One thing: you have to walk, and create the way by your walking; you will not find

a ready-made path. It is not so cheap, to

reach to the ultimate realization of truth. You will have to create the path by walking yourself; the path is not ready-made, lying
there and waiting for you. It is just like the sky: the birds fly, but they don't leave any footprints. You cannot follow them; there
are no footprints left behind.
Osho

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Table of Contents

What is Meditation? P.3
What is Mindfulness? P.3
Health Benefits of Meditation P.3
Personal Number Mantra P.4
Food Meditation P.5
White Light Meditation P.6-7
Grounding Tree Meditation P.7-8
Reiki? P.8-11
Breathing & Other Self-Regulation Techniques P.12-13
Resources P.13


Listen to the wind... It talks.
Listen to the Silence... It Speaks.
Listen to your heart... It Knows.
First Nations Teacher


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What is Meditation? What is Mindfulness?
Meditation and mindfulness are interrelated by somewhat unique to one another. Here are the definitions for each:
Meditation: Is a practice in which an individual trains the mind to enter into a new mode of consciousness for some benefit.
The term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices (much like the term sports) that includes techniques designed to
promote relaxation, build internal energy or life force (qi, ki, prana, etc.) and develop compassion, love, patience, generosity
and forgiveness. A particularly ambitious form of meditation aims at effortlessly sustained single-pointed concentration single-
pointed analysis, meant to enable its practitioner to enjoy an indestructible sense of well-being while engaging in any life
activity.

Mindfulness: a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and
accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be
continuously present with experience.

Why Meditate?
A true meditative moment will supply the being with one moment of pure joy, wholeness and fullfiledness. Even for one
moment-this practice will change your life.
Health Benefits of Meditation
Increase Dopamine
Increase Serotonin
Increase Awareness
Increase Attention
Increase Calmness
Increase Happiness and Well-being
Increase Positive Emotions
Helps to Restore Inner Balance
Helps to Reduce Cravings and Dependency

Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.
Mother Teresa
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Personal Number Mantra Meditation
Mantras are helpful in meditation because they give us a word to focus our attention on which is easier
than achieving complete silence of the mind. The ideal goal is for the meditator to focus solely on the mantra
without having any other mental noise. This trick of mantra meditation is to slowly repeat specific words or
phrases over and over during meditation in order to increase ones understand of this word or phrase. These
words and mantras are positive and help to raise our vibration when we focus our attention on them. Each
person has something called a life path number from anywhere between 1 and 9. Rumor has it that each number
has a healing word attributed to it. If a person uses the healing word attached to their life path number as a
mantra their meditations will be fruitful.
Below are two examples of how to determine your life path number. It is created from ones full birth
date.

Here is the chart of life path numbers to healing mantras. Find the word in the same box as your life
number. Now prepare yourself in meditation position, take a few deep breaths and begin slowly repeating the
word over and over in your head. When you find your thoughts wondering elsewhere (and you will), simply
return your attention to your mantra. Practice regularly and watch it become much easier to focus on the mantra
and to avoid unnecessary mental noise.


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You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Marcus Aurelius
Food Meditation
Heres how you do it:

Take a small piece of chocolate (or any other food you enjoy) good quality if possible (meditation involves becoming more
aware of your experiences, its nice if the experience youre becoming aware of is positive!). Hold it gently or have it near at
hand so it doesnt melt.

Make sure youre sitting comfortably, on cushions if need be, and allow your body to relax and feel supported by the earth.
Notice the sounds in the room or outside the room, and gradually bring your attention inwards, to your breath. Take a few
moments just breathing and being aware of how it feels to be here, now.

Now bring your attention to the chocolate in your hand. Notice the weight of the chocolate, its texture. Is it warm, cool, soft,
hard.? Notice any urges to gobble it up, but try to gently bring your attention back to the sensation of the chocolate in your
hand. If they are closed, open your eyes now and gaze at the piece of chocolate in your hand. Notice its shape and color, and
how you feel about it. Do you like it?

Its time to smell the chocolate. Slowly bring it up to your nose, noticing when the chocolaty scent first reaches your senses.
When it does, just sit for a moment appreciating the aroma. It might be mixing in with other smells that you hadnt previously
noticed It might have a stronger scent than youve noticed chocolate to have before The urge to gobble it may be even
greater. Notice these things and enjoy the feeling of sitting comfortably, taking in the smell of chocolate.
Allowing your attention to soften now, so that you still have an awareness of the feel, and smell of the chocolate but widening
your focus to take in other sensations, bring the chocolate to your mouth and take a small nibble. What is the first taste of the
chocolate like? How does it feel on your tongue? Notice any flavors and sensations, however anticipated or unexpected they
are.

