Spiritual Meditation
Spiritual meditation is the mindful practice of connection to something that is greater, vaster, and deeper than the individual self. It may seem paradoxical, but the path to that connection passes through honest self-reflection. While there are many meditation techniques that look to increase spiritual awareness, they all require an attitude of integrity and authenticity when looking at ourselves and how we view the world. Different religions practice meditation in different ways. Mindful practice isn’t limited to any particular faith or religion – anyone can follow a guided spiritual meditation. The blessings of spiritual meditation have a ripple effect: as our awareness and spiritual confidence increase, so do our desire and ability to be of benefit to others.
The first step is really getting to know yourself. Chances are, you’re going to zero in on features that you’d like to change about yourself – like just about everyone else who commits to self-knowledge. With spiritual meditation, acknowledging and accepting who you are is the first step to truly making friends with yourself. The meditation master Pema Chödrön expresses this beautifully in her book Start Where You Are: “It is unconditional compassion for ourselves that leads naturally to unconditional compassion for others. If we are willing to stand fully in our own shoes and never give up on ourselves, then we will be able to put ourselves in the shoes of others and never give up on them.” Accepting who we are makes it possible for us to accept others as they are. When we connect with what is sacred in ourselves and others, “giving up” is no longer an option.
Keys to a successful spiritual meditation
Here are Some Tips to Successful Spiritual Meditation
Release any grudges you’ve been holding. It can be extremely difficult to forgive some who has hurt you or someone you care about. But as your spiritual meditation practice becomes established, you’ll realize that holding on to grudges causes you nothing but pain and does nothing to help others either. The sooner you forgive, the quicker you can release this pain and move on. Don’t let a refusal to forgive hamper your journey to spiritual awareness. You can train your mind to let go by practicing mindfulness and wishing for others’ happiness. It may take time, but letting go is the obvious antidote to holding on to the pain of resentment.
Focus your spiritual aspirations on others. True spirituality focuses on benefitting others, but to do this we have to start with ourselves first. Looking at our own minds, we learn to accept who we are with tenderness and benevolence. We can then extend this tenderness and benevolence to others. As we continue our spiritual practice, we see that the more we focus on the benefit of others, the less we tend to worry about our own desires and frustrations. We begin to realize that we are all just trying to be happy; we are all just trying our best to avoid pain. In this sense, we are all the same.
Bring mindfulness into your faith. Many people find that practicing their faith is a great comfort and an excellent way to feed their spirit. They find a source of well-being in their meditation center or place of worship, or simply by practicing with other like-minded people. And when religious practices maintain the core spiritual foundations of kindness, openness, and connection, they can lead to experiences of spiritual awakening that transcend the mundane. On the other hand, some people use their faith to escape from life rather than to embrace it, warts and all. By incorporating mindfulness into your spiritual practice, you remain open to the connection and blessings of the present moment. Your faith sustains you in the here and now, and your mindfulness sustains your faith.
Open your mind to new possibilities. While we are all different in many ways, all living creatures are connected by certain universal needs and experiences. From the smallest insect to the mightiest ruler, we all look to secure well-being and avoid suffering. Besides, none of us could possibly exist without others. Guided spiritual meditation can open us to the truth of our interconnectedness and help us relativize our individual importance. There’s great freedom in accepting that we’re just a small but necessary part of the greater picture, a speck of cosmic dust in the universe, or just a grain of sand as some say. Rather than remaining stuck in self-importance, we can open our minds to all the possibilities that this freedom presents us with. We can embrace change right now and move forward into greater spiritual awareness.
Be authentic. The oft-repeated phrase “be yourself” encourages you to stop pretending you’re someone or something you’re not for the sake of pleasing others or covering up your shortcomings. Sadly, many people have grown so accustomed to leading make-believe lives that they don’t have a clue how to be authentic, that is, to simply be themselves. If the person you are at home is different from who you are at work or with friends, then you might want to look more closely at that behavior to see if it contributes to your well-being and that of others, or not. Embracing authenticity is being honest, transparent, and full of integrity. The clarity and openness fostered by meditation practice are precious allies on the path to true authenticity. Authenticity also avoids the dual traps of spiritual bypassing and spiritual materialism.
Spiritual meditation is used across the globe in countless religions and cultures. Some use it for stress and relaxation, others use it to clear their minds, and some use it to awaken and deepen their connection to something greater than themselves. While many scientific studies have looked closely at how meditation can provide relaxation benefits, fewer have looked at its spiritual effects. This is likely because spirituality isn’t easily measured.
Characteristics of spiritual meditation. Spiritual meditation is a highly individual experience that can feel vastly different for each person. An important work on the topic in Western thought is “The Varieties of Religious Experience,” written by philosopher, psychologist, physiologist, and Harvard professor William James in 1902. According to a 2019 study, qualities of spiritual experience can include:
Absorption or loss of a sense of separateness
Hearing voices or seeing visions
Feeling a spiritual “presence”
A sense of transcendence
A sense of awe
This list is by no means exhaustive, and reporting's of spiritual experiences are incredibly diverse and varied. Whether you feel an automatic connection to something deeper or feel nothing at all, experts agree you shouldn’t try to force it. “With any type of meditation, the more you try the harder it will be to achieve a meditative state,” says Alico. “If you are just getting into spiritual meditations, I recommend staying away from conversations where other people talk about their spiritual meditation practice experience. "This can prevent unrealistic expectations about what your practice “should” be. "Everyone’s experiences will feel different because we are all beautifully unique individuals,” says Alico...Nisha agrees.
