Guided Mindfulness Meditation

Guided Mindfulness Meditation

2 Books in 1

BOOK 1:

Meditation healing for beginners

BOOK 2:

The power of meditation

Alex Vernocci

Copyright © 2020 Alex Vernocci

All rights reserved

alexvernox editions

Table of Contents

Book 1          Meditation healing for beginners

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 — Let’s Start the Journey

Climb the mountain of the meditation

EXERCISE — Meditation is easier than you think

View from the top of the mountain

Spiritual roots of meditation

The taste of pure mountain water

Look for the mountain inside yourself

Develop awareness

EXERCISE — Be aware of awareness

Concentration is key

From concentration to receptive awareness

Contemplation

Positive moods

Internalize meditation

Create a daily practice

EXERCISE — Taste a fruit

Mindfulness: Meditation as a way of life

Solve problems

Chapter 2 - Why Meditate?

What is the purpose of meditating?

The myth of perfect life

When everything seems to go wrong

Postmodern restlessness

Accept things as they are

Four useless solutions

Survive the 21st century

Technology for the heart and mind

The psychophysical benefits of meditation

Waking up to the present moment

Make friends with yourself and connect with others

EXERCISE — Focus on your body

Relax the body and calm the mind

Feel more happiness

Feeling more centered and balanced

Improve performance, gratitude, and love

Awakening to a spiritual dimension

Chapter 3 - History of Meditation

Shamans, the first meditators

The connection with India

Classical Yoga: The path of blissful union

Early Buddhism: The roots of mindfulness

The art of Mantras

Indian Tantra: Finding the sacred in the world of the senses

Ch’an (Zen): The sound of one hand

Vajrayana Buddhism: The way of transformation

From the Middle East to the West

Christian Meditation: Contemplative prayer

EXERCISE — The centering prayer

Meditation in Judaism: Getting closer to God

EXERCISE — Contemplate the stars

Sufi meditation: Surrendering to the Divine in every breath

EXERCISE — Towards the absolute

Meditation in the West

Native American meditation

The future of meditation

EXERCISE — Having fun with gravity

Chapter 4 - Meditation and the Brain

Origins of research on meditation

Yogi and Zen monks

Can meditation be measured?

TM study and relaxation response

Benefits of health meditation

The limitations of the first researches

Meditative brain mapping

The centrality of mindfulness

A work map of the brain

Passenger states or permanent characteristics?

Localization of positive emotions

Brain changes

Increase in gray matter and decrease in the amygdala

Reduction of pain activation

Improve brain connectivity and slow down the decline

Reduce daydreams

Chapter 5 - Motivation and the Beginner’s Mind

The beginner's mind

What motivates you to meditate?

Empty the cup, an old Zen story

EXERCISE — Reflect on life

Improve life

EXERCISE — Look deeply at your heart

Understanding and accepting each other

Understanding one's true nature

Awaken others

Express your innate perfection

Live in harmony with meditation

EXERCISE — As if it was the last time

Chapter 6 - Coping with Stress

A tour of the inner terrain

The levels of inner experience

EXERCISE — Difference between thoughts and feelings

EXERCISE — Become aware of your inner dialogue

EXERCISE — You are not your thoughts or feelings

EXERCISE — Thoughts and emotions of those who meditate

How the mind stresses you

Concern of the past or future

Resistance to the state of affairs

The judgmental mind

EXERCISE — Distinguish between suffering, pain, and stress

Acquired despair and pessimism

Overwhelming emotion

The fixations

Cling to a separate self

Soothe stress and suffering with meditation

Learn to focus and concentrate

Spontaneous release

Penetrate the experience with intuition

EXERCISE — Stop your mind

Chapter 7 – Mindfulness Meditation

Pay attention to the inside

Relax the body

EXERCISE – Deep relaxation

Achieving mindfulness

Free yourself from expectations

Focus on the breathe

EXERCISE – Count the breathe

The meaning of breathing

Know your breathing

Pay attention to the body instead of breathing

Expanding to sensations

EXERCISE - Sit only

Welcome what is presented

Harness the wandering mind

Chapter 8 – Preparing to Meditate

The subtle art of sitting

Sit with your back straight

Pain management

What to do from the chest down

Why Buddha sat in the lotus position

Eyes, nose and mouth

Other positions for meditation

Zafu, benches and other gadgets

EXERCISE – Ten steps to prepare for meditation

EXERCISE – Having good head and good shoulders

Chapter 9 – Some Practical Issues

What to wear

When to meditate

The first activity in the morning

Before sleep

After work

Hours of meals or coffee breaks

Walking meditation

EXERCISE – Walk and meditate

Waiting for children and in periods of inactivity

How much to meditate

Recommended foods

Where to meditate

Why it is better not to move

Choose the right place

Meditate in the middle of nature

Prepare an altar

In which direction to look

EXERCISE – Find the beauty

Chapter 10 – Discipline, Commitment and Detachment

Discipline: go back to the point

Make a commitment and keep it

Daily constancy

No sport? Gardening!

