I’m hammering out the second half of Chapter 3 of the Witches’ Workbook, which is on the fundamentals of energy, and I wanted to share one of the exercises I jotted down for it! I get the “how do I start meditating?” question all the time - here’s the basic bones of it all!

At its simplest form, a basic meditation allows the user to throw off the confines of everyday thinking, and simply “be” - exist, sense, and feel the environment and area around them.

If the weather is good, it's safe to do so, and you can be somewhere comfortable doing it, sit outside. If not, do this meditation indoors. Make sure you're comfortable (whether you're on the ground, sitting in a chair, lying down, standing, etc).

Close your eyes.

Take several calm, cool, deep breaths. Inhale – hold – exhale. Relax, and feel your breath moving in and out of your body. Continue to breathe deeply until you feel like you're in tune with your resting heart rate.

Now that you're in tune with yourself, let's get in tune with the outside. While you're breathing, start to listen to the world around you. (You can also use your sense of smell instead). Instead of being an “active” listener, just try to relax and let the sounds come to you. See what you can pickup while just relaxing and being “passive”. You'll hear one or two things first – like cars on a busy highway, or wind rustling the grass – but eventually, as you listen (or sense), these things will begin to layer. Eventually, you will pick up more and more minute and quiet details of the environment.

Enjoy the sensation of the world around you!

When you're ready to come back down, gently take several deep breaths again. Count to three (or longer, if you need), open your eyes, and stand back up (if you've been standing, you can shake yourself off or do another action to “break” from your meditation stance.)

Congratulations! You just tuned into the local energy. This skillset will prove valuable in your Craft to come, should you decide to use it!

[You can read the previous chapters of the Witches’ Workbook here: (Ch1: Beginning Witchcraft) (Ch2: Elements of Witchcraft) (Supplemental Chapter: Divination I)]