Now, place the rest of the chocolate in your mouth, enjoying the tastes you are experiencing, the flavors subtle and strong. Hold
the chocolate in your mouth for as long as possible, letting it melt, letting your tongue explore its textures and tastes.
Finally, when the chocolate is gone, bring your attention back to your senses. Notice whether there is still a residual chocolaty
taste in your mouth, whether the smells in your awareness have changed. Bring your attention back to your breath and to the
feelings going on inside you. Rest for a moment, just breathing, and being aware of how you feel is it different in any way to
how you felt at the start of the meditation?

Bring your attention back to the rest of the room, the sounds you can hear, the
cushions or floor beneath you, and the weight of your body on the earth. When
youre ready, open your eyes.
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The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.
Thch Nht Hnh
White Light Meditation
Sit somewhere comfortable with your back adjacent to the ground and inhale deeply. Notice how the air feels in your
lungs before your exhale. Imagine the air flowing in and out of your lungs as white, crystalline light that reflects all of the
colours. This light represents all that is good, loving and benevolent. It represents peace, love, well-being, serenity, health,
purity, compassion and a deep sense of wholeness. This is the same magical force that gives each plant and animal its unique
purpose and essence. It is the same force that causes flowers to bloom without force in the spring. It is the same force that
makes sure every snowflake is perfectly unique,
just as very humans DNA is perfectly unique.
This white light could remind you of a warm hug
or kiss with a close friend or relative, or it could
remind you of being alone in the serenity of
nature. This benevolent force is often correlated
with nature, science or religion. However, it can
be whatever you choose it to be; this white light
represents anything that you choose it to. Take
30 seconds to ponder or notice what you think of
as you visualize this white light. Please note that
as your awareness moves throughout the body
parts, you may experience discomfort in certain areas of the body more than others. Please try to accept this discomfort and
view it from an objective perspective. You may spend extra time on parts that experience a greater amount of discomfort to
ensure a fully beneficial meditation.
Now, if you are sitting on the ground make sure you are comfortable and sitting upright. If you are sitting on a chair be
sure that your feet are planted firmly on the ground. As you breathe in deeply, imagine this white light filling your body with
each inhalation. With each exhalation imagine any undesirable feelings, thoughts or emotions leaving your body and being
replaced with the benevolent white light. Breathe consistently deeply throughout the entire meditation, even if it is not stated
below. Each time you take a breath, breathe in and accept the white light, and breathing out anything undesirable. For your next
7

inhalation please shift your awareness to your right foot. Visualize the light moving from your heel up through the arch of your
foot and into each toe and exhale. Then inhale deeply and watch the light swirl up through your ankle, into your calf and your
knee. Now please exhale and visualize the white light filling your entire right leg. After an exhalation, follow the previous
directions for the left foot, shin and leg until both legs are flowing with beautiful, crystalline white light.
Now focus your attention to your lower abdomen, and imagine the benevolent light pooling from the top of your thighs
and into your lower abdomen. Spend some time there as you breathe in and out several times and imagine this part of your body
becoming comforted, healthy and revived. Let your awareness shift to your lower back as the light move into your lower back
and spend some time allowing it to be soothed and strong.
Allow your awareness of the light to flow up to your bellybutton, mid-back and solar plexus (the space between your
heart and bellybutton). Spend some time on these areas breathing deeply and imagining the diamond white light supporting you
and reviving your spirit. Continue this form of meditation throughout the following body parts:
To the heart and upper back
Through the chest, neck and shoulders
Cascading down the left arm, to the left elbow and each finger and finger tip individually
Down the right arm, to the right elbow and to each finger and finger tip individually
Up to the throat and dwell there for a while
Through the neck and ears
Up through the front of the face with special awareness going to the middle of the forehead right above the brow line
(This is your third eye chakra)

Finally, allow the white light to cascade from the front of your face and the back of your head to the very top of the head.
Imagine the light dwelling in this area and covering the top of your head like a white, diamond crown of light and love. Now
breathe out for the last time and either hold your hands open to the sky, to your heart or resting lightly in your lap.
*Note: This meditation is also effective when used on with the 7 main chakra centers of the body (As illustrated in the picture
above)
The Way to do is to be.
Lao Tzu
Grounding Tree Meditation
8

