Ritual Meditation Styles for Beginners
Any form of meditation can be created to become a ritual. In fact, the more you ritualize your practice, the more likely you are to stick with it.
This type of ritual would be based around a particular time of the day, or week. Other rituals are only done occasionally.
Rituals add a depth to any meditation practice that help to inspire and motivate a deeper connection to the meditative state. It makes your time meditating special and you begin to value it more.
A vision quest is designed to help reconnect with your inner self, higher self and Universal Consciousness, God, or however you see something that is larger than yourself.
Some people will travel to a destination and some people will begin their quest in any area that is personally special. Do whatever is the most meaningful for you because there are no rules.
To begin a vision quest, choose a place and time. The time can be for a full day, half a day, or even just an hour or so. Where you choose for your vision quest is not as important as making sure to leave your normal environment.
We become attached to our home and it feels like an extension of ourselves. There is nothing wrong with that, but removing yourself from that extra attachment, into a place where you are alone with your physical, mental and spiritual bodies is going to be more powerful for you.
Some people will fast during their vision quest with only water for sustenance. If your health doesn’t allow for this, that’s okay. You may instead choose natural raw foods and eat lightly. This will allow you to maintain a lighter feeling in your body.
Before you begin your Vision Quest do regular stillness meditation and create a plan for what you will do. Include specific music, types of meditation you want to practice during your quest, prayers, yoga, journaling, or other activities. Anything that you choose will add significance to this ritual.
Sometimes there are group led Vision Quests. These quests can be empowering and help you learn how to better do them on your own. At the same time, being able to venture out on your own, without a guide, is the best way to completely connect with your innermost self.
Creating an altar or sacred space to use for meditation can be as unique as you are. There are “How to” guides or articles that will tell you specifically how to do it. Using your own creativity to come up with something that is meaningful for you will be more powerful.
Some altars will have one item each to represent air, earth, fire, water, and spirit. Some will have religious items such as pictures of Saints. They can also include books, candles, or incense. Anything that has a meaning to you is appropriate.
Creating an altar or sacred space allows an area that is designed to help you reach a meditative, connected state just by entering the area. When you light candles or incense and settle in to the style of meditation you will be pursuing at the time, it can trigger a response that makes it easier to reach deeper states of meditation.
You do not need an altar or special space in order to meditate.
You can choose anywhere that is comfortable. Choosing one or two spaces for your regular meditation is helpful in creating a routine or ritual of your practice. Choose one or two of them and experiment with different sitting or lying positions.
Some people feel better facing the east when they meditate. Find what works best for you.
Holy days, Shabbat, Sabbat, and other religious traditions offer ritual meditation opportunities if you subscribe to a specific religion.
If you are interspiritual (Not subscribing to one specific religion, but open minded to some or all religious teachings), combining traditions and ceremonies from different traditions can create a rich and rewarding new personal or family tradition.
Some people who are not religious will choose significant days such as birthdays or days that have specific nature events, such as the first day of spring in order to implement sentimental occasions in with their meditation styles.
Create a calendar of days you might be able to use to organize special meditation events for yourself, your family or your meditation group.
A sweat lodge is used for spiritual cleansing by creating the environment for the body to sweat. Many will fast for a specific time before the sweat lodge session will begin. Some sweat lodges will have chanting, drumming or other meditative activities, and some will be silent.
For health reasons, I caution you to use good judgment if you decide to pursue a sweat lodge event as a ritual meditation. The fasting along with the high heat is rigorous on the body and you may end up in a physical emergency.
A short term in a sweat lodge may be a wonderful experience to start off with, but staying in one as long as veterans of this activity is foolish if your body is exhibiting symptoms of dizziness, nausea or an increased heart rate.
Check with your doctor and stay sensitive to your body if you want to experience a sweat lodge. Do not stay in one any longer than you feel comfortable, even if others encourage you to hang in there. There have been unfortunate deaths because of this.
Some of you may decide to create meditative traditions by yourself, or with family members or a close group of friends. It could be your ritual to meditate for fifteen minutes every day to segue between work and home life. It could be a weekly meditative time with your family before the evening meal.
Creating these traditions can help keep you motivated to pursue meditation practices. It will also create more bonding as a family or friendship group.
Ritual meditation styles can be as casual or formal as you would like them to be and include a broad range of activities. You can create rituals for any occasion or none. Incorporating art activities, music, movement and other styles of meditation can create a rich tradition that everyone will look forward to.
As you can see, there is a great variety of options you can pick and choose through in order to create the type of meditative adventures that will bring you the highest benefits.
Ideally, you will meditate daily, with longer meditation practices done regularly. The important thing is to create a consistent practice, no matter how you choose to pursue it.