Magia Records

When folks think of the act of meditation, they generally picture something akin to a Buddhist meditation: someone sitting in a full or partial Lotus position, eyes closed, and perhaps holding their hands in some sort of mudra and intonating ‘om’. While this is perfectly acceptable, there are many ways to tailor the act of meditation to your mental and physical needs. After all, the act of meditation is not about the aesthetics—it’s about regulating your mind and body to be quiet but open in the present.

1. Avoid laying down, particularly in bed While it is important to be comfortable during your meditation session, this is also a disciplined act. If you lay down in bed to meditate, you may find you have a higher propensity of falling asleep during your session. If you cannot sit upright on the floor unsupported with anything but a meditation cushion, try sitting upright in a chair with your feet planted on the ground and your hands rested on your knees. Maintaining balance and good body alignment is part of the discipline of meditation—it subtly reminds your body that this act is intentional and you are not preparing to fall asleep.

It is also possible to meditate while in motion! Walking and working meditations are excellent, particularly for those of us who get restless sitting in one spot for too long. For a walking meditation, plan out a safe path to travel free from obstructions. This can be indoors or outdoors! Focus your gaze low towards your feet, a few inches in front of you. Walk slowly and deliberately, taking care to stay balanced and consistent in your strides and maintain a regular breathing pattern. As for your hands, try not to have them dangle by your sides; clasp your hands gently and hold them near your core. Working meditations can be done with most regular chores, like cleaning or washing dishes, and other repetitive tasks. Once you fall into a comfortable rhythm of motion, focus gently on the task in front of you. Avoid scrutinizing the details—let the actions and aural, visual, and tactile stimuli move through you consistently.

2. You don’t have to close your eyes You can totally meditate with your eyes closed if you prefer but I find that a soft gaze landing a few inches in front of me yields a more productive meditation session. Even if you decide to focus on a specific object or point in your field of vision, try to avoid straining too hard! This can easily stray into the territory of ‘object concentration’ which I may discuss more in a future post.

3. Forget about ‘silencing the mind’ In many occult resources, practitioners say that the goal of meditation is attaining an absence of thought. For most people, this is just not possible or sustainable over a long period of time regardless of neurotype. Instead, allow these moments of mental silence to come and go naturally. To some practitioners, it may feel or be akin to dissociation but this is not necessarily a bad thing! Try to gently note what coaxes you into that state, if you can. At first, you may not experience it at all and that’s perfectly fine. Meditation is a practice and with time you will be able to notice and perhaps work within that mental ‘void’ space.

4. That being said, focus on something When we have nothing to focus on, our mind wants to wander. Focus on your breath—try to maintain a regular cadence (of breathing in, holding in your breath, breathing out, sitting with no air) and choose a number to work up to. Start small with a count of 5 and repeat for the duration of your session. If you lose track, start again. Once you are comfortable with 5 counts, ramp up to 10. Prayer beads are a great tool for this as you can match the tactile sensation of the beads to the act of counting. If you are doing a walking meditation, match your steps to your breathing. If you are meditating with your eyes open, you can also just observe subtle changes in your environment while counting your breaths. Notice the shifts in light and shadow or how a gentle breeze effects your surroundings; let these moments pass as quickly as they come.