A Path towards Stillness

The following excerpt explores using drumbeat as an aide towards meditation…

…Understand that there are several types of yoga breathing. Experiment to find what works best for you.

I was taught pranayama in my yoga training and, eventually, came to understand its benefits, but pranayama was not the path I personally took toward achieving a meditative experience. What worked best for me was to imagine hearing a drumbeat that I heard during a group journey that I attended one evening. If your imagination does not recall a rhythm, then sample drum beat CDs or songs are available for purchase on the internet; look for drumbeats in a tempo that lulls you into a somewhat peaceful or hypnotic state. Concentrate on your breath while finding synchronicity with the drumbeats you are imagining or hearing. This may be one beat per inhale, or you may count as many beats as felt needed as you breathe in, and then breathe out, without losing the rhythm of the drum.

As with any meditation practice, create a sacred space to work in. And be mindful that this is a space that is also physically comfortable to sit or lie down in. I don’t believe that a mudra, or gestures practiced with posturing the fingers or hands in a specific position, or even the need to sit cross legged, is beneficial if the practitioner is physically uncomfortable doing it. Yellow Dog gives advice:

Make yourself comfortable, invite in the relaxation, and allow the experience to unfold.

Since I am comfortable in front of the television while sitting in my recliner, I would practice there. Or you might feel safe and comfortable lying on the bed in your bedroom. Or in your favorite space outside of your home. Use your intuition to find your safe place, then practice finding rhythm through breath. Don’t judge, don’t think, just listen to the beat of the drum like your own heartbeat, and find the rhythm of your breath.

If you fall asleep…great. If you become bored and start to think about something, then go back to that curiosity of counting: one, two, three, four…one, two, three, four…one, two, three, four, five. And wonder if your inhales and exhales are the same. Maybe hold your breath for one or two counts. Maybe change the numbers of inhales or exhales. Find the rhythm of breathing, allow the drumbeat of your heart to guide you. Think of the breath with curiosity and…play. Yellow Dog fills us in:

Other than the intention of joy and exploration there are no rules—no expectations. Don’t judge what you’ve yet to experience. If you desire, share the practice by being one of several students experiencing the same meditation. Remember, you can stay in the comfort of your home and “zoom” a led practice or meditation experience too. You even have the option now to follow a leader virtually that was recorded at a different place in linear time. There are so many options open to you, so experiment, practice and enjoy the journey.

Then begin to include an intention to your practice of meditation through breath. If your intention is simply to sleep or relax, this is fine. But I am suggesting exploration into animal communication. I am suggesting an exploration into an expanded state of dimensions.

 Intention coupled with breathwork is a powerful tool to experience and oftentimes manifests as action. If your intention is to experience the fifth dimension, then be prepared to greet a state of bliss. If the intention is, as we suggest, to greet a vibrational state in the form of a Spirit Guide, then you might, indeed, receive an odd snippet of information as if you are watching a video, movie or recalling a memory that you never had. Your intention of greeting a vibration can continue with more detail during your routine dream state too. Remember, you can recall your dreams if you send out that intention. Decide what works best for you, then ask.

Yes, I agree with Yellow Dog. It was during my dreams that I met my first guides, Red and Deborah, and discovered they were Druids. I had never heard that word before, so I researched it by buying and reading a few books about the Druids. This was when I learned that the Druids understood that there were three worlds of existence, which led to me purposefully going into a solitary meditative state to travel into the lower world.           

I encourage you to research any ideas that happen when you dream or meditate. I found if I kept a journal and pen easily accessible by my bedside, I could write down “impressions” before they escaped my heart brain. For when I first began this process, and the thinking brain of my current third and fourth dimensional reality takes over, the fifth-dimension experience oftentimes evaporates from your memory.

****

In my next blog entry, we’ll explore more about the topic of establishing a Meditation Practice.