in Nature
Meditation and connecting with your inner space is not just about sitting in quiet concentration, central as this is to meditation practice. It is also about a range of active techniques that enhance the powers of mind control. These powers are used not only while sitting in meditation but also in our day-to-day lives and even while we dream. Meditation thus touches most aspects of human experience, rendering them potentially richer, more profound and more meaningful.
Learning to tune into the energy outside yourself is not difficult; the energy sources are all around us in nature and nature speaks to us at all times, it’s just that we seldom listen.
Nature Meditation
If you listen to the sound of nature – if you tap into the earth’s powerful energy – you will hear messages that have the power to uplift and transform you. Try these simple methods of tuning into the earth. When done mindfully, these exercises will resonate at a deeper level.
• Watch the clouds while lying on the ground
• Watch a sunset and sunrise and be inspired
• As night falls catch the first star
• Enjoy a summer evening in your garden watching the sun set and the moon rise
• Sit alone in a tree and feel the wind brush across your face
• Stand alone on a hill top
• Sit on the sea shore or by a lake and watch the water
The list is endless, but when was the last time that you enjoyed being in nature? It is an invaluable way of connecting with your sense of wholeness and being restored by the power within the earth.
‘Wherever I am in the world I try to connect at the same time each day to meditate and open my spirit to the divine. I ask for help and offer prayers for world issues and my family. On some days I conduct a ritual, I celebrate an event in my life or connect with God for healing and upliftment.’ Susan, ballet dancer and teacher
Morning Connection Meditation
It is important to start every day by connecting with a deeper aspect of your self and the best way to do this is by having a morning ritual. This puts you in harmony with your surroundings and prepares you to face everyone you meet during your day with equanimity. Try it for a week and watch the difference in your confidence and energy levels
Morning Ritual
To conduct your ritual, ideally you should get up an hour earlier to give yourself a clear period of connecting time each day. The more you practise the less time it takes – my ritual now takes 20–30 minutes.
1 As you emerge from your night’s sleep catch some of the inspiration from your sleep. You can do this by saying a morning prayer to your god, guides and spirit deities.
2 Warm up your body by taking a hot drink (whatever your favourite morning drink is – mine is hot water and lemon juice).
3 Do a few minutes of physical exercise – either yoga (sun salutation is ideal), tai chi, qi gong or even a few aerobic stretches (whatever your favourite exercise is) – to encourage your body to loosen up, realign your spine, stimulate your internal organs, balance your energy and clear your mind.
4 Now begin your meditation exercises.
5 Finish with a prayer to your spirit guides and deities for peace and protection – or whatever the day requires. I like to light a candle at my altar and read a few lines from a spiritually inspiring book to get me in the mood for the day. I sometimes choose an oracle or tarot card to show me how the day will flow; at other times it will be the magical little angel cards to get me in a higher frame of mind. I leave the cards on my altar to give their energy to my day.
6 I complete the ritual by calling Spirit for protection, and wrap up in a psychic cloak to protect my aura (see page 97).
• Warning: You will get good days and terrible ones but you should do the morning ritual every day regardless, unless you are ill.
Clearing Your Energy
At the end of each day spend 10 minutes clearing your energy and your mind. One of the simplest ways to do this is to have a candle-lit bath with uplifting and calming aromatherapy oils such as chamomile, rose, lavender or geranium. Other recommended practices for cleansing your energy include breathing exercises, smudging your aura with a sage stick, yoga, tai chi, qi gong exercises and chakra-clearing exercises (see pages 62–66).
Grounding Meditation
This meditation is a deeper alternative to the daily morning ritual, as it connects your mind, body and spirit to the earth. This aim is to ground your spiritual energies and open your mind both to a wider vision for your day and to receive creative inspiration. I find that working with nature gives me a lot of creative and spiritual power.
Choose a tall, ancient tree in a field or copse as the focal point for this meditation.
1 Start by sitting or standing with an erect spine against the tree trunk and imagine your spine and the tree melding into one energy. This is a meeting with tree power and earth energy.
2 Through the roots of the tree – which are linked to the nervous system within our feet – the power of the earth can be drawn up into the spine. As the power rises it is drawn up inside us to touch the heavens, connecting the earth and sky. With the meeting of these opposites a restfulness and peace enters the spine.
3 Breathing gently, permit your thoughts to move away from the mind as body, mind and spirit are regenerated.
Once the connection has been made an earth ritual may be conducted. A ritual is a sacred act; a celebration acknowledging that there is a life power, which we honour by the giving of gifts to the spirit of place. The gifts may change according to the customs of the culture/country. For instance in Celtic countries the land is honoured by gifts of food or alcohol. A personal gesture made with heartfelt intentions would make the ritual a personal tribute to the earth. Bringing a candle or gifts of flowers would also make the ritual blessed to honour the vision which may be received by connecting to this earth power.
You can also conduct the same meditation using a standing stone. Here the energy is drawn directly into the spine and fills each bone in your body. A similar meditation can be conducted in a cave, by a cliff, on a stony beach – or you can hold a stone in your hand and meditate with it.
When you have become adept at the practice of meditation and are applying meditation on a daily basis, it’s time to work on opening your mind through psychic development exercises.
You will need to try these out a few times before you get the hang of how they improve your psychic technique. Practise them for a month, then leave it for a month before returning to the exercises to see if you have improved your focus.
