Facing Your Inner Demons: Meditation

As humans, we tend to go through life keeping busy by looking outside of ourselves for satisfaction. While these distractions bring a temporary respite, sooner or later, our inner demons come knocking at our door wanting to be noticed. It is up to us to learn how to face them and to conquer them. There is no better time than now to start.

What Are Inner Demons?

Inner demons on the monsters hiding under our emotional beds. They are the fears, despairs, frustration, disappointments, and heartache that we carry within ourselves. Feelings and personal issues which reside in is, that bind us, torment us and keeps us prisoners of our own minds.

Practicing meditation helps you to realized and get to know all aspects of yourself, including the sides that you didn't even know existed. It helps you to come face to face with your inner demons.

We have two choices when it comes to handling out inner demons. We can confront them face-to-face, or we can attempt to 'run away' and hide from them.

Because our inner demons are hidden aspects of ourselves, no matter how hard we try, we can never hide from them. To attempt to do so is to sentence yourself to a life of fear and bondage.

How To Face Your Inner Demons

Before you can successfully move deeper into meditation it is important to lie with your past grievances and let them pass through your body and mind.

Old nagging memories linger in the unexamined mind. They rot and fester there and manifest themselves as addictions, uncontrollable reactions such as anger, and anxieties.

The inner regions of our mind are not governed by reason or logic. You can only pretend not to notice its total presence. In this mysterious place lies a multidimensional wilderness full of life and death, decay and flowering plants. This place functions best when one practices and applies balance.

When internal troubles are neglected they become like a wildfire and begins to consume your life.

Facing the inner demons within yourself will mean that you relive every traumatic experience, no matter how minor or severe, and accepting all aspects of yourself.

Every traumatic experience that was never dealt with bat the time created a side if yourself that you may not like. It is important that we understand, accept and love each of these extensions of ourselves. We can do this once we have forgiven and let go of the past.

A good place to start would be to go about your normal meditation routine. Once you have reached a place where you are relaxed and your mind is clear just observe. If you find thoughts creeping in don't fight them off. Don't engage in them either, just observe them. If things become too much to handle you may stop your meditation at anytime, but understand these inner demons will never go away until you face them. You will more than likely be overwhelmed with different emotions, sadness, anger, fear. Your senses will react too. You may feel, taste, smell things as well. Don't fight them. Recognize the side of you that was created during this past event. You will now have to face that side of you that you never knew existed until today. Embrace this side of you and love this side of you. Let go of the past trauma with a greater sense of understanding about yourself. Feel the warm blanket of peace consume your body completely. You have now freed yourself from that inner demon. Whenever you are ready you may open your eyes and end your meditation. Take as long as you need and don't rush it. You don't want to be left with the feeling of unfinished business.

As fearful as this may seem, understand that you are never given more than what you are able to handle.

This process will happen again, many times over until you have freed yourself from all that holds you back in life.

This life is a beautiful journey to be enjoyed and experienced in every way. Don't allow yourself to be held back.

Does Meditation Really Leave Us Open To Demonic Attack And Possession?

Over the years, I have read about and I have heard people say that meditation leaves you open for demonic possession. I never gave much thought to it because through my own personal experience and through the experience of others I believe it to be complete rubbish.

A few weeks ago I had someone who is new to meditation ask me if it is true that she could become possessed through practicing meditation. It was then that I realized this is a real fear amongst beginners, so I decided to do a bit of digging to see if I could find anyone who had been possessed through meditation. I am putting this together in hopes of shedding some light and giving some answers to those in need.

What Is Meditation?

This is the most basic and one of the most important questions to ask. Many people assume meditation is part of some new age religion and don't dig deeper than that.

Meditation is a practice that has been around for centuries. Through meditation, a person trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness. There are many forms of meditation, all using different techniques to achieve different things such as: relaxation, compassion, love, patience, forgiveness and to connect on a higher level spirituality and with the universe. Meditation is used by many different religions such as Christianity. I use Christianity as an example because I find that it is often Christians who will tell you meditation is evil when it isn't. Don't believe me? Its in the bible several times.

