Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Meditation for Beginners: Techniques for Awareness, Mindfulness & Relaxation
    Meditation for Beginners: Techniques for Awareness, Mindfulness & Relaxation
    Meditation for Beginners: Techniques for Awareness, Mindfulness & Relaxation
    Ebook214 pages3 hours

    Meditation for Beginners: Techniques for Awareness, Mindfulness & Relaxation

    By Stephanie Clement

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Some people think meditation is something that takes years to learn. The truth is, it's a very natural state of awareness that can be developed in just a few minutes each day. The benefits of meditation are infinite!

    • Develop concentration
    • Learn to focus your attention
    • Relax your body and mind quickly and easily
    • Release fears
    • Increase your health and wellness
    • Exchange old habits for new ones
    • Identify personal goals and aspirations
    • Discover which meditation method works best for you

    2003 COVR Award Winner (Best Alternative Health Book)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLlewellyn Worldwide
    Release dateSep 8, 2012
    ISBN9780738723907
    Meditation for Beginners: Techniques for Awareness, Mindfulness & Relaxation
    Author

    Stephanie Clement

    A professional astrologer for over twenty-five years, Stephanie Jean Clement, Ph.D., was a board member of the American Federation of Astrologers and a faculty member of Kepler College and NORWAC. Her Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology prepared her to work with clients in defining their creative potential and refining their creative process. Her books include Charting Your Career; Dreams: Working Interactive, What Astrology Can Do for You; The Power of the Midheaven; Charting Your Spiritual Path with Astrology; Meditation for Beginners; and Mapping Your Birthchart.

    Related to Meditation for Beginners

    Titles in the series (46)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Meditation and Stress Management For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Beyond The Buzz

      Oct 22, 2019

      Mindfulness is just Buddhism in disguise Mindfulness is a basic human inheritance and capability, and it’s not owned by any group, religion, or philosophy. As a capacity of the human mind, mindfulness can be trained with practices and disciplines, ju

      8 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Teachers

      Mar 8, 2022

      MYOKEI CAINE-BARRETT: As a Nichiren Buddhist, I rely on the teachings of the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra and also those of Nichiren Shonin, who rejected the distinction between buddhas and human beings. In “On Attaining Buddhahood,” he wrote, “When del

      5 min read

    • Article

      59 Ways to Turn Your Mind Around

      Mar 2, 2021

      59 Ways to Turn Your Mind Around
      7 min read

    • Article

      Words & Beyond Words

      May 21, 2019

      THERE ARE MANY WAYS to engage with Buddhist teachings. You can read books on the dharma and take classes in person or online. You can meditate on your own or attend retreats. You can engage with Buddhism as an academic or translator, or relate to it

      5 min read

    • Article

      Bookmark This read…listen…stream

      Apr 1, 2020

      How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage Kelly McGonigal, PhD • Avery McGonigal’s thesis is simple—as humans, we are hardwired for movement. She builds her case through a wide-ranging survey of scientific studies, interview

      7 min read

    • Article

      Integrating Yogacara in Your Practice

      Nov 7, 2017

      Integrating Yogacara in Your Practice
      10 min read

    • Article

      10 Steps to Tame the Elephant

      Mar 8, 2022

      10 Steps to Tame the Elephant
      11 min read

    • Article

      An Atheist’s Guide to Spirituality: “I did not have to believe anything irrational about the universe.”

      Aug 14, 2014

      I once spent an afternoon on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, atop the mount where Jesus is believed to have preached his most famous sermon. It was an infernally hot day, and the sanctuary where I sat was crowded with Christian pilgrims

      14 min read

    • Article

      Big Shout, Big Echo

      May 21, 2019

      Big Shout, Big Echo
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Four Pillars Of Purpose

      May 1, 2020

      There are four research-backed qualities that lead to a strong sense of purpose: awareness, values, aspirations, and congruent behaviors. The good news is that these qualities can be nurtured with simple mindfulness practices designed to activate the

      6 min read

    • Article

      Resting Into Awareness

      Sep 17, 2020

      Resting Into Awareness
      4 min read

    • Article

      Bookmark This

      Apr 19, 2022

      Cultivating Mindfulness to Lead Self and Others in a Changing World Latha Poonamallee, PhD • Routledge We live in a world that’s diverse, complex, and constantly changing, and with all those changes comes a call to shift our leadership styles. Expans

      9 min read

    • Article

      Joseph Goldstein: It’s Not Either-Or

      Sep 20, 2023

      Joseph Goldstein: It’s Not Either-Or
      8 min read

    • Article

      Invitation to Well-Being

      Sep 27, 2022

      Invitation to Well-Being
      13 min read

    • Article

      Beginner’s Mind

      Jan 22, 2019

      THE BRAHMAVIHARAS are four prized emotions or mindstates that give us a framework to cultivate positive behaviors and minimize harmful ones. They are called the “divine abodes” because they are the mindstates in which all the enlightened ones reside.

