I was recently asked about ways to center oneself faster during meditation. I thought it would make a great topic to share with all of you. Here are six ways to reach that deep state of meditation faster.
The most important thing in meditation is that one thing does not work for everyone. There are many different reasons to meditate and many different ways to do it. I find myself saying repeatedly that you have to find what works for you. You know what repetition means, right? It means it is important. Try these and find what works for you.
Train Your Mind. I have a meditation where I go to a room that is all wood. The ceilings and walls are made of wood plants. It has a hardwood floor. The room is light on furniture, but what furniture is there is wood. This room is a clean room where I shed all the energy.
Sound. The use of a Tibetan bowl is also a quick way to get centered. You can either ring the bowl by hitting it on the side or you can play the bowl by rubbing the rim. Either way, the sound will help what is around you fall away. Alternatively, you could try meditation CDs. Perhaps the sound of nature will help you more.
Smells. Try burning incense. Try different scents. Focus on the smell and let everything else fall away.
Breathing. Take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. You can combine this with the Tibetan bowl ringing if necessary. Do this three times.
Posture. Another approach, rather than training your mind, is to train your body. Always sit in the same posture when you meditation. It does not have to be cross legged in the floor. It can be in a chair with your palms face up in your lap. It can be in your bed laying down. The important thing is that it is a training of the body that when it is in that position, it is meditation time.
Counting. The last approach that I am going to share with you is counting. Start by counting backwards from 10 to 1. Train you mind that when you get to one, it is meditation time. As you get better at this method, you may be able to reduce it to only counting backward from 3 to 1.
If you have another method not listed here that works for you, please share it in the comments.