Meditation And The Bible

First,  I would like to say that I personally do not practice Christianity. I come from a religious family, I have read the Bible many times and I do have an understanding of it. I say this because I do not want someone to feel this is an attack against someone's religion. I know this is a touchy subject.

Several times throughout the Bible there is talk if meditation. None of it is negative, it fact it tells the reader to practice meditation. Here are a few examples:

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the lord and in his law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 4:4 Tremble and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still.

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success.

If meditation were to open yourself up to demonic attacks and possession, then the Bible would not instruct you to meditate.

The only demons you will encounter through meditation are your own 'inner demons'. We all have all have these inner demons and they are not only past skeletons and wrong doings. They are the monsters hiding under our emotional beds, and they are the negative aspects of ourselves that we refuse to let go of.

-We hold onto our demons, our demons don't hold onto us.-

Meditation: A healthy and Natural Way to Relieve Physical Pain

Recent studies have proven meditation for pain relief is a powerful and effective way to relieve pain. One study even claims that meditation can have better pain relieving effects than morphine.

There are many reasons and causes for feeling physical pain such as an accident, depression and even blocked chakras. When one or more chakra is blocked it causes a disruption of the energy flow within our body which can cause illnesses and physical pain.  To learn more about chakras and what they do click here. For more information on unblocking your chakras click here. 

How Meditation Reduces Pain

The science behind why mediation relieves pain is complex, but here is a brief summary.

Pain is something that is made worse by our emotional state, and a natural pain relief can be achieved through changes in our emotional state.

Meditation enables us to better handle distress and helps us to be able to regulate our emotions. It also improves our coping skills.

Meditation provides a natural pain relief by changing the way our brain processes information. It also brings us into a relaxed state, providing a distraction and helps the pain feel less intense.

Paradoxically, meditation can bring pain relief by paying attention to the pain experience rather than ignoring it. A meditative state helps a person achieve something called 'detached observation', which is when the physical pain is separated from the emotional experience of the pain, resulting in pain relief.

Meditation helps people to transcend their pain by improving awareness and acceptance

They physical changes that come along with meditation contribute to the relief of the pain. Part of meditation is to gain an awareness if ones physical state. This awareness can lead to a change in our behavior that involve taking better care of our body. Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, also called the 'Relaxation Response', results in a number of physical changes such as decreased muscle tension and even the release of pain relieving neurotransmitters.

Over all meditation have been proven to be successful as a method of pain relief. Here are some techniques to help you achieve pain relief through meditation.

How To Meditate to Relieve Pain

Begin by finding yourself a quiet place to sit or lay down away from as much noise and distraction as possible. Take a few deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. When you are ready you may close your eyes.

Once you have closed your eyes, bring your attention to your breath. Don't try to breathe a certain way, allow it to happen naturally. Don't think about breathing at all, just breathe and observe. Notice your chest and your stomach raise and fall with every breath.

Notice your physical body. Feel the floor, couch, bed or whatever you are sitting/ laying on beneath you. Observe the way your clothes touch your body and then bring your attention back to your breathing.

It's OK if your mind begins to wonder. Allow yourself to observe your thoughts as they pass through your mind. Let them go and slowly bring your focus back to your breathing.

Then bring your attention back to your physical state. Preform a 'body scan'. Start from your head and work your way down to your toes. Be aware of how you feel. Your focus will be drawn to spot of tension in your body. Focus on those spots and feel the tension and your pain leave your body with every breath you take. Once you have finished bring your attention once again to your breathing. Observe it and embrace the feeling of complete relaxation. When you're ready, slowly become aware of your surroundings again. Reach your arms out in front of your body and stretch, then reach above your head and stretch again. Once that is done you may open your eyes.