      4 min read

    • Article

      To Thine Own Self Be True

      Apr 2, 2018

      To Thine Own Self Be True
      5 min read

    • Article

      Emotional Baggage

      May 19, 2022

      Emotional Baggage
      4 min read

    • Article

      Virtue, Meditation, Wisdom

      Sep 27, 2022

      Virtue, Meditation, Wisdom
      4 min read

    • Article

      Profound View, Precise Conduct

      Mar 7, 2023

      Profound View, Precise Conduct
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Four Noble Truths

      Sep 22, 2020

      The Four Noble Truths
      4 min read

    • Article

      On Being Mindful

      Jan 1, 2021

      Mindfulness affects many aspects of our psychological well-being—improving our mood, increasing positive emotions, decreasing anxiety, emotional reactivity, and job burnout. Studies even suggest that mindfulness is beneficial for stress reduction whi

      4 min read

    • Article

      Break The Chains Of Thought

      Jan 21, 2020

      WE ARE ALL CITIZENS of the Information Age, when attention-consuming data is abundant and human attention itself is regarded as a scarce commodity. In the noise and chaos of this flood of information, how often do you notice where your mind is and wh

      5 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Teachers

      Jun 1, 2021

      SOSAN THERESA FLYNN: In order for this teaching not to produce anxiety, we need to let go of our usual way of thinking. If I think of myself as a separate individual, the responsibility for all of my thoughts, words, and deeds becomes overwhelming. W

      5 min read

    • Article

      Empowered Rest

      Mar 30, 2023

      Empowered Rest
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Opposite of Grasping Is Intimacy

      Aug 4, 2020

      The Opposite of Grasping Is Intimacy
      9 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Teachers

      Nov 6, 2018

      KEIRYU LIÊN SHUTT: I’ve heard it said by Zen teachers that the function of the mind is to secrete thoughts. From that perspective, “to rest in nonconceptual, open, ‘don’t know’ mind” isn’t so much to stop or transcend thinking as to simply let though

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Meditation for Beginners

    3.5/5

    8 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Meditation for Beginners - Stephanie Clement

      About the Author

      Stephanie Clement has an M.A. in humanistic psychology and a Ph.D. in transpersonal psychology. She is a professional astrologer and is a member of the board of directors of the American Federation of Astrologers. Stephanie is also a certified hypnotherapist and a faculty member of Kepler College.

      Llewellyn Publications

      Woodbury, Minnesota

      Copyright Information

      Meditation for Beginners: Techniques for Awareness, Mindfulness & Relaxation © 2002 by Stephanie Clement, Ph.D.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

      Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author’s copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

      First e-book edition © 2012

      E-book ISBN: 9780738723907

      Book design and editing by Joanna Willis

      Cover photograph © 2007 by Colin Anderson/Blend Images/PunchStock

      Cover design by Adrienne Zimiga

      Illustrations on pages 25–29, 95, and 117 by Gavin Dayton Duffy, Llewellyn art department

      Illustration on page 116 by Kevin R. Brown, Llewellyn art department

      Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

      Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

      Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to current author websites.

      Llewellyn Publications

      Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

      2143 Wooddale Drive

      Woodbury, MN 55125

      www.llewellyn.com

      Manufactured in the United States of America

      This book is dedicated to the long lives of

      His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama and

      His Holiness the XVII Karmapa.

      May their beneficial influence fill the world

      with peace, wisdom, and joy.