Begin breathing slowly and deeply, with in-breath and out-breath of approximately the same length.
Shrug or roll your shoulders, carefully roll your head around your neck, and try to tense and relax all the major muscles of your
body, starting with your feet and working to your face.
If you are standing, imagine your feet growing roots; if you are sitting, imagine the roots coming out of your legs and your
bottom and heading down into the soil.
With each out-breath, your roots grow and reach deeper into the soil. Also feel stress and tension flow out of your roots with
each out-breath. Keep focusing and extending your roots.
With each in-breath, feel yourself pulling cool, earthy, grounding energy from the soil and Mother Earth. Feel that energy move
slowly from your feet and legs up through your trunk, down your limbs and into every cell in your body. When your body
is full of this grounding energy, feel it begin to exit through the top of your head.
Now that you have grounded, imagine your arms are limbs and are reaching toward the sky, toward the sun, the source of
energy that nourishes green plants and life on earth.
With each out-breath, your branches reach further into the sky. Release tension and stress. Feel your branches growing.
With each in-breath, breathe in the light, warm, energizing sunlight, allowing it to flow down from your branches and trunk
to each part of your body and into each cell.
Feel the energies of earth and sky mixing within you. When you are full of this vitality, let the energy seep down and out of
your roots.
Feel how grounded, calm, and centered you are, but also energized, focused, and with broader perspective.
When you feel complete with this experience, slowly increase your breathing, feel yourself return to your body, stretch, and
open your eyes.
In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under
it and over it.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Reiki
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese Technique for stress reduction and
relaxation that promotes healing. It is administered by laying
on hands and is based on the idea that an unseen life force
energy flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If
ones Life force energy is love, then we are more likely to feel
sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are capable of being
happy and healthy.
A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows
through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including
body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects
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that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and well-being. Many have reported miraculous results.
Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing, and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective
in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all
other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.
Preparation
Remember that Reiki healing is very easy. Reiki Healing and Love will flow without any effort on your part. Place your hands
on yourself and others and experience Reiki Healing. How you begin your practice of Reiki is up to you as there are no set in
rules for learning Reiki. Follow the two charts below to help guide you through the process.

Reiki Session Recommendations
Wear comfortable clothing
Remove all jewelry, particularly from hands and wrists
Sit comfortably
If possible, wash your hands and brush your teeth before a session
If possible avoid the use of substances as they may reduce your ability to channel energy
Do something relaxing or calming to attempt quieting your mind before the treatment
How to Perform Reiki:
1) Trace the following three reiki symbols onto both hands while saying their names (listed in the first column of the chart)
three times
2) Place your hands in Namaste position and quietly state your intention to heal through Reiki energy
3) Follow the hand placement chart below. Hold your hands in each position for anywhere between 2-5 minutes, however, some
areas may require attention for slightly longer. If any
intuitive thoughts or feelings come into your mind,
follow them.
4) Enjoy!
5) When you are finished draw the Choku Rei symbol
in front of your body to maintain the power of the reiki
energy as you go about your regular daily activities.
You may also return your hands back to the Namaste
position and re-state your intention to heal during the
session.





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Reiki Symbols Chart
Name and Symbol Origin/Translation Example Ways to Use How to Use
Choku Rei: The Power Symbol
Pronounced:
Cho KOO Ray


Roots in Tendai
Buddhist tradition

Linked to the word
"focus"

Japanese word
translated "by
Imperial decree"

Power symbol
Sends strong
energy; focused
energy

Concentrates
energy and sends
the energy
to revitalize
where needed

Used for
protection; used
to clear home,
car, or even space
around physical
body

Purifying the
energy of places or
things purifying
food or drink
traffic safety self
protection

To motivate
yourself (on
the forehead)

To accomplish your
dream
Drawn on hands
and say name 3 x
before a treatment

Drawn over the
centre of the body
at beginning of
session.

Used to close a
session -draw a
large Choku Rei
over the solar
plexus to seal the
session

Use before and after
other symbols to raise
their power
Sei Hei Ki: The
Mental/Emotional Symbol
Pronounced:
Say HAY Key

Roots in Japanese
seed syllable
kiriku or hrih which
means love

"Harmony" is the
word used to
describe this symbol

Translation is "to
change a habit"

Emotional Healing
Symbol
To create mental
and emotional
balance and
harmony

To align upper
chakras
Effective on trauma,
fatigue, stress
To ease
restlessness, calm
anger, heal sorrow,
free blocked
feelings

Bring peace and
harmony to
personal
relationships -
meetings,
interviews

To learn to forgive
yourself

To release attachments

To receive guidance
from the universe to
return to the person
Say the name of
the symbol 3 x
when you draw or
visualize it over
head or other
positions

Try placing the
fingertips of the left
hand at the base of
the skull and the
right hand over the
third eye and say the
person's name 3 x
and then Sei He Ki
3x
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who you really are

