Some people think that transcendental meditation is a cult or a religion-related business. The contrasting party to the transcendental meditation followers’ claims thinks so because the program is also being declared as the “Science of Creative Intelligence”, which is now a degree at the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa. The university also boasts of “a Full Range of Academic Disciplines for Successful Management of All Fields of Life”. The party arguing transcendental meditation’s claims also point out that several health and beauty products are being sold at the university for people who want to “improve” their body as much as their mind. The most unbelievable claim of transcendental meditation is enabling its followers to fly – or levitate. This was probably disproved because they do not insist on being able to fly anymore, though some others still declare to have possessed supernatural and paranormal capabilities like becoming invisible. Along with flying, this too has not been proved.

A former transcendental follower once said that basically the other meditation methods are the same as the transcendental meditation, except that the latter is wrapped up in questionable publicity claims.

So whatever meditation technique you choose to practice, do it for the mere purpose of acquiring self relaxation. All other powers are not for us to have.

To prepare for merkaba meditation, create a place in your home that you can perform the meditation, it should be a place where you can’t be disturbed and distracted. Lighting a candle and using a cushion or pillow to sit on may be helpful to make you feel relaxed and focused. Then let go of all your worries and just feel complete love for everything around you and become one with love.

Merkaba Meditation Technique – First 14 Breaths

Merkaba Mediation Breath 1 – Inhale
Heart
Open your heart and feel love for all life. If you cannot do this completely you must at least open to this love as much as is possible for you. This is the most important instruction of all.
Mind
Become aware of the Sun (male) tetrahedron (the apex facing up to the sun, the point facing to the front for males, or the point facing to the back for females filled with brilliant white light surrounding your body. Visualize it the best you can. If you cannot visualize it, sense or feel it surrounding you.
Breath
At this same moment, with your empty lungs, begin to breathe in a complete yogic manner. Breathe through your nostrils only, except at certain places which will be described. Simply put, breathe from your stomach first, then your diaphragm, and finally your chest. Do this in one movement, not three parts. The exhale is completed either by holding the chest firm and relaxing the stomach, slowly releasing your air, or by holding the stomach firm and relaxing the chest. The most important aspect is, that this breathing becomes rhythmic. Begin by using seven seconds in and seven seconds out. As you become familiar with this meditation, find your own rhythm.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 1 – Exhale
Heart
Love
Mind
Become aware of the Earth (female) tetrahedron (apex pointing to the earth, with the point facing to the back for males, and the point facing to the front for females), also filled with brilliant white light.
Body
Keep the same mundra.
Breath
Do not hesitate at the top of the inhalation to begin the exhalation. Exhale quite slowly for approximately seven seconds, in the yogic manner. When the air is out of the lungs, without forcing, relax the chest and abdomen and hold the breath. When you feel pressure to breathe again, after five seconds or so, then do the following:

This combined exercise will clean out the negative thoughts and feelings that have entered into your electrical system. Specifically, it will clean out the part of your electrical system that is associated with this particular mudra you are using. Immediately upon pulsing the energy down your spine, change mudras to the next one and begin the entire cycle over again.

Mind
Be aware of the flat equilateral triangle at the top of the Earth tetrahedron located in the horizontal plane that passes through your chest at approximately three inches below the sternum. In a flash, and with a pulse-like energy, send that triangular plane down through the Earth tetrahedron. It gets smaller as it goes down and pushes all the negative energy of the mudra or electrical circuit out the tip or apex of the tetrahedron. A light will shoot out of the apex toward the center of the earth. The mind exercise is performed simultaneously with the following body movements.
Body
Move your eyes slightly toward each other, or in other words, slightly cross your eyes. Now bring them up to the top of their sockets, or, in other words, look up. This motion of looking up should not be extreme. You will feel a tingling sensation between your eyes in the area of your “third” eye. Now look down to the lowest point you can, as fast as you can. You may feel an electrical sensation move down your spine. The mind and body must coordinate the above mental exercise with the eye movements. The eyes look down from their uppermost position at the same time the mind sees the triangular horizontal plane of the Earth tetrahedron move down to the apex of the Earth tetrahedron.

