Focusing Exercises, Aid To Meditation

New to meditation?

The most difficult thing when first beginning to meditate, is to be able to get rid of those sneaky little distractions that creep into your head and insist on breaking the flow of your meditation. This is a four step procedure in which you can learn how to focus your mind and stop thoughts wandering to the everyday and eventually create the state of mind in yourself in which psychic images are able to come to the fore. This procedure certainly helped me to focus.

As with all these exercises, and indeed all meditations; Make yourself comfortable, close your eyes and begin to breathe in positive energy. Concentrate completely on your breathing until you feel relaxed and your breathing is slow and steady. Now focus all your attention on your third eye.

Focus 1.

Visualize an apple pip before you. The skin of the apple pip is dark brown and shiny. In your minds eye, turn the seed around so you can look at it from all angles. The moment you begin to feel distracted, focus again on the apple pip and begin to see a tiny little green shoot at the top of it. The shoot begins to grow and it slowly produces two leaves. It grows stronger and taller and soon it becomes a young tree. As the leaves on the tree mature you can see buds forming and these then burst into bloom. As the apple blossom begins to fade, the fruit begins to grow.

When you can clearly see an apple on the tree, you need to pick it, it's shiny, red and ripe for eating. As you eat the apple, taste its sweetness and feel the juice running down your throat, soon you are down to the core and all you are left with is the pip.

Spend a few moments focusing once again on the pip, then slowly come back into yourself.

Focus 2.

As before; Focus through your third eye onto an apple pip, only this time do not allow it to grow. You can look at the pip from all around, every angle but always try to stay with the apple pip as it is. Any time a distracting thought comes into your mind, discard it and return to the image of the apple pip. Practice this exercise until you can stay with the pip for ten minutes.

Come back into yourself.

Focus 3.

As before; Focus through your third eye and again see before you an apple pip. Now remove the pip from the picture and focus purely on the space which the seed once occupied. Every time a distracting thought comes into your head send it to the back of your mind and focus closely on the space the pip has left. Try to maintain this focus for ten minutes, again practice makes perfect.

Focus 4.

As before; Focus all your attention on your third eye and look into the same space the apple pip had occupied. This time though, allow images to flow freely. Do not allow thoughts to distract you but maintain your attention on the space.

Don't become disheartened if nothing happens for a while, everyone is different and will progress at a different rate. Gradually, with daily practice images will begin to appear and you merely need to observe. It may feel as though you are watching a video or it may feel as though you are actually in these images. If unpleasant images appear, discard them immediately and return to the last pleasing image, remember you are in control here, it is important to remember this.

Allow ten to fifteen minutes a day at this practice and return back into yourself energized and positive.

My visions and concentration and ability to stay with my meditations without distraction were heightened by practicing this technique. I know it sounds a little bizarre, staring at apple seeds, but it worked for me. Let me know if it helps.