By Clyde Bruffee Hager
Here is a meditation to raise your vibe.
You’ve heard of mindful meditations, right? This is a spiritful meditation.
First, a word about vibes. You can’t not vibe and your vibes are always sending out waves that reach everyone. What vibes are you sending? Vibes of stress and worry? How about vibes of safety, security, and gratitude? Wouldn’t that feel better and happier? Wouldn’t it feel like you have more power?
This meditation will use a mantra. As you probably know, a mantra is what you say to yourself with an internal voice while meditating.
Start with just noticing that your breath is coming into your body on its own. You do not have to do it. You can’t stop it if you try. If you need something to trust while meditating, you can trust that your next breath will come. You can relax and find comfort with that.
Sometimes you want to use the breath. As you breathe in, ask your body, “Where do you need some help?” Notice that the noisy parts of the body will talk to you. They want attention. Breathe deeply into each of those noisy body parts that want attention. Give each part all the attention it needs to let go of all unnecessary tension. Put the breath where it’s needed. “Attention for the tension.”
For the rest of this time together, you can trust your breath to come in and go out on its own.
While preparing your body in this way, we will soon notice how the energy of the breath flows through three fields of your being, your body, your mind, and your spirit. These fields are like magnetic fields in that you can’t see them, but you can feel their effect.
First, as each breath comes into your body, notice the field of energy that surrounds your body.
Notice how the field is not your body. Your body is within the energy field and surrounded by the energy field. The field of energy is alive and pulsating around you.
Breathe into your body and notice the field of energy that surrounds your body.
[two long breaths]
There is a larger field of energy for your mind. As your next breath comes, imagine this larger energy field of thought and mind that surrounds the energy field of the body. The body field is completely enclosed within the energy field of the mind. The body and the mind are surrounded by a large field of body-mind energy.
Breathe into your body-mind energy field and imagine it getting larger with each breath.
[two long breaths]
As your next breath comes into your body, say “Thank you”.
What comes with your breath when you say “Thank you”? There is an even larger field of energy. This is your spirit energy field and it is surrounding the fields of body and mind.
Say “Thank you” to yourself inside as each breath comes in. This helps you expand the sense of spirit. This spirit energy is totally surrounding and encompassing the energy fields of your mind and body. The field of spirit energy has no limit in size. See if you can extend it to fill the whole room.
Your spirit encompasses your mind. And your mind encompasses your body. Imagine this large field of spirit energy filling the room with each breath.
[two long breaths]
Now you know what to do with your breath. Sometimes you use it to satisfy the body. “Attention for the tension”. The rest of the time, you use it to fill the room with your spirit.
What about the mantra? What will your inner voice be saying? Which inner voice will you be using? Your body has its own internal voices. They can sound sad or fearful or angry. Your mind has its own internal voices too. They can be busy solving problems, thinking about people, or being creative. The inner voice that we are choosing for this meditation is the gentle, caring voice of your spirit.
Your mantra is, “Thank you, body-mind, for keeping us safe and secure.” Your spirit voice is speaking to your mind and to your body.
Your gentle, caring spirit voice says, “Thank you, body-mind, for keeping us safe and secure.”
Now that you know how to breathe, you have satisfied the needs of the body, and you have a mantra with a voice from the spirit, what else do we need? We need to provide an image, a visual focus.
Imagine the horizon over a wide ocean. An image of the ocean is provided for you and the mantra is printed at the top of the image.
Keep your eyes above the horizon. For this meditation, as you imagine the horizon over a wide ocean, instead of looking close or looking down, use a soft, distant gaze. You want to always keep your eyes above the horizon. Turn your eyes upward as much as comfort allows. Imagine a bright blue sky in your clear mind’s eye. A bright blue sky in your clear mind’s eye.
Before we begin, let’s review all of the things you need for this meditation. There is a lot, but it will get easier as some of it becomes automatic.
At times some place in the body will ask for attention. Give the body what it wants, “Attention for the tension.” Take a deep breath into that place in the body. Breathe directly into that spot until it is satisfied. Then return to the mantra.
Keep checking to make sure your eyes are turned upward.
With each breath, fill the energy field of the spirit that surrounds the energy field of the mind that surrounds the energy field of the body. Fill the room with the energy field of your spirit. Let your spirit fill the room.
In the gentle, caring voice of your spirit, repeat your mantra, “Thank you, body-mind, for keeping us safe and secure.” “Thank you, body-mind, for keeping us safe and secure.”
We will be silent now for five minutes.
[5 minutes]
Thank you. This ends the Spiritful Meditation.