      Contents

      List of Exercises

      Introduction

      1 Why Meditate?

      2 Getting Ready to Meditate

      3 Concentration and Awareness

      4 Be Kind to Yourself

      5 Getting Past the First Step

      6 Experiencing Insight and Intuition

      7 Altered States of Consciousness

      8 Thinking About Thinking

      9 Yoga and Meditation

      10 Kundalini Meditation

      11 Walking Meditation

      12 Athletic and Other Kinds of Performance

      13 Dream Meditations

      14 Tarot and Other Archetypal Meditations

      15 Healing Meditation

      16 Finding What Works for You

      17 Identifying Personal Meditation Goals

      18 Deepening Your Spiritual Life

      19 Mapping Your Personal Creative Process

      20 Labeling

      21 Creating a Meditation Space

      22 Soul Mate Meditation

      23 About the Divine

      Afterword

      Glossary

      Bibliography

      Exercises

      1. Perceiving Boundaries

      2. Perceiving Systems

      3. Beginning to Meditate

      4. Sitting Down

      5. Noticing Mindfulness in Others

      6. Paying Attention

      7. Being Gentle with Your Thoughts

      8. Noticing Thoughts

      9. Tranquility Meditation

      10. Vipassana, or Insight Meditation

      11. Meditating on the Shadow

      12. Meditating on the Lighter Side

      13. Changing States of Mind

      14. Wandering Thoughts

      15. Changing Your Pulse Rate

      16. Changing Thought Patterns

      17. Identifying Mental Processes I

      18. Identifying Mental Processes II

      19. Enriching Your Experience

      20. Focusing Visual Attention

      21. Reciting a Mantra

      22. Visualizing Change

      23. Sat Kriya

      24. Sat Nam Meditation

      25. Meditation for Digestion and to Strengthen Your Aura

      26. Laughing Meditation

      27. Walking Meditation I

      28. Walking Meditation II

      29. Practicing to improve skills

      30. Giving Your best

      31. Going Back into the Dream

      32. Focusing on a Specific Dream Image or Person

      33. recalling a Dream Message and Repeating it Like a Mantra

      34. Calling a Dream

      35. Meditation on One Card

      36. Meditation to Answer a Question

      37. pursuing a Meditation Image

      38. Exercise for Self-Healing

      39. Ki Meditation

      40. Taking and Sending Meditation

      41. Observing Adults

      42. General Color healing Meditation

      43. Meditation for relaxation

      44. Facial Relaxation

      45. Making Decisions

      46. Gaining Insight into the Mechanism of the Habit

      47. Creating New Behaviors

      48. Reviewing Meditation Options

      49. Exercise in Compassion I

      50. Exercise in Compassion II

      51. Exercise in Compassion III

      52. Naming Thoughts

      53. Following Thoughts

      54. Experiencing Ordinary Spaces

      55. Experiencing Sacred Spaces

      56. Contemplating Your Soul Mate Ideal

      57. Experiencing Desire

      58. experimenting with Intimacy

      59. Perceiving the Divine

      [contents]

      Introduction

      What Exactly Is

      Meditation Anyway?

      [In meditation] consciousness shifts increasingly into awareness of that which is not form and into the realm of that which is transcendent or into the world of the abstract, i.e., into that which is abstracted from form and focused in itself.

      Alice Bailey

      Esoteric Astrology

      It is easier to say what meditation is not. Meditation is not relaxing in your recliner to watch Sunday football games. Meditation is not becoming hypnotized by the dotted lines on the pavement while driving. Meditation is not sitting and staring out the window instead of doing your work.

      The process of meditation as discussed in this book is about focusing attention, not thoughts. In some systems, it is not even about focusing attention, but about relaxing the mind and body instead. Because there are many ways to meditate and many potential goals for meditation, there is no one definition that suits all the possibilities.

      Definitions from the dictionary tell us about the properties associated with meditation. The first definition in the tenth edition of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is not about meditating at all, but has to do with the result of meditation or reflecting. It states that meditation is a discourse intended to express its author’s reflections or to guide others in contemplation. It is a work written after one has considered the subject deeply, and for the use of others.

      The second definition is not much more helpful. It tells us that meditation is the act or process of meditating. Hmm, we already knew that. So what does meditate mean?

      Meditate comes from the Latin word meditari, and means to engage in contemplation or reflection. It also means to focus one’s thoughts on something, or to reflect on or ponder over something. A third definition is to plan or project in the mind, to intend, or to develop one’s purpose. So far the most helpful is the bit about focusing one’s thoughts, but that is not the true intention of meditation either. The definition for the word meditate in the ninth edition of Webster’s New College Dictionary mentions the Latin word mete, which means boundary. The tenth edition of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary mentions the Latin word mederi, which means to remedy, heal (it is the root of the word medical), and the Greek word medesthai, which means to be mindful of.

      At first blush, these definitions don’t do much to help explain how to meditate. In fact, the definitions are very misleading. Let’s take a look, though, at the words intend and purpose from above. For most of us, everything we do has some intention. We don’t spend much time acting without purpose. If I am to convince you that meditation is a good thing, I need to be very clear about its purpose. I need to convince you that you can achieve some worthwhile goals through meditation.

      Now let’s consider the phrase to be mindful of, or simply to be mindful. This is more like it. Meditation is sometimes called mindfulness training or training the mind. Instead of letting it go wherever it chooses, we can train our minds to focus.

