Meditation

The three wise monkeys are a metaphor for meditation
The mind is like a monkey always moving and full of chatter
When meditating one must quite the monkey mind by
Shutting off the ears from sound to hear no evil
Closing the eyes from colour to see no evil
Shutting the mouth from sound to speak no evil
Once the monkey mind is silent then the heart can feel peace (RG)

Meditation has developed to help focus the mind, relax the body and help the meditator learn to understand themselves better, through this they empower themselves enough to learn to let go of any stress by seeing aspects of their lives and the way they are more clearly.

Recommended meditation positions:

• Laying down with arms by the side.
• Sitting in a chair with hands on the thighs.
• Kneeling position.
• Three circle standing.

Note: during meditation some meditaters half close their eyes and focus on a point in front of them to limit visual distractions. Half closing the eyes instead of having them closed also stop the meditator from falling asleep.

Three circle standing:
Stand with feet shoulder width apart, toes turned in slightly (pigeon toed preferable position) or just out, knees bent, you should feel like you are sitting on the edge of a table or chair etc. Arms up to chest level extended out, arms slightly bent at the elbows, hands can be facing down like they are pressing a ball down on a surface of water, or the hands can face the body like you are holding a large inflatable ball to the chest.

Three circle standing programme: start with circle standing using normal breathing patterns, and build up slowly from standing for 30 seconds 3 times a day for the first week, then the second week a minute and a half 3 times a day etc until you can stand for five to ten minutes.

See standing still meditation too:

Meditation internal techniques:

5 senses meditation: can be applied during 3 circle standing, laying or sitting.
Close your eyes as you sit, stand or lay and focus your attention by just listening to all the sounds in and around you? next change your attention to your nose and smell the air for any odors you may sense in the air? next move your thoughts over the largest organ of the body, the skin and feel the air, your clothes touching your skin on different locations of the body? Next feel your tongue and notice what the taste or how much saliva is in your mouth? Your eyes have been closed all the time thus closing off this sense.

Let go with part by part relaxation: can be applied during 3 circle standing, laying or sitting.
Get yourself into a comfortable position sat in a chair or laying down in a warm room without draughts. Make sure your clothes are not tight, undo your belt take off any tight jewelry, preparing yourself for deep relaxation.
If you are sitting in a chair put your hands on your thighs, feet flat on the floor. If laying down arms by your side.
Close your eyes or leave your eyes half open if you are liable to fall into a normal sleep and you do not want to.
Now slowly focus your attention on the top of your head and relax all the muscles and skin across your skull/top of your head very gently (always part by part relax the muscles on the out-breath), slowly soften all of your facial muscles (round the eyes, mouth, nose, chin and cheeks) bit by bit, focus and loosen all the muscles of your neck for a while (if your head slumps just leave it there), completely relax across your shoulders, let the shoulders just drop, soften all the way down your arms into your hands and fingertips, slow down your breathing whilst gently letting go of the chest muscles, abdominal muscles, concentrate on the area of your top upper back and round the shoulder blades, muscles beside the spine, completely letting go of the upper back, muscles becoming loose, move this focus of letting go into the mid-back, relaxing all these muscle, think into the lower back relaxation becoming deeper and deeper all the way down into the buttocks, buttocks becoming soft, soften around the pelvis for a while, move your thoughts of relaxation into both of the thighs and let go of the thighs front and back, think down to the knees, muscles becoming softer/looser, now put your thoughts of letting go into your shins and ankles all the way down to a focus of relaxation in the feet.

Countdown meditation: can be applied during 3 circle standing, laying or sitting.
Note: below in countdown training you focus on the dantian - this technique can start at the top of the head, relaxing these muscles, then onto letting go of any facial tension, all on the out breath, then slowly relax the shoulders until you work your thoughts down the arms, through the chest, into the stomach, down the back and around the hips and buttocks, down the thighs, round the knees, through the shins and down through the feet. this technique is similar to above except you count down from 100 to zero as well.
Countdown training:
To apply the countdown method focus your thoughts inside and focus these thought into the muscles of the area you are thinking, letting go and relaxing the muscle on the out-breath:
Breathe in gently and deeply whilst putting the number 100 into your Tanden or dantian (which is located about 2-3 cm below the tummy button/umbilicus, and about 2-5 cm inside the body in the Hara/abdominal area), imagine the number 100 is being like a small ball of positive energy growing in the hara.
Breathe out and change the number 100 to 99.
Breathe in and think of that energy ball giving off a healing light through your body whilst thinking the number 98.
Breathe out and think the number 97 whilst relaxing all the muscles and that the energy ball that is giving off a healing light through your body is pushing out any negative energy.
Note: do not force the breath or put your body in an uncomfortable position, also imagine that you are watching yourself in you mind like you are looking at yourself from the outside of your body.
Continue gently, peacefully breathing in and out focusing on the hara with the even numbers and breathing out whilst letting go on the odd numbers until you get to zero then just follow your breath in and out of your body, feeling the breath flow past your nostrils and into the hara. Feel the breath leave the body as if it has cleanse with the bad/negative energy cling to the out-breath.
The countdown should feel like you are turning the volume down on your on all outside stimulus similar to how you would turn the sound down on a radio or television or it could feel like you are climbing down a ladder and each rung helps you to let go more and more. In essence you are counting down the body until it becomes use to being less and less tense. this meditation should improve blood flow throughout all of the muscles and organs as you regularly apply this technique.

Advice:when you start to meditate set yourself an approximate time limit to fit into your daily lifestyle.

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