Self-control

EXERCISE – Do what you love

Paving the way for freedom

The right commitment

All possible energy

Apply scrupulously

Make an effortless effort

Practice detachment

EXERCISE – Accept and detach yourself

Suspend judgment

Acceptance

Detachment

Unveiling

Docility

EXERCISE – Abdominal breathing

BOOK 2 - The power of meditation

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 – Opening the Heart to Love and Compassion

Why the heart closes and how to open it again

Why the heart continues to close

EXERCISE – Soften the abdomen

Kindness is the important thing

Why keep your heart open

EXERCISE – Your tender point

The warrior of the heart

Love starts with you

The four dimensions of love

Appreciate your goodness

Generate love for you and others

EXERCISE – Open the doors

Leave your heart open for a lifetime

Transforming suffering

EXERCISE – Generate compassion

If the heart remains closed

EXERCISE – Direct the flow

Transforming suffering with the power of the heart

EXERCISE – Transform suffering

Chapter 2 – Difficult Emotions and Habitual Thought Patterns

Love your experience

Embrace thoughts and feelings

Give the experience a name

Welcome what is coming

Meditate in the presence of difficult emotions

Anger

Fear and anxiety

Sadness, pain and depression

Break the usual patterns

Expand awareness

Feel the emotions

EXERCISE – Replace negative mechanisms

Go to the heart of the problem

EXERCISE – Infuse the being into the blocked points

Work with the mechanisms before they can act

Put the mechanisms aside

Move the energy

Staging with the imagination

EXERCISE – Western meditation to unlock

Example of focusing

Staging in real life

Choose a therapist

EXERCISE – Ask the inner child

Chapter 3 - Obstacles and Side Effects

The Blocks on the Path of Meditation

Drowsiness

Restlessness

Boredom

Fear

Doubt

Postponement

Hypervigilance

Self-Judgment

Attachment and desire

Pride

Escape

Avoidance

Enjoy the side effects without being distracted

Ecstasy and beatitude

Visions and other sensory experiences

Waves of emotion

Energy openings

EXERCISE – Find the foundations

EXERCISE – Prepare for sleep

Chapter 4 - Developing a Personal Practice

Put the pieces together

Know your motivation

Take advantage of strengths and fill in the gaps

The disadvantages of being a beginner

Experiment and rely on intuition

EXERCISE – Create a regular practice

Meditate with others

The cycles of practice

Find a meditation group

Attend the first workshop or lesson

EXERCISE – Monk for one day

EXERCISE – See things with eyes full of joy

Chapter 5 - Cultivating Spirituality

What is spirituality

Perennial philosophy

The vertical meets the horizontal

The levels of spiritual involvement

The purpose of spiritual practice

EXERCISE – Perceive your own energetic body

The way of devotion

EXERCISE – Playing with the energy body

EXERCISE – Invoking the divine with mantras

EXERCISE – The practice of the presence of God

EXERCISE – The devotional practice of yoga guru

The way of intuition

EXERCISE – Expand the Boundaries

EXERCISE - Observe the nature of the mind

EXERCISE – Wondering Who am I?

How to find a teacher

Choose the type of teacher

What is a teacher for?

What to look for in a teacher

How to find a master

EXERCISE – Ask the guru in You

EXERCISE – Discover the sky of the mind

Chapter 6 - Happy With Meditation

What is happiness

Happiness is an intrinsic condition

The art of happiness according to the Dalai Lama

The predominance of Positive Emotions

Accept what life brings

EXERCISE – How happy are you?

Stay in the flow of life

Meaning and sense of belonging

An integrated definition of happiness

Art and science of happiness

Why be happy?

