Category Archives: Meditation Methods

meditation-mindfulness

Meditation Mindfulness – How to Live in the Here and Now

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Another Astral Pulse Moderator, Lightbeam, made a really great post on practicing Mindfulness which I wish to share here.

How to Live in the Now

I decided to make a post about mindfulness, because I see so many people around me either running ahead of life, or being left behind in their past. I catch myself sometimes doing this as well, but when I become aware and shift my thoughts, come back to the present moment and fully submerge myself within, the whole perception of life changes instantly. A lot of people are not even aware of this occurrence. Now, stop and think about what moment of the day have you fully experienced, observed and enjoyed without having rolling thoughts in the back of your mind about yesterday, or what are the plans for tomorrow? Sometimes we are given opportunities to experience wonderful events, but we fog them with constant worries, fears, etc. 

Have you come back from a vacation and you wished you could do it all over again, but this time  enjoy certain moments in stillness, rather than worrying about flights, hotels, expenses, etc? 

How many of you have actually stopped and analyzed a present moment with full awareness and have gotten so excited over your observations? I am asking this because I have noticed in my OBEs I am constantly in such a state. Here, not so much and I am trying to change that. But since I consciously started observing present moments, I feel happier and happier. Thing make more sense, life lessons become very transparent and challenges easy to overcome. 

If you forget to stop and smell the roses, then write it down somewhere , so that you get reminded and with time it will become like a reflex. That will help those who are trying to AP to gain more lucidity during dreams. By spending time everyday to observe your surroundings, events, interactions (good or bad) your awareness will raise its frequency. And don’t forget that the power is in the NOW.

Meditation – Correct Breathing

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A lot of people don’t know this, but there actually is a “CORRECT” way to breath. And yes, this does relate to everything you do… from simple meditation, to living your daily life. Breathing properly will enhance everything you do. You’ll feel much better too!

You’re supposed to breath using your diaphragm. Simply put, if when you’re breathing anything but your stomach is moving then you’re doing it incorrectly.
Most people these days breath from their chest… this is horribly bad because those muscles are vastly weaker than your diaphragm. It’s easier and better to breath from your stomach than it is your chest. Breathing from the chest is something that most people learn to do as they get older, it’s an image thing.
My Sensei (I train [well I haven’t for year or so at the moment hehe] in yoshinkan aikido) always said that to breath properly means to “get fat”… then “get skinny”! This is the kind of autonomic breathing that kicks in when you fall asleep.

If you watch a baby lie there breathing, you’ll notice that it will do all the breathing using its stomach. This is what adults should strive for as well.

Doing this kind of breathing also assists the body in falling asleep, because it’s the normal type of breathing that it’s used to doing naturally and tricks the mind into thinking the body is asleep.

Have you ever listened to someone make that transition from awake to asleep. You can actually pinpoint the EXACT second that they “fell asleep” due to how their breathing changes. This “sleep breathing” is what you want to emulate while meditating.

So while you’re practicing your projections, or even while you’re going about your daily life, try to breathe correctly. Your body AND consciousness will thank you for it! 🙂