This level starts where the first level leaves off. The big change in level two is the lack of sound or visual stimuli. The goal is to train your mind to be relaxed, calm, and focused without an outside stimulus to focus on. This level will shift your attention to an internal method of meditation. Other than that, this level will follow the same format as the first level. There will be one more level of cross training after this one before the shamanic meditation level starts. What these programs are geared to help you understand is that meditation is about what happens in your body, mind, and spirit.
Quite Sitting Level Two/ Part One
Sit with your spine as close to being straight as possible while remaining comfortable. The nerves of your body can let go dramatically easier if you sit up straight rather than crumpling into a little ball (slouching is an early sign of depression). As you sit, notice your breath going in and out of your nose.
As you sit and notice not only your breath, but also how air contacts your nose hairs, all the internal images for which you’re not consciously aware will calm down. Keep on noticing your nose and the hairs of your nose. Your attention will eventually shift from an external to an internal orientation (as your nose hairs are a part of you).
Try to relax your breath so that the movement of air going in and out of your nose relaxes your body. If that’s too difficult, just feel for a sense of relaxing your breath. The erratic energy of anxiety in your body will naturally slow down as your breath slows down. Paying attention to your nose hairs and breath requires that your nerves wake up; stress tends to deaden the nerves. A laborer that works 12 hours in a day can have a healthier libido than an office worker because their nerves remain fairly relaxed. Tired muscles don’t necessarily mean nervous exhaustion.
Breathe in and out of your nose, relax your breath, feel the hairs of your nose, and let your nerves rest and regenerate. Now this is a very short meditation, but it may give you a sense of how important it is to calm down your nervous system. It’s a simple process, but it can definitely help you reduce stress.
The first cross training exercise is known as quite sitting. How this exercise works is as follows. Start by sitting in a comfortable position. This can be in a chair, on the floor, or even lying down on the couch. This exercise should last for a minimum of ten minutes. You can go longer if you wish but please be sure you are focusing on your breath as you slowly inhale and an even slower exhale. Slower exhalation is very important as it encourages your body to slow your heart rate and helps lower your blood pressure. Once you have chosen a comfortable position, relax your body and simply breathe. Follow your breath and focus on the air as it moves into your nose. Feel the air as it contacts your nose hairs, so it focuses your attention on your nose. It’s not easy to feel the hairs of your nose, but if you pay attention, you can. Take your time and focus. Keep this exercise up for at least ten minutes.
That’s it, simple but not easy for several people, that is why this first exercise should not be rushed. In the beginning the mind may rebel without an external focus point. Once we start focusing on ourselves, especially inside ourselves, the mind can get defensive and become very active again. We tend to hide a lot of baggage in our mind and body. The emotional and energetic blockages we store in there took years to get into place and they will not be removed in just ten minutes. This is why this part of the meditation cross training exercises are usually the most difficult for people. Be patient with yourself and never denigrate your efforts is this exercise. This part of the series can be maddening to some people but try and make it to the full ten minutes. Once you can sit still for the full ten minutes comfortably while feeling your breath move through your nose, you will be ready to move on to the next part of the series.
Part Two of the Meditation Cross Training Series: Internal Focus
Once you able to sit still for a minimum of ten minutes you are ready for the second part of this training program. The second part of the quite sitting, cross training exercise is known as internal focus meditation and how it works is as follows.
You will start this one the same way as you did the first exercise. You sit comfortably and start by following your breath. Feel the air as it moves down your trachea and into your lungs. Then follow it out from your lungs and out your nose, all while not moving even a finger for ten minutes. Then while you are sitting for a minimum of ten minutes your next goal is to relax and focus your mind deep inside your lungs and work to feel the air all the way to the bottom of your lungs. Feel them fully expand and then be fully emptied. Like the first exercise this one is more difficult than most people think.
Sit relaxed, with your mind focused inward and keep it quiet. Try this exercise for a week and see how you do. Have fun and take your time with it, if you need more than a week take as long as you need.
Part Three of the Meditation Series: Non-Attachment and Patience
Your goal for this exercise is to hold your mind on your first well in the lower abdomen and that is it. Many find that the most difficult part of this exercise is the idea of moving the mind inside the body without using the breath as a focus tool. A simple work around in the beginning is to sit in a hard chair so you can use the pressure on your buttocks as the focus point. Then as you get better at it, move to a meditation cushion or a simple pillow.
This level will lay the groundwork for authentic shamanic internal journey work and meditation skills. The overall goal is to develop whole body breathing that will improve one’s health, mental clarity, and focus. Hang in there and things will get easier and more exciting.
Once you can keep your mind focused on the first well and breathe deeply and quietly for ten minutes without your mind wandering, you are ready for the next step which is to extend the same exercises out to twenty minutes. Keep everything the same except extend the time. Then next week extend the time out another ten minutes for a total of thirty minutes. So, over the next three weeks you will start the same way as you did the other exercises. Then simply sit and do everything you already know how to do but for twenty minutes. Then next week you do it for thirty minutes. Have fun and good luck with your practice.
Meditation Exercise Two:
For this meditation you will need a hard chair. It does not matter if it is a folding chair or a chair from the kitchen as long as it is a hard surface you are sitting on. The hard surface is important because it will make it easier for people to focus their mind. The chair is also important to make sure we have a good upright posture.
Once you are sitting comfortably and upright in the chair with your back against the back of the chair you are ready to begin.
To begin, take a few deep breaths and try to relax your core. A good number of people carry tension in their core muscles without even knowing it. (This tension restricts your breathing.)
Once you are as relaxed as you can be, close your eyes and feel the pressure of the chair on your bottom. Allow your mind/attention to move down your body and allow it to touch the chair. Try and hold this attention for a few breaths.
Next step is to allow your breath to follow your mind all the way down to your bottom. Do not try and force it, at no time during this meditation should you try and make anything happen. This will only create more tension. Over time, as you continue to practice this meditation it will become easier for you to expand your diaphragm, and this will allow your breath to become smoother and deeper. Now try and breathe thirty to sixty times allowing your breath to follow your mind. When you are finished wait a few minutes before standing up. As with the last mediation, the increased oxygen in your blood can make you dizzy.
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