Happiness according to buddhism

What science says

The intuitions of positive psychology

Find happiness with meditation

EXERCISE – Enjoy the moment

EXERCISE – Promote the flow

EXERCISE – Develop gratitude

EXERCISE – Learn to forgive

EXERCISE – Reflect on the gifts of life

Cultivate Optimism

EXERCISE – Choose happiness

Chapter 7 - Meditating in Everyday Life

Meditation in Action

Return to Breathe

EXERCISE – Enjoy a meal by eating consciously

Listen to the bell of mindfulness

Repeat a sentence

The influence of situations

Free yourself from the tyranny of time

EXERCISE – Meditation and common activities

EXERCISE – Work while meditating

Attention, Attention, Attention!

Family meditation

Meditate with the children

Meditate with your partner

Make love meditatively

EXERCISE – Connect more deeply with partners and friends

EXERCISE – Practice the half-smile

Chapter 8 - Healing With Meditation

Meditation and healing

The meaning of healing

How to heal with meditation

Meditation at the end of life

The power of visualizations

Six healing meditations

EXERCISE – 1. A quiet place

EXERCISE – 2. Inner smile

EXERCISE – 3. Take medicine

EXERCISE – 4. Healing with light

EXERCISE – 5. I breathe with the sound ahhh

EXERCISE – 6. The great mother

Working with pain

Improve performance

EXERCISE – Relive the successes of the past

EXERCISE – Live the performance in advance

EXERCISE – Learn to say Yes

BONUS – Meditations for Every Occasion

EXERCISE – Relaxation

EXERCISE – Follow the breathe

EXERCISE – Walking meditation

EXERCISE – Cultivate loving-kindness

Book 1 Meditation healing for beginners

Start practicing mindfulness to benefit on relaxation, stress reduction, anxiety control and trauma healing

Alex Vernocci

Copyright © 2020 Alex Vernocci

All rights reserved

alexvernox editions

INTRODUCTION

Start to meditate is one the smartest things we can do in our life, as this is power, whatever we do, meditation helps us do it better, as it is the practice of paying attention and focusing on our own awareness.

When we meditate, we can experience pleasant things, from simplest to more radical, as:

Increase of power, as we focus on our own awareness

Wider use of our senses

Increase inner sense of peace, calming our mind down

Experience the transcendent interconnection with things and God or the universal Self, whatever the name you want to give to this experience.

Meditation is a very simple concept, and very difficult to practice perfectly, but fortunately, you don't have to practice it perfectly to derive a benefit: you just have to practice it. Nobody really practices it perfectly, but even just starting it can make a huge difference. It is the process of meditation that makes it so useful, not how you perform it.

Before starting spending time and energy on any activity, you want to know what you will get.

It's a bit like going to the gym, or taking a cooking class: If you don't expect to become leaner and stronger, or learn to cook, doing these activities is completely useless. The same also applies to meditation.

Why should you spend 10, 15, or even 20 minutes of your precious free time every day following your breath or repeating the same sentence instead of, for example, playing a video game, taking a walk, or surfing the web? Simple: for the countless benefits that meditation offers in managing the very high emotional and spiritual price and side effects of life in the postmodern era, as anxiety, stress, alienation, loneliness, depression, etc.

When you think about meditation, maybe you imagine an Asian monk or a yogi who is sitting with his legs crossed and immersed in a very deep concentration. It is true, indeed, that meditation has become in the temples and monasteries of the Far and Middle East, but fortunately, it has come to the West in the past hundred years and has become an integral part of the yoga practice classes, of the most popular fitness centers and glossy magazines.

Meditation requires a transition from thinking and doing, to simply being and therefore our ancestors started ahead of us: in fact, they lived a simpler existence, they had a thought more rudimentary but they enjoyed a much stronger connection with nature and the sacred. Obviously, you can practice meditation, even without knowing where it comes from; however, tracing its development allows us to place it in a historical and spiritual context.

For thousands of years, people have meditated, driven by the desire for spiritual enlightenment, to experience higher moods and to change behaviors, fascinated by the health and longevity often shown by those who meditate and, for those who are more adventurous, also by the charm of what can be discovered.

As far as we know, our ancestors never objectively measured the effects of meditation: they were sufficiently satisfied with what teachers and practitioners claimed. In addition, there has never been the problem of quantifying the practice, but of experiencing its effects directly from within.

But when meditation reached the West, the researchers came up with the desire to try (or refute) the many benefits it was said to have. As the methods of investigation have become increasingly sophisticated, the research has become fascinating, revealing new and surprising aspects: did you know, for example, that meditation can change the shape of the brain?

As an effective practice for reprogramming the mind and opening the heart, meditation is unrivaled. But meditation, traditionally, is never alone: it is always accompanied by the importance of motivation and attitude that are qualities of the mind that feed the will to practice it, and that pushes you to move forward when things get difficult.

