Author James Rick Stinson

The following are three types of meditations I do almost every morning. If you have limited time in the morning you can do just one, or try to move through them quickly. I find that by doing them consistently I require less time to do them. But if I let a few days go by without doing them I need more time to focus, slow the mind down and do them properly.

As for your posture – the important thing is that your back is straight. You can do these meditations lying down but its easier to fall asleep especially if you’re doing them first thing in the morning. So I suggest finding a comfortable way to sit up straight, even if you need a little back support. Sitting cross legged or with feet flat on the floor is up to you.

10 SECOND BREATHING MEDITATION
The 10 Second Breathing Meditation is quite simple – simply focus on your breath for 10 CONSECUTIVE breaths without thinking of anything else. If you think of something else for more than a few moments before you remember that you’re supposed to focus on your breath – you must start the count over at 1. To make this meditation easier, I suggest you say over and over to yourself during each breath “I’m right here, right now. I’m right here, right now.” This will gather your focus to the present making it easier to remember to focus on your breath when your mind wants to wander away and think about all your other worries and concerns.

If you are simply too distracted by your mind’s wanderings what I suggest is that you also have a piece of paper and pen nearby so that every time a worry pops up and tries to dominate your focus, you write it down and honor your brain for trying to help you remember what’s important. Then remind yourself that the goal right now is to focus on the breath. Then resume your count and your chant of “I’m right here, right now.” Each time your mind wanders longer than a few moments, write down what your brain thought was so important and return to your meditation. Even though I intended to meditate, by honoring the ideas that seem to flow into this empty space I have had many insights and breakthroughs.

If you have watched any of the videos you are already familiar with this meditation. This is my ‘default’ meditation any time I want to slow the mind down. The great thing about it is that it doesn’t matter where you are or how much time you have – if you have even just a few moments you can focus on at least a couple of consecutive breaths without thinking of anything else – and that’s enough to slow the mind down and benefit you with greatermental clarity, peace and focus.

OHM THANKFULNESS MEDITATION
After the first meditation the wheel of your mind will be much slower, making it easier to focus. In this second meditation you are going to appreciate all that you are so thankful for. Breathe in deep, bring someone or something into mind that you appreciate and exhale while making the sound “Ohhmmmmm”. In ancient texts like the Upanishads, Ohm represents the divine and the power of God. Through appreciating what you have in your life and expressing it through the sound of Ohm you resonate fully with that which has been created.

If there are people in your house and you feel awkward expressing the Ohm sound out loud – I suggest you say it in your head with every exhale. I have tried both the vocalizing method and the visioning method and I have found that whenever possible the Ohm sound vocalized makes it more ‘real’ for me – meaning it’s easier to focus when I can hear the Ohm sound in my own voice.

Continue with expressing thankfulness with each breath for about 10 breaths, or as long as you wish until you feel you have expressed appreciation for everything you have in your life. If you want to take this meditation a step further – imagine that everything you have in your life was suddenly gone. Reflect on what would be the most painful – and now appreciate that it’s still here. Notice how your priorities shift; like how health and relationships grow in importance.

I have noticed this meditation usually flips a switch in my brain. My brain lives in the future a lot – dreaming and planning what it wants to create. While this mechanism can and does serve you – it often neglects the things you already have. If you let your brain run this mechanism all the time you will constantly be aware of the things you don’t have – creating a state of perpetual stress and/or anxiety. But when you do the thankfulness meditation you are suddenly aware of everything you already have. It brings you a sense of peace that can best defined as fulfillment. Not trying to achieve anything you can become aware and grateful for what you already have. Notice the difference in how you feel before and after this meditation.

AHM CREATION MEDITATION
The sound “Ahm” is known in ancient texts as the sound of creation. Where the sound “Ohm” completes the cycle of creation, the sound “Ahm” starts it.

To do the Ahm meditation sit up with your back straight, breathe in deep and exhale to the sound of “Ahhhhmmm”. Again you can do this out loud or in your mind depending on your situation. As you exhale imagine that energy is flowing from your pelvic / groin region up through the crown of your head and is attracting to you whatever you want to create.

I find the more energy you can put behind your intention the more effective this meditation is. So it truly requires focus. But focus is easy when you are putting every ounce of your energy behind it. Do the creation meditation for about 10 breaths or until you feel you have covered all the things you want to create in your life with each breath.

I have been doing this meditation for almost 10 years now and I find that I have developed a deep pattern for all that I wish to create. What I mean is – I’ve been intending to create confidence, peace, love, happiness, positivity, zest, passion, wealth, attraction, sense of humor, health and a high value daily routine and other specific goals for so long that I can just roll through the list one by one imagining what it looks like & feels like with each Ahm exhale.

The ‘vision’ for whatever you’re trying to create might be a little fuzzy at first but each time you practice this meditation it should become clearer. Make an effort to really clarify what you are intending to create and notice the excitement you feel when you really resonate with that vision. The energy you use to create and the vision of your creation – causes you to connect with a higher energy. I notice after the creation meditation I feel amazing. This is perhaps one of the best ways to utilize the law of attraction because it puts so much emotional intensity and energy behind it. . Also by time I’m finished with this third meditation I feel like I have done wonders to calm the brain down, which is a nice side benefit.

IN SUMMARY

Experiment with each meditation and don’t worry about doing them perfectly. As long as you are persistent you will discover the best way for yourself. The important thing is that you are making time for these meditations. Which brings us to a very important point – when you are deciding to meditate from a chaotic state of mind you will often NOT feel like meditating. You might find yourself coming up with some kind of excuse why you don’t have the time. You have to make time – you need to schedule it into your day.

One thing I do before I start my day is just notice two things: My environment and my mental state. And I ask myself if I can truly be effective in the day based on my environment and my mental state. The environment is easy to fix – in fact many people I know are obsessive about the cleanliness of their environment. My hypothesis on this is that this gives them a feeling of control on some level because mentally they are often not in control. But environment AND mental state are controllable. Through using the meditations outlined above you can not only control your mental state (Meditation 1: The 10 Second Breathing Meditation) and instantly create feelings of fulfillment (Meditation 2: Ohm Thankfulness Meditation) but you can also maximize the potential of creating anything you want in your life (Meditation 3: Ahm Creation Meditation)

James Rick Stinson is founder of FullPotential.com – A Global Community for Positive Change, with hundreds of free videos and articles on cutting edge personal development.