic wands, you have to put steps in place to make those changes, but meditation will help improve your resolve and help clear the way to aid your progression.
GRIEF AND LOSS
Accept powerful emotions
Losing anyone close to us is probably one of the biggest life challenges we face. Dealing with grief is a process - and these meditations can help support you through powerful emotions which develop as part of this. We cannot change the situation, but we can manage our reactions, and meditation can offer great comfort.
CHILDREN'S
Little moments of calm
It’s easy to forget that children are affected by our stress and the stress of the modern world they live in. These practices will help them get into a healthy habit of being able to access their natural inner calm. It’s also worth practising as a family as the effects of meditation are magnified when we meditate as a group.
CHANTS
Speak inner peace
Chanting is a profound way of accessing deeper states of consciousness as it by passes the thinking mind. The sound of universal mantras such as ‘om’ resonate deeply in the body. You don’t have to chant out loud (although that may be a great outlet for some), allowing these chants resonate in your own mind will take you into a deep meditation.