Some meditation teachers may ask you to donate your meditation for the well-being of others, instead of reserving all the benefits that derive only for yourself; others may ask you to consider your deepest desires—what a Zen master would call your innermost instances.

Whatever the terms used to talk about it, you must clearly observe in the depths of your mind and heart the reasons that lead you to meditate, and only later can you appeal to this motivation when the practice starts to seem flat and sterilized, and that always happens.

Perhaps meditation has seduced you in the hope that it will alleviate pain, suffering, despair of some kind, or perhaps it is only the quality of your life that does not satisfy you: the level of stress, the lack of joy, too frantic rhythms.

Whatever your story, you must be sufficiently motivated if you want to make a change in your daily routine, slow down the pace and turn your attention inward for 15 to 20 minutes a day, and this book will help you first to identify what type of dissatisfaction torments you and how to keep alive the motivation that will allow you to meditate week after week.

For thousands of years, wise and experts from East and West, have repeated that problems originate in the mind. They are right: The mind can make heaven hell, and hell heaven. But how is it possible to exploit this knowledge if we don't even know what to do with it?

You have probably already noticed that inside you can find a lot of thoughts, ideas, mental representations, impulses, preferences, and emotions. Without a diagram, it may be difficult to get out of it, as it is difficult to understand something amid the chaos of cables and pipes of the car engine. You can then find out how meditation can modify these automatisms, helping you to focus and calm the mind, penetrating deeply and freeing it from the consolidated patterns that cause you stress and suffering. In the end, you may not even need a lobotomy!

Most people, when they start practicing meditation, have to ask themselves some important questions; when they start, others arise. If you have questions to ask, you are in the right place, as this book will try to answer to some of the main questions new practicing typically raise at the beginning, such as Will meditation relax me too much? or Can you meditate sitting on a chair or lying down? or also Am I meditating the right way?

We are sure this book will cover all these questions and even more, introducing you to this fantastic world, fascinating human being over the centuries.

All these main concepts on meditation will be covered in this book, together with a large number of basic exercises to start practicing and improving your understanding thanks to real practice.

Enjoy your journey to the Enlightenment!

Chapter 1 — Let’s Start the Journey

Start to meditate is one of the smartest things we can do in our life, as this is power, whatever we do, meditation helps us do it better. Many think that meditation has brought, difficult, useless… while in this book you will discover it is interesting, simple, and productive. Meditation is the practice of paying attention and focusing on your own awareness.

When you meditate, several pleasant things start to happen—first small things, then more and more radical:

First of all, when you focus on your own awareness, you have more power. When you concentrate on any form of energy, including mental energy, you have more power. When you focus the mind, you focus better; when you concentrate better, you act better. You can do more, in the study, in the office, in sports. Whatever activity you undertake, if you meditate you can do it better. Precisely for this reason, spiritual teachers and texts often suggest practicing meditation only in the context of other spiritual practices and disciplines, which help to develop compassion and wisdom, in a way that this power can be used correctly.

Secondly, your senses are used more completely. Although some consider meditation to be an ascetic practice that serves to keep the senses in check, meditation can also sharpen the senses in very sensual ways. Whatever you like—food, sex, music, art, massage, and so on—can be made even more enjoyable through meditation. When you really pay attention to something, you make it much more pleasant; and you don't need to increase your dose to enjoy it, so you can enjoy it without excess. When you have a wall around your heart that protects you from pain, you also reduce your ability to experience pleasure. When life is a continuous race, you risk losing the pleasures that are presented to you moment by moment, the attention curve is reduced, and the need for stimuli increases even just to be able to try light sensations. Meditation increases awareness and sensitivity and is, therefore, an excellent antidote to lightheadedness and distraction.

Third, the mind calms down and you can experience an inner sense of peace, joy, and well-being. When I learned to meditate and started having brief visions of inner peace, this experience changed my life: I had to redefine and reconsider the meaning of the experience. Before I thought that peace of mind came from owning and doing; now I know it comes from being. It is in our true nature to be at peace until we intervene to upset it. It is a radically different concept of the source of happiness and well-being. One of the paradoxes of existence is that if we do not know this truth, we often end up disturbing our inner peace by trying to do or obtain what we believe should bring us precisely that peace.

Fourth, you can directly experience the transcendent interconnection that already exists and become more aware of it. You can have a direct experience of God or of the universal Self, whatever the name you want to give to this experience.

