Preparation for Meditation

Here's what I've been taught/absorbed about preparing for meditation/visualisation. I don't profess to be a guru on this, so please add or question anything.

I think of the meditation as having three stages.
1. You relax, ground, centre yourself and go into the meditation.
2. The meditation takes place.
3. You close yourself down, ground and centre yourself and return to normal consciousness.

Here I'm hoping to share my way for stage 1 and 3. It's a way of looking after yourself and getting in the right 'space' for each time you do a med.

Firstly, work out where you'll be. A quiet place where you can relax and be undisturbed for around half an hour is best. Make sure it's a comfy and safe place to sit or lie, so you can relax your muscles and mind, and open up to the experience with ease. So, here’s a fairly thorough method for stages one and three. I sometimes find I'm in the right place to slip into meditation without being so detailed.

It can also be helpful to have a special crystal that you hold while meditating. It can become a familiar touchstone that energetically connects you to the right state of consciousness. Clear Quartz would be a good starting choice.

Stage One -Get comfortable and settle yourself into a position where you can relax and not be distracted by any physical discomfort or irritation. Take 3 gentle, slow breaths, visualising that you are breathing in calm blue and exhaling darkness – releasing stress, anxiety and worldly cares. For the next 7 breaths, draw energy from the Earth below you. Visualise the energy rising up your central column, going higher with each breath.

With the 1st breath, the energy reaches your hips where it glows red and you feel grounded. The 2nd breath stops below your belly button, where it glows orange and you feel a warm sense of security. The 3rd rises up to your diaphragm, glows yellow and gives you a sense of self-confidence. The 4th reaches your heart area, where it radiates green and pink energy, and fills you with unconditional love. The 5th comes up to your throat, shines turquoise. Swallow/cough, then relax your throat, and feel a sense of creative ease and personal freedom of expression.

With the 6th breath, the energy rises all the way up to your Third Eye, resting above your nose and in between your eyebrows. It places an oval sapphire stone on your Third Eye which you can almost imagine you feel against your skin. Visualise the stone, its deep blue colour and cut facets, then see it open up like a music box, and unfold like an origami flower. You have opened up your inner eye and intuitive ability.

The 7th breath brings the energy all the way up to your crown, bringing a purple cap to your head. It gives you a sense of cohesion and understanding. As you exhale this last breath – imagine pure white light gently hovering over you, offering you healing and protective energy. The light sprinkles down over you in a spiral creating a sacred circle around you. You remain centred and connected to the light through the meditation.

Stage 3 – When the meditation or visualisation is complete, slowly become aware of your breathing again. Close your circle by thanking and bidding farewell to the light, imagining it spiral back around you and recoil back into its source. Draw the energy and your consciousness back into your physical body. Then, starting at your crown and working back down, close down your chakras by imagining each one in turn as an aperture like an old camera lens, with overlapping plates that spiral inward together.

So firstly you’ll imagine the purple ray at the top of your head and visualise the camera lens closing shut as you take the first breath in. Don’t completely or tightly shut it, leave it relaxed and safe. As you exhale, move down to the next chakra, closing it when you inhale again. Here they are in turn:- Third Eye – deep blue Throat – turquoise Heart – pink and green Solar Plexus – yellow Sacral/Navel – orange Base/Root – red After you’ve reached the base, visualise roots slowly reaching down into the Earth below you, and branching out into the soil. Connect back to the place you are resting and slowly bring your consciousness more into the physical world. Wiggle your toes, shift your position a little. When you’re ready, open your eyes.

It’s a good idea to have a small drink and snack.

For more information about the Charkas, click here :)