A blog about crystals, energy cultivation and lifestyle balance …
How to Meditate with Crystals 101 – Part 1
by Eric Justin of OneOriginStarseed
Our world has divided everything into polarities. We want to follow what is right, and shun what is wrong. We want to know what is good, and avoid what is bad. The division of the whole energy of life into polarities, is the way the mind attempts to keep a grip on reality and avoid spiraling into the chaos it instinctively fears at a deep level. We use logic to form conclusions, and create a framework by which everything can be judged, labeled and categorized. The division of the mind into the logic of intellectual application, is the way of the physical world. To simplify the mind, unify its polarities, and achieve self-integration back into a state of wholeness… is meditation. The two seem diametrically opposite, however they are in truth, two sides of the same coin.
By learning to live as a conscious response to life, rather than just by impulsive or compulsive reactions, means learning to be life sensitive, so one can respond to the moment with the energy which is most appropriate, to achieve the balance needed. Being able to see the importance and the truth of this, means to have an awakening of sorts. By accepting the responsibility of one’s life and everything in it, we pursue the direction of self-mastery. One who desires mastery means they will need the tools necessary to master the energetic balance of their body, mind and spirit. For the purpose of alchemical energetic self-cultivation, there is no practice which is more vital than meditation.
Preparing Oneself and the Body for Meditation
Most of us have lived the majority of our lives building structures in our mind, from which we color our world and live out of. Our energy tends to be impulsive, and compulsive, as we often react, rather than consciously respond. By living year after year like this, we become accustomed to it, and live our lives on full throttle from one moment to the next, riding the waves of our impulses, desires and mental chatter. When living life in this way, eventually we reach a point of overload and exhaustion where our physical and mental energies start to get out of control, and we become aware that something needs to be done. This usually becomes the force which moves an individual in the direction of spirituality.
Most people have a general idea of what it means to be spiritual, and seek to embrace it in some form, in order to restore balance and peace to their lives. Once the decision has been made, then the first most obvious thing people of organic spirituality pursue, is the practice of meditation, which seems to promise not only calmness and peace in one’s life, but holds the actual possibility of becoming enlightened or a kind of super being.
Trying to shift gears from a life of compulsive and anxiety driven activity, to suddenly becoming a spiritual aspirant that seeks inner stillness and self-realization, can be a huge jump for many people. Trying to suddenly force oneself to sit and concentrate, can be extremely difficult for those who are not ready. This is why any true spiritual practice, will not throw the undeveloped into a masters practice, but will instruct them to prepare the energies of their body, mind and spirit, so that the practices can be done naturally, and can be committed to, and sustained over a long period of time. Moving too quickly with something one is not ready for, will not only yield poor results, but will make it difficult to persevere in the long run.
Every person who desires to undertake the practice of meditation should first work to cultivate greater life sensitivity, and organize their energies into a more malleable state conducive to meditation. We have written an article about this called (17 Ways to Enhance Sensitivity and the Effects of Your Crystals). It is highly recommended to start there before plunging into a meditation practice. Also, it is best to familiarize oneself with the basics of meditation beforehand. Please read our article (Foundation for Meditating with Crystals 101). Work on oneself honestly, gently and consistently, and within 6 months’ time it is highly probable that you will be ready to begin an effective and rewarding practice of meditation in your life.
Finding a Place Conducive for Meditation
When the body has been prepared enough to be able to sit at will with a reasonable amount of comfort, and a calm mind for at least 15-20 minutes, then it is time to begin practicing your daily meditation. The first step is to find a quiet spot where you can sit relatively undisturbed for a bit of time, without being interrupted. The most ideal place, is a calm and peaceful spot in nature, or a sacred space you have prepared for your daily practice (see our article – Making a Sacred Space with Crystals), or a place indoors that has sunlight exposure from windows that can be opened for fresh air etc. Ideally, it shouldn’t get too much traffic from others walking through it.
The space you choose, should feel good to you overall, and not have a hangover of negative energy from any conflict, heated exchanges of anger, or other kind of recent altercations. If possible, avoid places where sick or depressed people have spent a significant amount of time recently, or places that are used for work, parties, or extensive activity. Through your own sense and intuition, the right place will feel right to you, and if it does, trust your feelings and go with it.
A singing bowl, smudging herbs, or other space clearing techniques, can be used to purify the energy of a space if necessary. (See our article – Making a Sacred Space with Crystals) If there are not any places that fit these standards, just find the best place you can, and keep the ideal conditions in mind for the future when such a place becomes available for you. When your meditation develops a bit of power to it, you will actually be able to purify that space through your practice as well.
Choosing a Seated Posture for Meditation
There are a variety of seated postures that are conducive for meditation. As a good, well-rounded sitting meditation posture, we recommend the yogic Ardhsiddhasana.