Benefits of Spiritual Meditation. Based on his own experience, Nisha shares an extensive list of what he believes are the benefits of spiritual meditation:
A more balanced sense of being.
Inner stillness and peace
Less reactivity
A sense of inner bliss that isn’t dependent on outer circumstances.
A strong and authentic sense of who you are on a soul level reduction in unhealthy stress.
An increase in creativity
A strong sense of belonging
Increased self-esteem, self-trust, and self-acceptance
Clarity in your life purpose
"Your practice will bring you realizations and then the awareness that you can choose how you experience each moment of your life,” says Nisha. In Alico’s opinion, it strengthens the mind-body connection. "Meditation encourages you to do everything with intention. When consistently meditating, you will be able to better listen to what your body needs,” she says. “When you choose to listen to your body, you’re naturally living a more mindful life. "Importantly, Nisha emphasizes that spiritual meditation isn’t a quick fix. "The benefits it brings come from dedication to daily practice and the willingness to grow,” he says.
Health benefits of spiritual meditation. A 2020 study and 2018 studyTrusted Source noted that spiritual meditation can be an effective complementary treatment for several conditions, including:substance use disorders, including opioid, methamphetamine, and stimulant usedepressionanxietystresspain managementA 2019 study noted that spiritual meditation can offer complementary support for children who don’t have consistent or reliable access to medical and mental healthcare. For both Alico and Nisha, the benefits of spiritual meditation are deep and expansive.“I think that the greatest benefit of spiritual meditation is the pure sense of bliss and confidence in who you are. You feel so blissfully confident in the fact that you are doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing in life,” Alico says of her experience.
Spiritual meditation for sleep. Spiritual meditation may also provide benefits for sleep. A 2019 study Trusted Source found that the use of mind-body medicine, including spiritual meditation, may be an effective modality to ease sleep problems for cancer survivors. Nisha provides a spiritual explanation for the potential sleep benefits of meditation. “Your sleep improves because you are no longer experiencing unhealthy stress and your awareness of your daily experiences is of a higher understanding,” he says. Alico agrees. “Many of my clients feel a decrease in stress and anxiety from meditating, which is usually what is keeping them up at night,” she says. If you’re having trouble sleeping at night, Alico recommends simply focusing on the breath as in step two of her meditation above. “Place your hands on your body and start to connect with the breath the same way you do during your meditation practice,” she says. “This will help relax the body and release whatever is keeping you up.” Body scan meditation and guided meditation are also recommended strategies to encourage sleep.
There’s no one way to practice spiritual meditation, as mentioned above, but this is Alico’s spiritual meditation method. Make sure to be very comfortable before beginning.
Place your right hand over your heart center, your left hand just underneath your belly button, and gently close your eyes.
Start to listen to and connect with your breath. Listen to what it sounds like. Feel it as your body moves with every breath. Allow your breath to flow at a comfortable pace.
Imagine a light inside of you. Visualize the color and brightness. Feel the temperature of it. This light is yours and guides you to a greater power.
Once you feel comfortable with this light, start to follow it as it moves out of your body and into the sky. Follow it as it moves through the clouds and into the heavens.
Allow yourself to feel safe and connected in the heavens, even looking around and exploring. Spend as much time there as you would like, being open to whatever may come to you.
When you’re ready, bring your light back down into your body. Start to come back to the present moment and your surroundings, wiggling your fingers and your toes.
To close the practice, gently open your eyes and move slowly as you come out of your meditation.
According to Nisha, this practice is rooted in Southern African and Southeast Asian heritage. Start by getting into a comfortable seated position, so that your wrists and ankles are not crossed, and your back is upright and not leaning on anything. Make sure you won’t be disturbed and there are no distractions such as phones or music and give yourself permission to be there for as long as you need.
Begin by observing the rhythm of your breathing.
As you become more tuned in to your breathing, allow your awareness to tune into your heart rate. Feel the rhythm of your heartbeats. It’s OK if your mind gets busy. Simply thank your ego for its input and then let it know this is a time it can use to rest.
Now let your awareness move into your heart space and simply observe how you feel within this space. Is it a welcoming space? Do you feel safe and happy being there? Is there any resistance to being there?
When you have spent the time you need to in your heart space, allow your awareness to focus back on your heartbeat, then your breathing, then come back into the room and open your eyes.
After your practice, Nisha recommends journaling your experiences and drinking plenty of water.
Above Information courtesy of:
https://mindworks.org/
https://www.healthline.com/
“A spiritual meditation is a meditation practice you partake in with the desire to connect with a higher power, the Universe, God, your Highest Self, etc.,” says Jen Alico, a certified meditation coach.. There are thousands, if not millions, of religious and spiritual traditions that include spiritual meditation in many different forms. Here are a few examples of spiritual meditation in major religious traditions.
Hindu Japa Mala and Mantra Meditation
Sufi Dhikr or Remembrance of God
Jewish Kabbalistic Practices
Loving-Kindness or Metta Meditation in Buddhism
Marananussati Bhavana or Reflection on one’s Mortality in Theravada Buddhism
Zazen meditation in Zen Buddhism
Trance States in Shamanistic Traditions
Christian Contemplative Prayer
