Times of India
4 June 2008
Pune, India

By practising the following method you’ll be able to go into deep meditation quickly and enjoy its benefits right away
Meditation is the single most effective means which affects your health and happiness. Many people like to meditate but still can’t relax their minds, get frustrated, and give up. For these people, I’ve developed a method that combines meditation with clinical hypnosis – a well researched therapeutic tool for achieving a relaxed, focused state of concentration using imagery and words. By using this method you’ll be able to go into deep meditation quickly and enjoy its benefits right away, without frustration. You can guide yourself through the process, or ask a friend to guide you through. Sit comfortably with back, head and neck straight. Close your eyes and let your awareness go inward. Start by monitoring your breath going in and out. Next, begin counting backwards from 10 to one. Count slowly, waiting about three seconds between numbers. Now, imagine a warm, relaxed feeling flowing in through the tips of your toes, all the way up your body (take about 3 minutes for this process). Next, imagine you are at your favourite vacation destination. Imagine you are experiencing everything you find enjoyable about this place. Now, meditate for as long as you can. Use your own method, or if you don’t have one, try this one:

Monitor your breathing – don’t time or control it, just let it go in and out on its own (if you’re a beginner, do this for about three minutes).

Next, for the length of the out–breath only, mentally say to yourself the word “Om” – electroencephalograph studies show that silent repetition of “Om” causes brain waves to become relaxed while increasing mental clarity

In all likelihood, you’re going to drift off into a thought or a daydream while you’re practising the method – as soon as this happens, let go of what you’re thinking and come back to the method: “Om” on the out–breath. Meditate for as long as you can, the longer the better. (www.drricklevy.com)