The next five breaths of merkaba meditation technique are a repetition of the first breath with a change on the mudra as follows:

Merkaba Meditation- Breath 2
Mudra change: thumb and second finger together

Merkaba Meditation -Breath 3
Mudra change: thumb and third finger together

Merkaba Meditation – Breath 4
Mudra change: thumb and little finger together

Merkaba Meditation – Breath 5
Mudra change: thumb and first finger together (as breath 1)

Merkaba Meditation -Breath 6
Mudra change: thumb and second finger together (as breath 2)

These first six breaths of the merkaba meditation is for balancing the polarities and cleansing the body’s electrical system.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 7 – Inhale
Heart
Love
Mind
Visualize or sense the tube running through your body. The instant you begin the seventh inhale, see the brilliant white light of prana moving up and down the tube at the same time. This movement is almost instantaneous. The point where these two light beams meet within your body is controlled by the mind and is a vast science known throughout the universe. In this teaching, however, you will only be shown what is necessary to take you from 3rd to 4th dimensional awareness. In this case you will direct the two beams of prana to meet at your navel, or more correctly, within your body at the navel level, inside the tube. The movement of the two beams of prana meet, which is just as the inhale begins, a sphere of white light or prana about the size of a grapefruit, is formed at the meeting point centered on the tube. It all happens in an instant. As you continue to take the inhale of the seventh breath, the sphere of prana begins to concentrate and grow slowly.
Body
For the next seven breaths, use the same mudra for both inhale and exhale; the thumb, first and second fingers touching together, palms up.
Breath
Deep rhythmic yogic breathing, seven seconds in and seven seconds out. There is no holding of the breath from now on. The flow of prana from the two poles will not stop or change in any way when you go from inhale to exhale. It will be a continuous flow that will not stop for as long as you breathe in this manner, even after death, resurrection or ascension.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 7 – Exhale
Mind
The prana sphere centered at the navel continues to grow. By the time of the full exhale, the prana sphere will be approximately eight or nine inches in diameter.
Breath
Do not force the air out of your lungs. When your lungs empty naturally, immediately begin the next breath.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 8 – Inhale
Heart
Love
Mind
The prana sphere continues to concentrate life force energy and grow in size.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 8 –Exhale
Mind
The prana sphere continues to grow in size and will reach maximum size at the end of this breath. The maximum size is different for each person If you put your longest finger in the center of your navel, the line on your wrist defining your hand will show you the radius of the maximum size of this sphere for you. This sphere of prana cannot grow larger.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 9 – Inhale
Mind
The prana sphere cannot grow larger, so the prana begins to concentrate within the sphere. The visual appearance is that the sphere grows brighter.
Breath
The sphere grows brighter and brighter as you inhale.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 9 –Exhale
Breath
As you exhale, the sphere continues to grow brighter and brighter.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 10 –Inhale
Mind
As you breathe in the tenth breath, the sphere of light in your stomach area will reach maximum concentration. Approximately halfway into the inhalation of the tenth breath, at the moment of maximum possible concentration, the sphere will “ignite” and change color and quality. The blue electric color of prana will turn into the golden color of the sun. The sphere will become a golden sun of “brilliant light”. As you complete the tenth breath inhale, this new golden sphere of light will rapidly reach a new and higher concentration. At the moment you reach full inhalation of the tenth breath, the golden sphere of light in your body is ready for a transformation.

Merkaba Meditation Breath 10 – Exhale
Mind
At the moment of exhale, the small sphere of golden light, 2 hand lengths in diameter, bulges to expand. In 1 second, combined with the breath talked about below, the sphere expands quickly to the sphere of Leonardo, to the finger tips of your extended arms. Your body is now completely enclosed within a huge sphere of brilliant golden light. You have returned to the ancient form of spherical breathing. However, at this point, the sphere is not stable. You must breathe 3 more times to stabilize the sphere.
Breath
At the moment of exhale, make a small hole with your lips and blow out your air with pressure. As you feel the sphere begin to bulge, all within the 1st second of this exhale, let all your air out rapidly. The sphere will expand at that moment.

Merkaba Meditation Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Breaths – Inhale & Exhale
Mind
Relax and just feel the flow of the prana flowing from the two poles, meeting at the navel and expanding out to the large sphere.
Breath
Deep rhythmic yogic breathing. At the end of the thirteenth breath you have stabilized the large sphere and are ready for the important fourteenth breath.