Meditation is a very simple concept, and very difficult to practice perfectly, but fortunately, you don't have to practice it perfectly to derive a benefit: you just have to practice it. Nobody really practices it perfectly, but even just starting it can make a huge difference. It is the process of meditation that makes it so useful, not how you perform it.

In many researches, most of the participants showed that they found it more difficult to practice meditation than to follow a diet. Why?

Eating is mandatory; the point is what you eat. Meditation, on the other hand, is not part of the daily routine of most people. Exercise is more within people's reach, and it also brings with it a feeling of machismo, as if you were really doing something, while meditation was considered, by the participants of our research, to be something softened. Seen from the outside, a person who meditates seems to be doing nothing; instead, it is a powerful and active activity.

There are several types of meditation and, even if in different ways and forms, is found in all cultures and religions of the world because it works. Although the shapes are different, some principles are common to all shapes, and paying constant attention can transform anything we do into a form of meditation; any activity we undertake with concentration and awareness becomes meditation.

One of the nice things about meditation is that it is a very simple activity. All you need to do is sit in silence, turn your attention inward, and concentrate. Really, this is enough. So why, you wonder, are there so many books and articles about meditation that are around, including what you have in your hands? Why not simply give the few instructions you need and leave out the rest? Let's take an example.

Let's say you have to prepare yourself for a long drive to a wonderful place. You can simply put down the directions and follow them one after the other. After a few days, you will find yourself exactly in the place you wanted. But if during the trip there is a person who shows you all the beauties you meet, you will enjoy much more your travel. Also, if you bring a manual with all the instructions on what to do if you experience problems with the car's engine, you will feel much more relaxed. Maybe, while traveling, you will decide to make detours to some particularly interesting places, or you could even completely change the itinerary and follow a completely new road, or use a means of transport different from the one you thought of leaving!

Meditation is a bit like a journey and the book you are reading is your tour guide. In this chapter, we will introduce you to the highlights of the route, the alternative routes, what you need to know to get to your destination, and some detours that may come in handy, even if they are not part of the more direct route.

If you are approaching the world of meditation means you are looking for something more from life: more peace, more energy, more well-being, more meaning, more happiness, and more joy. You have heard of meditation and you are wondering if this is the right answer.

Climb the mountain of the meditation

The journey of meditation has many points in common with climbing a mountain. You can go straight to the top, or stop in a grassy clearing or choose a lower peak, halfway along the path. Whatever the destination you choose, reaching it will be a pleasant journey and you will be able to enjoy its fruits just by taking deep breaths and exercising muscles that you didn't even think you had.

The mountain of meditation has been climbed for thousands of years in many regions of the world. There are therefore a number of topographic maps and tourist guides, each of which contains their respective tips on how to reach the top, on how best to equip and what things bring with you.

Tradition has it that the books dealing with meditation describe a spiritual path that implies a series of beliefs and practices, often secret, handed down from generation to generation. In recent decades, however, Western researchers have extrapolated the practice of meditation from its spiritual origins, thus offering relief to various diseases typical of the twenty-first century.

Here are some of the techniques that have been developed over the centuries:

Repetition of a significant word or phrase, known as a mantra.

Full awareness of the present moment.

Concentration on the breath.

Attention to the sensations that flow in the body.

Loving-kindness, compassion, the ability to forgive and other emotions that make us feel good.

Concentration on a geometric shape or on another simple-shaped object.

The visualization of a place of peace, an energy or a healing entity.

Reading and reflection on sacred or inspirational writings.

The observation of the image of a saint or a sacred being.

The contemplation of nature.

The song of praise to the Divinity.

Throughout the book, you will have the opportunity to experiment with many of these techniques and be guided in the practice of one, in particular, the mindfulness technique (which we could roughly translate as awareness)—starting with breathing and, slowly, extending meditation to every single moment of your life.

EXERCISE — Meditation is easier than you think

Meditation is the practice of focusing on a particular object, generally something simple, such as a word or phrase, the flame of a candle or a geometric figure, or on the inspiration and expiration. In everyday life, the mind continues to process a huge quantity of sensations, visual impressions, emotions, and thoughts. In general, when you meditate, you focus, trying to limit the stimuli that bombard your nervous system, while calming the mind.

If you want to experience the sensation of meditation, follow these basic instructions, then you will get more detail in the following chapters:

Find a quiet and peaceful place and sit comfortably with your back fairly straight. If your favorite armchair holds you in an embrace from which you cannot escape, look for a chair that supports you more.

Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, and relax as much as possible.

Choose a word or phrase that has a special or spiritual meaning for you. For example: Only love exists, Be happy, Believe in God.

Start breathing through your nose and, while breathing, repeat the word or phrase you have chosen without verbalizing it. You can whisper the word or phrase, you can also sub-vocalize it (that is, move the language as if to pronounce it, but without speaking it out loud) or repeat it in your mind. If you are distracted by something, go back to the word you were repeating. If you experience difficulty breathing through your nose, do so through your mouth. Alternatively, concentrate on breathing, on the air that enters and exits the nostrils, returning whenever you find yourself being distracted.

Continue to meditate for five minutes, or even longer, then slowly gets up and go back to your daily activities.

Let’s ask you:

How did you feel during the meditation?

Did it seem strange to you to keep repeating the same thing or to constantly follow your breath?

Have you found it difficult to stay focused?

Did you keep changing the sentence?

If it has happened, do not worry: with the regular practice and guidance of this book, you will gradually learn to concentrate and meditate more effectively.

You can obviously spend many years perfecting the wonderful and very useful art of meditation, discovering every little fold and complexity.

But there is good news, namely that the bases for practicing it are, in reality, extremely simple and you don't have to be a great expert to fully enjoy all the benefits.

View from the top of the mountain

To hear who has climbed this mountain before you, it can be said, with a good dose of security, that on the top of this mountain you can find the source of love, wisdom, happiness, and joy. Some call it spirit, soul, the true nature of the self, authentic self, ultimate truth, foundation of being, or even, more simply, being in and of itself. Each human being who finds it gives it the name it deems most appropriate; on the other hand, some traditions consider it so sacred and powerful that they prefer not to give it any name.

As for the experience of reaching the top, those who have meditated for a long time call it enlightenment (from the darkness of ignorance), awakening (from dreams), liberation (from bonds), freedom (from limitations), and union (with God).

Of course, you may also not be at all interested in higher states of awareness or experiences such as enlightenment or union, and perhaps you have purchased this book only to reduce stress or improve your self-healing or emotional management skills. In this case, forget about the Sacred Mystery: if you are only looking for a little clarity and mental peace, that's okay.

Spiritual roots of meditation

Today, there are many people who meditate, probably including some of your acquaintances; but at one time this practice was not so readily available. For centuries, monks and nuns, mystics, and wandering ascetics have kept this art secret, using it to reach higher states of consciousness and to reach the apex of the journey they were traveling. Even a layman with strong motivation and a lot of time could learn some of these techniques. However, the rigorous practice of meditation always remained a prerogative of a select few willing to give up the world and dedicate their entire existence to it.

Times have changed today. From Zen in the 1950s to the influence of Indian yogis and swamis in the 1960s, up to the current interest in mindfulness, meditation has become common practice and its benefits are now well known.

Meditation has been studied with great attention in psychology labs and reduced to formulas such as Relax and heal (a simple technique to reduce stress) but has not yet completely lost its spiritual roots. In fact, the effectiveness of meditation is given by the fact that it connects us with a spiritual dimension, to which many attribute different names, but which I will simply call being throughout the book.

In any case, however, keep in mind that, whatever your goal, whatever the height up to which you are willing to reach the mountain of meditation, the path that leads you is always the same. The basic instructions are always the same, but you choose the destination.

Here are some of the stages you can stop along the way if you so desire:

Improvement of concentration skills.

Reduction of tension, anxiety, and stress.

Clarity of thought and management of emotions.

Decrease in blood pressure and blood cholesterol.

Help in abandoning addictions and other negative behaviors.

Greater creativity and improvement of work and recreational performance;

Improvement in understanding and self-acceptance.

More joy, love, and spontaneity.

Greater intimacy with friends and family.

A general feeling of happiness, satisfaction, and well-being.

A deeper sense of the meaning and purpose of existence.

Intuition of the spiritual dimension of being.

These stages are all important goals that are worth reaching. You can also be perfectly satisfied and stop halfway, before reaching the top, as soon as you are able to reduce stress, improve health, and achieve a state of general well-being.

However, you are free to be inspired too, trying to reach the highest heights described by the great masters of meditation.

The taste of pure mountain water

Let us further elaborate the metaphor of the mountain: imagine now that, on the top, a spring gushes of pure water of being, without ever drying up. (If you prefer, you can think of this source as water of grace or water of the spirit or even water of unconditional love.) Those who reach the top can bathe directly in