Hi everyone,
My name is Beth and I am a meditation facilitator living on the Mornington Peninsula in Australia.
And you might be able to tell from my accent that I'm not from Australia,
I am originally from the north of England.
And before we meditate together,
I thought I'd firstly introduce myself and also share my knowledge of the what,
How and why of effortless meditation.
And this is so I can hopefully help you to feel really comfortable and supported by me as your guide.
And to also help this practice feel familiar and for you to appreciate what you're investing your time in.
So what is effortless meditation?
Now there can be a number of misconceptions around meditation,
Where people think that they have to shut off their mind and focus on something intensely.
And there are many concentrated forms of meditation which are based on this principle.
But the type that I teach is quite the opposite.
Effortless meditation is a form of non-concentrative meditation that is really easy to do,
Super enjoyable and really effective,
Which is backed by science.
And in effortless meditation,
It's all in the name.
It's completely effortless.
There is no focusing or clearing the mind.
It is just a really simple cyclical process that we go through.
And this process is where we firstly rest our awareness on an anchor.
And an anchor is something such as the breath,
Your body,
A sound,
A visualization,
A mantra,
Which are all things that I will guide you through in each meditation.
Our minds will then begin to roam with thoughts,
Feelings or sensations,
Which is a completely normal,
Natural and really important part of the meditation process.
And then at some point,
We will realize that our mind has wandered and without any judgment of ourselves or criticism,
We just simply accept that this has happened and easily lazily and gently return to our anchor point whenever you feel ready to do so.
So that's the how we meditate effortlessly.
We are resting,
Roaming,
Realizing and returning.
So effortless meditation is not a specific state that we are trying to achieve.
It is a mental process occurring in cycles.
And this process of having an anchor point to return back to is where we gain benefits from the practice.
Now,
I won't go all sciency on you just yet.
But this does lead me on to the why we meditate.
What are the benefits that you can gain from a regular practice.
And the benefits that we see are mainly outside of our practice in our everyday lives.
In a bit of a nutshell,
Just a few of these are that it can help to reduce stress and anxiety.
It can improve focus,
Productivity and creativity.
It can reduce our blood pressure and our physical pain.
It can increase our sleep quality and help us feel more calm and connected and less reactive.
So we can really improve our well being and positively develop ourselves which makes meditation a practice that is not just a benefit to ourselves,
But also to those that surround us.
And finally,
I recommend that you sit upright in your practice with your back supported,
But your head ideally unsupported.
You can do this on a comfy chair or at the head of your bed or on the floor against the couch,
Perhaps placing a pillow behind your back if you wish.
But if this doesn't feel right for you,
Just position yourself however you feel most comfortable for the session,
Because this is your practice.
So I really thank you for listening to this brief introduction to effortless meditation.
This field really is my passion.
And I'm so excited and honored to begin sharing this with you all.
If you like the sound of this and would like to try me as your guide,
I recommend that you try out my first introductory 20 minute effortless meditation sequence.
Just remembering that there's no pressure,
Nothing to achieve or measure yourself against.
Just a really simple,
Effortless process of resting,
Roaming,
Realizing and returning.
Thank you.
