MEDITATION USING VISUALISATION

Visualisation is a simple method to relax the mind and achieve an effective meditation state.  It is ideal for people who need more of a focus during meditation.  It is also an excellent way to strengthen your inner vision or clairvoyance.  Visualisation is the technique of creating imagery using your ‘inner eye’ and imbuing those images with a sense of reality.  It can be used for relaxation, for healing and to create a vision of how you would like your life to be.  Visualisation is not merely daydreaming: during daydreaming there is no sense of belief that the images could become real.  With visualisation your mind is fully focused; the pictures that are created are sharp and clear with every possible detail filled in and noted.

Guided visualisations to a beautiful secluded beach, a garden with flowers and bird song or a walk through a wooded area are all popular techniques to promote relaxation.  Visualisation helps us to enter another world where everything is possible and to return relaxed and motivated.

 

Getting Started

There are many pre-recorded guided visualisations available.  Alternatively you can devise your own and record yourself on a tape or an audio package on your computer if you have one.  You can also find one in a meditation book, read it several times and memorise it.

To use visualisation effectively, you need to be able to relax, be comfortable and free from distractions.  Choose a time and place when interruptions are less likely to occur.  Short periods of time, such as 10-15 minutes, are perfectly sufficient as a few minutes of relaxed concentration will benefit you more than longer periods of time when you are tempted to slip into a daydream instead.

 

A Simple Visualisation Exercise

 

1.    Sit quietly for a few moments.  Breathe deeply and slowly, in and out, until you feel your tension draining away.  You will start to feel more relaxed and peaceful with each exhalation.

2.    Now imagine that you are sitting on a warm, empty beach.  The sun is directly overhead, and the sea is lapping gently against the sand.  You can hear birds in the sky above you, and see the sails of yachts far out at sea being carried by the gentle, warm breeze.  Small beautiful shells are scattered on the sand all around you.

3.    You are alone and completely at peace.  You have left all the worries, stress and anxieties of your daily life behind you.  Imagine that you are on that dream holiday you have always wanted to take.  Let the feelings of calm and relaxation wash over you.  Know that you are safe and protected.

4.    If you have any particular worries that are affecting you at present, such as an upcoming meeting you are dreading, or a bill you are having trouble paying, imagine that you have packed this trouble away in a suitcase and put it onto one of the yachts that is far out at sea.  Imagine the yacht taking the worry away over the horizon and out of sight.  Even if it will have to return at some point, for now you are completely relaxed and free.

5.    Now take three deep breaths, exhaling fully, before starting to breathe normally again.  Wriggle your fingers and toes.  This will help your mind to return to your body.  Then, when you feel ready, slowly open your eyes.  Take a few moments to revel in your new-found feeling of relaxation as it lingers over you.

 

 

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Teacher, Meditation Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at Little London Herbal Stores on Kings Walk in Nottingham city centre. Please ring her on 07748 591690 to book a treatment or visit her website http://helenshortland.com for further information.

 

RECOGNISING YOUR PSYCHIC POTENTIAL

Whenever I run a Reiki or spiritual themed workshop, I am always amazed by how ‘sensitive’ or ‘intuitive’ people are.  One person may pick up something totally different to someone else but it is all very accurate and relevant.  I believe that many people have latent psychic abilities which can be reactivated with training, development and practice.  To discover your own potential, see if you recognise any of the experiences described below.  I guarantee that some of them will sound familiar ….
 

Gut Instinct

Many times we get a strong first impression about someone we have never met before.  You may feel you just don’t trust someone or need to be very wary about someone. This is often called ‘gut instinct’.  And how many times have those first impressions proved correct?  Usually the answer is most or all of the time!

 

Déjà Vu

This is an experience when you feel you have been somewhere before or met someone before.  This sense of familiarity can indicate ‘second sight’: you may have clairvoyantly ‘seen’ the place or person before on a subconscious level.  Sometimes we meet people who remind us strongly of someone else. If so, ask yourself whether this is a good or bad association: it may be a warning from your subconscious mind or higher self to take care around a certain person.

 

Sixth Sense

Some people are naturally more sensitive to areas of psychic disturbance or spirit activity than others. This occurs most especially in areas where there has been a traumatic incidence such as a murder scene or place of an attack, in prisons, dungeons, and in places where there has been illness and sadness.  Many people are able to sense a bad atmosphere in a room or building. Think of how many times you have walked into a room where there has just been a bad argument and you think to yourself “You could cut the atmosphere in here with a knife!”

 

Telepathy

Psychic bonds are stronger between people with a strong emotional link such as family members and close friends.  This may explain why twins can sometimes communicate without speaking.  Often we get an urge to contact someone we may not have heard from in a while and when you do, you find they are having a difficult time and really needed someone to talk to. Many people report knowing who is on the end of the phone before they answer it.  Strong telepathic bonds also exist between people and their pets and we have all heard stories of pets knowing instinctively when their owners are coming home.

 

Dreams

Dreams have always been linked to the paranormal and this is probably because psychic abilities tend to work best when the mind is open and relaxed.  Some psychics believe that the soul, or astral body, can leave the physical body during sleep and travel through space and possibly even time, and that dreams are actually the recorded experiences of your astral or ‘psychic’ body.  Other times dreams are explained as your daily emotional experiences that you may have suppressed at the time being processed by your subconscious mind at a time when the subconcious is in control rather than the conscious mind.  Many people have dreams that don’t seem to dreams at all but are more like visions: I believe that when our brain waves are operating at a certain frequency, we are able to pick up on major events happening elsewhere on the planet. I also believe that some of these visions and conversations we have in the dream state are communications from our spirit guides and loved ones in spirit.  If you are lucky enough to have one of these, they can be a huge source of comfort and guidance.

  

Coming up next month … Sensing and Seeing Auras

  

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Teacher, Meditation Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at Little London Herbal Stores on Kings Walk in Nottingham city centre. She runs a range of spiritual themed workshops including Developing Intuition and Connecting to your Spirit Guides. Please ring her on 07748 591690 to book a treatment or visit her website http://helenshortland.com for further information.