Merkaba Meditation – The 14th breath – Inhale
Heart
Love
Mind
On the inhale of the 14th breath, at the very beginning of the breath, move the point where the two beams of prana meet from the navel to about 1 inch above the sternum, the 4th dimensional chakra. The entire large sphere, along with the original small sphere, with is still contained within the large sphere, moves up to the new meeting point within the tube. Though this is very easy to do, it is an extremely powerful movement. Breathing from this new point within the tube will inevitably change your awareness from 3rd to 4th dimensional consciousness, or from Earth consciousness to Christ Consciousness. It will take awhile, but as I have said, it is inevitable.
Body
This mudra will be used for the rest of the meditation. Males will place the left palm on top of the right palm, and females will place the right palm on top of the left palm. Let the thumbs lightly touch each other. It is a mudra that relaxes.
Breath
Deep rhythmic yogic breathing. However, if you continue to breathe from your Christ center without moving on to the MerKaBa (which is recommended until you have made contact with your higher self), then shift to a shallow breath. In other words, breathe rhythmically but in a comfortable manner where your attention is more on the flow of energy moving up and down the tube meeting at the sternum and expanding out to the large sphere. Just feel the flow. Use your feminine side to just be. At this point don’t think. Just breathe, feel and be. Feel you connection to all life through the Christ Breath. Remember your intimate connection with God.

The Merkaba Meditation – Last three breaths
The last three breaths of Merkaba meditation are intended for those who are ready to take the higher level, and should not be attempted until one has made contact with the his or her higher self and the higher self permits to proceed. This part is to be taken seriously and is recommended that these breaths be thought in class.

There are plenty of techniques that you can do to get better meditation results. Several online sites provide several techniques and their procedures. One example is the Hong Sau meditation technique. Hong Sau is an easy meditation technique that claims to let you connect with your inner abilities of great vitality, and love, among others. Furthermore this particular meditation technique is said to also let you connect with God.

Hong Sau works when a person gets a grasp on how to control his breathing. It states that the breathing is considered to be the greatest barrier to attaining a deep state of meditation. In practicing the Hong Sau meditation technique, one needs to focus on the breath, and a deep calmness will soon be achieved.

So how should we go about this meditation technique? One should sit upright, spine straight, but in a comfortable enough position. Focus your view between your eyebrows. Breathe in till the count of eight and hold your breath for eight counts as well without looking away from the point between your eyebrows. Breathe out slowly till the count of eight. Do this process three to six times.

After the breathing exercise, breathe in another time and mentally say “Hong”. Then mentally say Sau (pronounced like saw) while you breathe out. The term Hong Sau means “I am He” or “I am Spirit”. Don’t control your breathing, instead, breathe naturally. You will soon feel that your breathing seems to be making the Hong and Sau sounds.

When you become more relaxed, feel the breathe go higher and higher in the nose. All the while, keep your gaze at the same point between your eyebrows. Keep practicing this meditation technique as long as you want to, until it brings you to a deeper state of serenity and the highest sense of calmness.

Is Buddhist meditation a religion in itself or simply a mind exercise like most others? While Buddhist meditation is not a religion, it is inspired by the goals of the Buddhism religion. After all, the human mind is the heart of the Buddhist teaching.

The Dhamma, or the teaching of the Buddha, is probably the most misunderstood among all other religions. The Buddha is also being likened to God and people have considered the Buddhist meditation as a hypnotic method to flee from the real world.

There are eight noble truths involve in Buddhism. The first noble truth is the dukkha, a Pali word which means the unpleasant experiences like worry, pain, sorrow, fear, etc. The second noble truth points out that dukkha are the consequence of desire and craving. The third noble truth says that dukkha can be resolved, while the fourth noble truth tells us the means by which the third noble truth can be achieved. 

The goals of Buddhist meditation do not differ much from the other methods of meditation. Specifically though, Buddhist meditation aims to get rid of the dukkha and attain Nibbana. According to many Buddhist meditation practitioners, Nibbana is too difficult to put into words. But they describe it as the highest point of moral and psychological maturation.