To Start – Sit comfortably, directly on the floor, or on a yoga mat on the floor, with your legs stretched out straight in front of you.
Spinal Position – Your spine should be comfortably erect, with its natural inward curve present in the lower back. There is no forward slouch which would cause that inward curve to disappear. You can use the back of one of your hands, to verify your spinal position is correct. You may need to make small adjustments in the hips and waist to find the correct alignment. For those that need a little help to achieve this, you could sit on a thin folded blanket, or a thin cushion just under the buttocks, which would raise you off the ground by an inch or so, as your hip bone sits on the edge of the blanket / cushion. This will encourage your lower back to keep that natural inward curve. Just try not to rely on this long term, unless you really need to.
Position of Legs- Bend your left knee, and bring the sole of your left foot as close as possible to the inside of your right thigh, in front of your groin area. You want your left heel to be lightly pressing your perineum (the spot midway between the genitals and the anus). If you are unable to get this right, just make sure the left heel is touching the groin area, or as close to that as possible. The right leg will then come directly in front of the left leg as close as possible touching the left leg flat on the ground.
Both knees, legs, and your sit bones are making direct contact with the ground. If you cannot get your knees to touch the floor, you can put a small cushion under each one, until you are able to do it the correct way. If none of this is possible for you, just sit in a cross-legged posture such as Sukhasana. Excellent Yogic Asanas that can be practiced to prepare the legs for sitting in Ardhsiddhasana are Baddha Konasana (Cobblers Pose), Titliasana (Butterfly Pose) and Shishupalasana, to name a few.
Hand Position – The hands should be palms up, and resting on top of their respective knee.
Head Position – Keep your face forward to the front and slightly upturned.
Eyes – Eyes are closed with a mild focus between your eyebrows.
Upper Body – Try to keep your shoulders back, and your chest out a little.
The General Direction of a Meditation Session
There is not a single correct way to practice seated meditation. The main goal, is to simplify and unify the diversity of one’s energies that have been scattered through daily living. A good meditation practice gently turns the focus of one’s consciousness from external to internal. True mediation seeks to slow down and stop one’s participation in their own thought process for some time, until the mind itself also slows down, and then becomes still, or as close to stillness as you can get in that session. All of your daily concerns, plans, and busy-ness fall away one by one, and attention and focus consolidate as you become aware of your internal reality more and more, minus the narration of mental chatter.
When awareness becomes pure and distinct from the movement of mind, one’s spirit will become brighter, and one’s life will become revitalized. Hence spirituality means keeping in touch with one’s source, and not losing the essence of one’s life energy to the bustle of external living. Establishing a tool like this in one’s life, will open doorways of possibilities never imagined.
Selecting an Effective Form of Meditation
There are a number of good systems of meditation available to learn, which will yield good solid results. There are also even a great deal more meditation systems out there, which look pretty on the outside, but lack any real substance, nor the capacity to help the practitioner develop a tool with which they can use to consciously bring themselves to a state of inner stillness with pure awareness for some time. It is advised to digest the essential points being laid out here in this article, and in other articles we have written, and examine whether a particular meditation practice in question embraces the core principals of organic spirituality.
Organic spirituality means a return to oneself and a return to the origin. Any effective form of meditative spiritual practice, will be like a mirror which points to the correct direction as being inside oneself. True meditation leads back to the true mind, which is ones own original state of wholeness before the process of mental divisions and the development of logic and the intellect took place as a young child. Organic spirituality is a path of self-mastery and self-empowerment. Be wary of any spiritual practice that tries to encourage you to overly invest the core of your life energies in an external source.
For those who do not have a practice set up yet, we would like to hand you as many of the tools as we can, to empower you to establish your own meditation practice, which could yield true solid results in your life. Meditation as a practice, is a tool which must be worked on, tweaked, cultivated and refined over and over, until it becomes a fine-tuned instrument which can be used at any time for self-integration, inner exploration and life revitalization.
To be continued in Part 2 . . .
Hey everyone… My Name is Eric Justin… I started this blog as a way to help clarify many misunderstandings and misperceptions which have formed around the use of crystals. I aim to promote their positive life-empowering potential in an honest and straightforward way. In addition, I am here to help promote ancient practices of energy cultivation, which can be used by all people to help establish balance and stability in their unending life journey of self-discovery and self-mastery.
Disclaimer – This blog is presented as is, for informational purposes only. We do our very best to provide honest, accurate, clear and concise knowledge based on our own experiences, reliable sources of modern crystal usage as well as traditional uses and even that which comes from history and legend. Any information we provide is to be used by our readers and customers in a responsible manner and at their own risk. By reading this blog, purchasing our crystals or practicing any of the methods we provide, each reader and customer accepts responsibility and risk for their own actions and automatically is bound to our terms and conditions. For more information please refer to our Terms and Conditions Section.
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