So...you fall asleep if you lay on your back and close your eyes, or...you cant sit there for half an hour with your eyes shut, or background noises just keep messing you up?
Try a different way. Today I sat outside to do my usual chakra cleansing. I live by an obnoxiously busy road (made even worse thanks to road construction that will seemingly never end), and I could only keep my thoughts together for a minute or two before the wooshing cars screwed me up. So, I tried something else.
It's called Naturalistic Observation, which is just a big fancy word for shutting up and just watching whats going on around you. Rather than focus on yourself, or even realize you are present (unless you were going to do some self-meditation), watch nature (that means get out there). Look at the birds and the trees and how life goes on.
Today it was raining. I noticed how the heavier droplets actually moved leaves as they fell. Birds perched and flew in the branches of some of the taller trees. Everything is beautifully green and healthy. Shoot, I even found new branches sprouting off a tree that everyone thinks is dead. So I watched it all, keeping my focus on nature itself.
Then I took it a step further. The rain. Rain heals everything it touches (unless its paper, then it just ruins it), and is vital in the ecosystem. Without rain, the plants and trees would all just shrivel up, the birds and insects would have no place to live, the coyotes wouldnt have any birds or other roadkill to eat, and my boyfriend and I wouldnt hear them cry in the middle of the night (friggin sweet btw). Rain cleanses, gives life, and sustains it. Without it, we'd be lost.
THEN, take it even a step further, and pick out how all of the elements are represented in a given setting. The rain was Water of course, and most people would consider the trees and ground to be Earth (Actually, the wind was blowing from the North, so before I figured the wind was Air, I recognized it as Earth hehe). Where was fire? The sun was up there, yes, but hidden by clouds. It was sorta chilly out, and this time I left my candles indoors. So, after a while I figured everything growing and living to be fire...sometimes this portion works better on sunny days rolleyes
So, try sitting back and watching when regular meditation just doesnt work out for you. Sometimes this technique can lead into traditional meditation, and your eyes will be shut in no time. You could also shake things up a bit and try to shapeshift a little. Try to picture what it would be like to be an ant on one of those tree branches. What are you doing? Are there birds and other things out there to eat you? Are you afraid to fall? What about the rain? Ya know, stuff like that. Dont worry about straining yourself too much, theres really no limitations on where your mind can take you.
~Meri heart
Try a different way. Today I sat outside to do my usual chakra cleansing. I live by an obnoxiously busy road (made even worse thanks to road construction that will seemingly never end), and I could only keep my thoughts together for a minute or two before the wooshing cars screwed me up. So, I tried something else.
It's called Naturalistic Observation, which is just a big fancy word for shutting up and just watching whats going on around you. Rather than focus on yourself, or even realize you are present (unless you were going to do some self-meditation), watch nature (that means get out there). Look at the birds and the trees and how life goes on.
Today it was raining. I noticed how the heavier droplets actually moved leaves as they fell. Birds perched and flew in the branches of some of the taller trees. Everything is beautifully green and healthy. Shoot, I even found new branches sprouting off a tree that everyone thinks is dead. So I watched it all, keeping my focus on nature itself.
Then I took it a step further. The rain. Rain heals everything it touches (unless its paper, then it just ruins it), and is vital in the ecosystem. Without rain, the plants and trees would all just shrivel up, the birds and insects would have no place to live, the coyotes wouldnt have any birds or other roadkill to eat, and my boyfriend and I wouldnt hear them cry in the middle of the night (friggin sweet btw). Rain cleanses, gives life, and sustains it. Without it, we'd be lost.
THEN, take it even a step further, and pick out how all of the elements are represented in a given setting. The rain was Water of course, and most people would consider the trees and ground to be Earth (Actually, the wind was blowing from the North, so before I figured the wind was Air, I recognized it as Earth hehe). Where was fire? The sun was up there, yes, but hidden by clouds. It was sorta chilly out, and this time I left my candles indoors. So, after a while I figured everything growing and living to be fire...sometimes this portion works better on sunny days rolleyes
So, try sitting back and watching when regular meditation just doesnt work out for you. Sometimes this technique can lead into traditional meditation, and your eyes will be shut in no time. You could also shake things up a bit and try to shapeshift a little. Try to picture what it would be like to be an ant on one of those tree branches. What are you doing? Are there birds and other things out there to eat you? Are you afraid to fall? What about the rain? Ya know, stuff like that. Dont worry about straining yourself too much, theres really no limitations on where your mind can take you.
~Meri heart