      Meditation is about relaxing the mind, focusing attention, and fulfilling a purpose or goal. This book explores these three areas:

      1. You will find a variety of ways to relax the body and mind.

      2. You will learn about focusing your attention, and you can practice the exercises found throughout the book.

      3. You will find suggested purposes for meditation, along with goals that you may achieve as you meditate.

      So what’s this business about boundaries? How does that fit into the meditation picture? When we think about ourselves, we tend to think that each of us is separate. I live inside my body/mind, and the rest of the world is outside. I prescribe a boundary around myself. Such a boundary is not entirely logical. Each time I breathe, I inhale air that has, for the most part, been through someone else’s lungs. I eat food that has been cycled and recycled. In my daily interactions with others, I seek to make connections so that I feel less separate. Yet I have this self-made boundary between myself and others.

      We set boundaries for everything. My house is a boundary between me and the cold. My yard has a boundary that was legally set when the land around me was subdivided. Nations have boundaries. Corporations have boundaries described in law by patent, copyright, and so on. We are all about boundaries. Or are we?

      In his poem Mending Wall, Robert Frost writes, Something there is that doesn’t love a wall. Later in the same poem he suggests, Before I built a wall I’d ask to know/What I was walling in or walling out,/And to whom I was like to give offense. Frost is asking, Why do I need this boundary of a wall between me and my neighbor? You could ask yourself the same question about any wall between you and others, or between your own conscious and unconscious experience.

      One goal of meditation is to understand the boundaries we have set for ourselves. Perhaps the greatest boundary—and certainly the toughest—is the one we set between the conscious and less conscious parts of our own minds. No single activity requires as much of us as the assault on that barrier. Each day we go about our conscious waking life, and each night the unconscious speaks to us in the form of dreams, enticing us to deeper self-understanding. Then each day we rebuild the boundary. We all need a way to gain a deeper understanding of what goes on inside our minds when we are awake, asleep, or just not paying attention, and meditation is one way to pay attention long enough to find out.

      Let’s explore how boundaries work through some of the systems in our lives. We tend to think of our lives as consisting of separate units that interact with each other, yet remain independent. An example is the family. I grew up in a household that included my parents and siblings. Eventually my grandmother came to live with us. Before she lived in our house, she was like a separate unit. Once she lived in our house, she came to be defined as a member of our nuclear family. She took an active role in household management, and she read to us, talked with us, and scolded us just like our parents. She went to concerts with us, shared the crossword puzzles in the newspaper with my father, and took vacations with my mother. When she later moved out of our house, she ceased to be part of the nuclear group and returned to her former status of close relative.

      Does the distinction feel artificial? How could we just move Grandma in and out of the nuclear family system? The door of our house was the defining boundary. All persons who lived on the other side of our door were not part of the nuclear family.

      exercise

      perceiving boundaries

      Take a few moments to think of an area of your life that is important to you.

      1. Think about the boundaries that you encounter as you think about it.

      2. What people, pets, or other things fit within that area of your life?

      3. Now think about what happens to those people or things when you are not doing something with them? Do they go across a boundary to become part of another system? Do you cross a boundary yourself?

      4. Is the picture becoming complicated? How do you know exactly where the boundary is? Does it move or change depending on circumstances?

      Meditation can help you understand the boundaries you have created around yourself. You will come to understand how some boundaries are helpful, and some serve no apparent purpose. In the process you can expect your relationships with other people to change. You can also expect a dramatic change in your understanding of yourself.

      Much of the stress you experience in your life is about boundaries. As you understand how systems—conscious, less conscious, social, and economic—interact in your life, you will relax in both body and mind. Meditation provides a way to explore your beliefs about boundaries among different systems.

      Your Mental Meditation Equipment

      Meditation begins with our perceptions and judgments of the world. We perceive the world through five senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and tactile feeling. The limitations of these physical senses necessarily limit our ability to gather information about the world. Using the mind, we judge the world based on what we perceive; we think about the facts and make decisions.

      Integration depends on things we cannot perceive with the ordinary senses. We live within the unified system we call the body, and this system is connected to other systems. (For example, you are one member of your family system.) We depend on, are affected by, and respond to many factors within the body that we can’t experience through the ordinary senses. (Pulse rate, for example, is something we can readily experience, but generally, blood pressure is not.) How can we relate to these factors? We have three methods of gathering information beyond the senses.

      1. We use tools and machines to take measurements for us. We don’t need meditation for this one, although meditation in some form was probably involved in the creation of the tool or machine.

      2. We use our minds to gather information through thought. Once we have gathered the sensory data, we engage in a thought process designed to make sense of the data—to put it in order or organize it in a useful way. Much of our day-to-day problem solving involves this mental process of examination and sorting. Critical evaluation can then occur.

      3. We also gather information through contemplative practice, or the resting of the mind. The process of meditation

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1