To change
addictions/ habits
Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen:
The Distance Symbol
Pronounced:
Hahn Shah ZAY Show Nen

Japanese kanji (not
really symbols)

Translates to "the
origin of all pure
consciousness"

Meaning
interpreted to be
that it sends energy
across time and space

Distance healing
symbol
Connect and heal
beyond time and
space

Purify karma and heal
trauma from past
Healing beyond time
and space for any
situation

Sending energy
to someone in
another place

Sending energy to
another location

Send energy to
yourself, imagining
yourself in front of
you

Send energy to a
n object

Sending Connect
and heal beyond
time and space

Draw the symbol
with your finger in
the air, repeat the
name 3x then send
Reiki energy
putting the hands
towards or holding
them over a name
or picture
If situation
contains a
physical or
emotional issue,
send the first two
symbols before
sending the third
symbol

Use with pictures,
images
visualizations

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If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.
Amit Ray

Breathing and Other Self-Regulation Techniques

Anxiety Breathing
Even two minutes of this style of breathing lowers anxiety, distress and poor well-being by up to 100%. It can stop or
quickly decrease anxiety or panic attacks. And its easy!
Breathe in as deeply as you can for anywhere between 3-5 counts (4 count is ideal for many and will be used for this
example). Then breathe out. You may adjust the amount of counts throughout the session if necessary. Breathe in deeply for 4
counts, then hold for 4 counts, exhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts. Then repeat! If you lose count just take a deep breath in,
then a deep breath out and return to the other pattern.
Drink Water!
Doctors suggest the average person drink one glass of water per 10 kgs of body weight a day! Water is essential for
nourishing cells and removing waste and toxins from the body. It provides hydration necessary to conduct electric impulses
throughout the body. Water heightens energy, improves concentration, improves mental and physical coordination, and
improves peoples ability to process information quickly and efficiently.
13

Zip-up
Zipping Up from the pubic bone to the lower lip helps protect you when you are feeling especially open and exposed.
It allows you to feel more confident, more positive, more centered, to think more clearly, and protects your system from
negative energies.
Inhale deeply as you move your hand slowly straight up the center of your body to meet your lower lip. Imagine pulling up a
zipper to close it. Repeat three times.
Jump Start your Brain with Cross-Overs- Left and Right Brain Integrators
These are proven to boost brain capacity by 10%. It has also been proven to be effective for overcoming Attention
Deficit Syndrome, or ADD, dyslexia and lack of coordination, along with other struggles. To perform lift your right knee and
touch it with your left elbow and repeat five times, then reverse and do the same with the opposite elbow and knee. Moving
opposite limbs across the body requires the left and right hemispheres of the brain to work together. Stand with your feet a
comfortable distance apart, then bend over and touch your right foot with the left hand, stand and switch sides.
Massage Your Ears
Use your thumb and index fingers to gently massage your ear lobes in small circles. After a few minutes move your
fingers up to the middle of the outside of your ears, and gently rotate your entire ear in circles. Great for tension in the upper
body and over thinking.
Massage your Temples
Your temples are the soft areas of the head, located in line with and slightly higher than the eyebrows except on the
sides of the face. Rubbing your temples for 30 seconds a day can improve brain function by about 10%. It can also be useful for
headaches, stress, mental functioning and other inflictions.
Crazy 8s
According to Brain Gym drawing a figure eight (Always starting the drawing moving upwards) has impressive effects
on right, left brain integration. Energetically, as the number eight is the symbol of infinity, it is said to improve general healing
in a way that transcends time and space.

Other Options:
Reflexology
Acupuncture
Have a bath
Read a book
Go for a walk
Drink Tea
Call a friend
Local Meditation and Mindfulness Resources in Victoria:
Learn to Meditate for free at UVIC Interfaith Chapel and with the UVIC Meditation Group:
http://web.uvic.ca/multifaith/practicing/learn%20to%20meditate.html
Victoria Insight Meditation Society: http://victoriaims.org/
Victoria Shambhala Meditation Centre: http://victoria.shambhala.org/
Transcendental Meditation Victoria: http://www.meditationvictoria.org/
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Bodhichitta Buddhist Meditation: http://meditatevancouverisland.org/
Meditation Meet-up Victoria: http://meditation.meetup.com/cities/ca/bc/victoria/
Mindfulness Community of Victoria: http://www.mindfulnessvictoria.org/
Free Pearkes Meditation: Every Saturday at 6 pm (For 1 hour- 1.5 hours) at 3100 Tillicum Road


In the end, just three things matter:
How well we have lived
How well we have loved
How well we have learned to let go
Jack Kornfield