Meditation Lesson

A few years ago I tried my very first meditation. It was in a group setting. The exercise was to sit in a comfortable upright position, in a dimly lit room with only one focus, a candle. ⁣⁣
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For 5 loooong minutes, we were to focus only on the flame. At first it was quite difficult to just sit and stare at this candle. I started to wonder if it was going to work. I was even tempted to break focus and see what everyone else was doing. Were they taking a peak at me too? But I did myself proud and followed the instructions.

Then something happened, with maybe 1 minute to spare.. Everything in the background (in my peripheral vision) fell into darkness and I dropped into it this incredible state.. of relaxation. I felt (comfortably) alone, even in a room full of people. For those final seconds, it was just me and the flame. I was almost disappointed when it was over. I went home and practised, I wanted more. Eventually I got to 10mins at a time. ⁣⁣Then one day I tried it without a candle and simply sat with my eyes closed. ⁣⁣
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♡ So if you want to give it a go, firstly make sure you are able to darken the room and that there will be no interruptions;⁣⁣
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Step 1. Light a candle
Step 2. Set a timer for 5 mins
Step 3. Position yourself at least 1.5m away from the candle and just focus on it. ⁣⁣
If you have any thoughts that come to mind, it's ok. Just acknowledge they are there and bring your focus back to the flame. Never look away from the flame.⁣⁣

Even now, I have a spot next to my bed on the floor facing the front yard. And although I have my eyes closed during the meditation, it's nice to know the world is continuing on while my inner world stands still living only for the present moment. And once I'm finished and I open my eyes, there it all is, just where I left it 💖⁣⁣