Buddhism, through the fourth noble truth is then closely linked to Buddhist meditation. It was transformed into a method or discipline of releasing people from the bondage of negative feelings and enhancing the nature of human life. This part of the Dhamma is known as the Noble Eightfold Path, which encompasses lessons that can influence the personal and social aspect of one’s life.

It may be understood therefore that the cause of everyone’s agony is psychological. Logic would tell us that the cure would be psychological as well. Thus, Buddhism designed mind exercises called the Buddhist meditation, aimed to cure these psychological problems. However, the Buddhist meditation is often confused with other practices that that claim to have possessed powers after engaging in meditation, which is totally in contrast to the Eightfold Path.

Some people view meditation, Buddhist meditation included, as a higher state of the pious life. That meditation is a step towards sainthood or being a holy person. Meditation is not an act of converting a sinner to have a deeper commitment to his religion. But it is just a good instrument to free oneself from the clutter that fills the mind in order to have a more serene life.

Since Buddhist meditation, like any other technique, is a personal experience which brings about self-fulfillment, it must be practiced according to one’s conviction and faith that enlightenment and bliss are attainable.

Well for some, that may be true. However, for those who practice meditation with a strong conviction, the benefits of meditation are far greater than being able to sleep fast. Basically, meditation has been designed to help people free their mind from life’s constant conflicts. It promises to give people a deeper sense of relaxation and a higher control of themselves. The benefits of meditation even includes understanding one’s self as it is viewed to be a process that will lead people to self-awareness.

Scientific studied even found explanations to confirm some benefits of meditation. These studies point out that meditation shift the brain’s activity from the stress-prone part to the calmer part of the brain. This mind exercise lessens the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression. They further found out that the brain processes lesser fear due to the changes in the brain’s activities.

There are benefits of meditation that most people find very helpful. One is, it actually releases a person from the bondage of past traumas which causes a feeling of having “unfinished business”, and hindering present growth. Through this, one can also enjoy the little joys that each moment brings.

The benefits of meditation will end our quest for things that we don’t have or the feelings that we haven’t experienced. Instead these will teach us how to appreciate the present. Meditation is just a simple method of gently taking us back into the NOW and letting go of the THEN.

Because of the benefits of meditation, a lot of people suffering from psychological problems have found an ally in this mind practice. It is said to be able to pull one out of depression. And because it gives us a better understanding of ourselves, meditation also encourages people to quit their addiction to vices, help in their healing and recovery, and live better and healthier lives.

Some health experts have found out that people who have been diagnosed to be suffering from too much stress and extreme anxiety need not be treated with drugs. The benefits of meditation were once again proven in the study of these people. They found out that engaging in meditation is a good panic attack prevention.

A lot of people have different things to say about meditation. Although there are numerous techniques in meditation, they should all be treated the same way. They are not designed to solve our problems or make life worry-free. They are here so that we will be more accepting of life and its challenges.

I first encountered relaxation meditation when I was in junior high school. Keep in mind this was back in 1989. So this concept is definitely not brand spankin new by any means. It was around a long time before that as well. Anyway, I came home from school one day and spotted my father lying on his bed. He was listening to a relaxation meditation tape that his chiropractor recommended to him. I thought it was completely bizarre. But naturally i had to inquire all about it out of shear curiosity. He informed me that relaxation meditation was meant to clear your thoughts and allow your body and mind to be at peace for at least a small amount of time. My father said he liked to listen to the tape and go into a sort of trance, which seemed to energize him. He claimed that the voice on the tape was in total control if you allowed it to be. So if the relaxation meditation tape instructed you to go to sleep and told you to awaken in an hour you would. You mind would comply with the instructions like a sort of hypnotism. You could make your body feel like that hour of sleep was 12 hours. Naturally I was very skeptical of this practice.

You can dabble in relaxation meditation with the assistance of a CD or DVD now days. Of course you can also attend a more professional atmosphere, but it’s not imperative to see results. Much regarding this ritual has to do with your mind being open. If you’re ready to comply and simply relax, you can achieve enlightenment of body, mind and soul. So much is capable if we let our minds accept.

