LOvE from me to YOU: Meditation

Meditation is not easy when your sick or depressed but it can be so helpful and even the KEY to wellness and peace of mind. I have problems with discipline daily in my own internal struggle to make myself sit down for 20 minutes and to try to calm my mind. For many years I was like F*** this haha but now I finally see the benefit. Its not easy to calm your mind and to slow your thoughts when your inside, in bed all the time, sick and or depressed. Also, it can be challenging when your so fatigued, to not fall asleep during your meditation. * which is ok by the way * but what I found for myself, is that doing it at night time right before bed, which for me, is when i feel more energy, worked the best. For those who are sick, try to find a time in the day where you feel a little more energized/ alive because meditating when your too tired doesn't benefit as much. In meditation studies it is advised to try to do it when you have a little more energy, so you don't fall asleep and can have a deeper meditation but if you cant find a time when you feel less tired, then meditate anyways because it will always be benefiting you no matter how you feel!

Here are some interesting and helpful visualizations, videos, and different things to try during your meditation to make it easier and more personalized for you. You can pick just one or do a different one each time, all that matters is that you find the easiest one that works for you best.

My personal favorite:
Mantra meditation. Using a mantra seems to be the easiest way (at least for me) to go into a deep meditation.
Sanskrit mantras are usually used for this practice. My mantra is: Ananda {meaning- bliss}.
Another nice one is either just the word "Om" or Om mani padme hum which means the ' jewel in the heart of the lotus'.
The reason Sanskrit mantras are used are because of their healing vibrations. :)
Tip: repeat your mantra as a whisper and not too fast. Repeat it four or three times in a minute.
Heres a beautiful video of a guided meditation using a Sanskrit mantra.
Enjoy....

Another mantra technique:
Choose a theme such as LOVE, PEACE, HARMONY, HEALTH, GOD or ENERGY. Select one of the words and now sit quietly for ten minutes with your eyes closed and concentrate on this word or things associated with this word. In this way you can build up ideas from your chosen word. For example, if you chose the word LOVE, you may think of joy, happiness, your family, and so on. The difficult thing is to keep focused on your chosen theme, building up ideas on the word but not letting your mind wander on to other ideas away from your chosen theme. Keep breathing deeply in between your words and don't try to force your mind; if unrelated thoughts enter, just observe them and let them go without becoming involved in their current. Don't get frustrated if you find this hard. Just go with the flow.

Energy boosting visualization:
Lie on the floor and relax as much as possible. Now breathe in and out slowly from your ribcage area, using your diaphragm. Try and slow down your breathing. Now imagine that you can feel the sun warming your abdomen. Imagine the you are breathing the golden globe of the sun into your sun centre - your solar plexus chakra. Feel this warm golden light emanating from this centre, filling the rest of your body with yellow-gold energy and vitality.

Spirituality boosting meditation/ visualization:
Close your eyes and relax as much as possible. Now imagine that you are breathing in a beautiful, translucent violet light at the point between your eyebrows. As you breathe out, this becomes a white light, which you breathe out through your crown chakra (the top of your head) and up to the sky. Practice this for a few minutes everyday and feel your spiritual energy shifting.