Yoga Meditation means controlling the mind and material senses by focusing on the energy within the body. As such, it can be understood that controlling the mind is very difficult as the mind is restless and very easily agitated. Since birth, the mind has been contaminated with all sorts of false ego, pride, lust, and desires and thus an individual is always disturbed by various anxieties. Learning to calm the mind and to tap the energy within is one of the main goals of yoga meditation. And this is still possible if we can follow the basic principles of yoga meditation outlined as follows: 

“There is no possibility of one’s becoming a yogi, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough. He should be regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work.”

“To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and follow the proper sitting postures. One should then try to fix his mind on one point and purify the heart by controlling his mind, senses and activities.”

“In the stage of perfection called trance, one’s mind is completely restrained from material mental activities, by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one’s ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established consequently, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is believed to be actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact”.

“One should hold one’s body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from desires, one should meditate upon the energy within and realize his true identity in relationship with the whole cosmic creation”

“Therefore practicing constant control of the body, mind and activities, the yogi’s regulated mind, attains to the highest goal of life by cessation of material existence.”

Yoga Meditation is not as simple as it may seem, it needs one to be truly ready both physically and mentally, as the goal of yoga meditation is not just of the body but most importantly, liberty of the mind from all material connection as well.

Change your perspective about failure. Oftentimes, when people fail they automatically view themselves as failures. They completely lose self-confidence. When you feel you are a failure then you believe that anything you do will fail. This self-perception is dangerous because it can put you in a cycle of failures. You have to realize that it is not who you are as a person that failed but what you planned or did. Yes, perhaps you made a mistake but that mistake was the failure and not you. When you recognize the distinction it will give you the confidence to try and follow your dreams again. 

Optimism is something that you must have in order to follow your dreams. Without it, you will give up at the first sign of difficulty or disappointment. You might not even try to follow your dreams if all you think about are the things that will happen wrong. However, over enthusiasm is another thing. When you are really excited about something, it is easy to get carried away about your expectations. You need to find a balance between being enthusiastic and being realistic. Make sure that you follow your dreams but you stay grounded in reality.

When you step out and follow your dreams, you are already doing something extraordinary. You probably know so many people who seem content just talking about their wishes and dreams and are never really doing anything to achieve them because they do not want to deal with their fears. Do not let fear hinder you to follow your dreams. By overcoming your fear, you are transforming yourself from a dreamer to a doer and that is the key to success.

As early as 2000 B.C., Celtic tribes known to exist in Britain during this period were joined by a priesthood known as Druids. Druids were one of the earliest identified people to have used crystals in divination. Druid religion interestingly, had similarities to megalithic religion of an “earlier” Britain; hence the possibility of the first use of crystal balls divination might have originated from them.

Crystal balls used for the art of “scrying”, which is an ancient technique or process of “seeing” where images are seen in crystals, or other mediums such as water, are understood as meaningful information, and in turn used to make important decisions in one’s aspect of life such as finances, marriage, travel, business, love, and many more.

Crystal balls seem to be one of the most famous forms of scrying as well as a divination tool. When crystal is used for scrying, it is known as crystallomacy. Crystal balls divination played a key-role in decision-making practice of a lot of powerful leaders. One of the most noteworthy in history, who sought out the advice and prophecies of Merlin the Magician, was King Arthur. In more recent history, the first lady of then President Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, ardently used psychics to plan her husband’s foreign and domestic affairs. Dr. John Dee was a renowned mathematician, geographer, astronomer, astrologer, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I, and was known for the use of crystal balls in his works. 

The process in scrying with the use of crystal balls is done in a way, where the points of light reflected from the polished surface of crystal balls serve to draw the attention of the gazer and to fix the eye until, steadily, the optic nerve becomes so exhausted that finally stops to transmit to the sensorium the feeling from within and starts to respond to the impulse action, taking place from the brain of the gazer. In this way, the feeling received from within is in fact projected and seem to come from without.

Early crystal balls were made from Beryl, and later replaced to an even more transparent rock crystal. Today however, manufacturers of crystal balls have made them into more suitable elegant pieces not only for those who use it for clairvoyance, but for collectors who want to add them as an accent to their homes as well.

Whether for divination or for collection, crystal balls will always take with it, its enchanting history, its mysterious use, and its origin.