This meditation can be done any time of day and can be completed within 20 minutes, although the recommended time is your age converted into minutes, for example 30 years is 30 minutes.

Meditation: How to open your chakras

We all have days when we feel stressed and fatigued over our everyday activities, and sometimes experience relating health problems such as headaches, stomachaches and other body pains. These health problems may be due to blocked chakras creating and imbalance in your health. 

There is more than one way to unblock chakras and to restore balance, but I would like to focus on meditation. 

Chakra opening meditation allows a continuous flow of energy in and out of your body. Unblocked chakras will allow good harmony and balance of energy within your body. 

Meditation (when done right) is a very effective way to unblock your chakras and allow energy to flow without problems. Once your chakras are unblocked you will experience a universal oneness with all that is, and you will have a healthy body and state of mind. 

                                  -

While practicing meditation, is best to find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed by outside noise. You may sit or lay down, whichever is most comfortable for you. 

The breathing method is important. Breathing should me rhythmic and not forced. Don't think about breathing, simply allow it to happen and just observe it. 

If you have problems quieting your mind, try to visualize a volume dial. In your mind, slowly begin to turn down the volume. At anytime during your meditation you find thoughts popping back into your head you may bring this volume dial back and adjust. 

Once your mind has become quiet, begin to bring your attention to you red root chakra, located at the base of your spine. Visualize a glowing red light that becomes brighter the more you focus on it. Continue to focus on it and begin to visualize it spinning counterclockwise, spinning faster and faster with every breath. Once it is glowing brightly and rapidly spinning you may move up to your next chakra and begin the process again until you have completed all 7 chakras.

• Root Chakra - located at the base of your spine near the tail bone area. Associated colour is RED

• Sacral Chakra (navel chakra) - located in the lower abdomen about 2 inches above the navel. Associated colour is ORANGE

 • Solar Plexus Chakra - located in the upper abdomen in the stomach area. Associated colour is YELLOW.

 • Heart Chakra - located in the center of our chest just above the heart. Associated colour is GREEN. 

• Throat Chakra - located in throat. Associated colour is LIGHT BLUE.

 • Third Eye Chakra (brow chakra) - located on the forehead between the eyes. Associated colour is BLUE.

 • Crown Chakra - located at the very top of the head. Associated colour is PINK. 

Once you have gone through the 7 chakras stay in the meditative state for a while and embrace the feeling of total oneness and feel the energy flowing through you. Enjoy the peaceful state you are in and when you are ready, slowly bring your awareness back to your surroundings. Slowly stretch your arms out in front of your body and then above your head. Bring them back to your body and open your eyes. 

                                 -

- Note: it is recommended that you meditate according to your age. Example: 30 years means 30 minutes. There is no harm in going longer. -

The 7 Chakras: What they do and how they work

Chakras are the energy centers located in the midlines of our body. 

There are 7 within us and they govern our psychological properties. The chakras on our lower half of the body are our instinctual side, while the upper ones our mental side.

Here is a quick summary of the 7 chakras: 

1: Root Chakra
associated colour: red

The root chakra represents pur foundation and feeling grounded.

It is located at the base of the spine in the tail bone area.  If opened, you will feel well balanced, sensible and secure. You will feel very connected to you physical body and feel present in what's happening now. 

2: Sacral Chakra
associated colour: orange

The sacral chakra represents our feeling and sexuality.

It is located in the lower abdomen, about 2 inches below the navel.  If opened you will feel the ability to express yourself without being over emotional as well as passionate and outgoing. You will also have no problems based on sexuality.

3: Solar Plexus Chakra
associated colour: yellow

The solar plexus chakra represents our ability to be confident and in control of our lives.

It is located in the upper abdomen in the stomach area. If opened you will feel in control and have a good feeling of self-worth and dignity. 

4: Heart Chakra
associated colour: green

The heart chakra represents pur ability to love and show compassion.

It is located in the center of the chest just above the heart. When it is opened, you appear strong and compassionate, and hold a strong sense of love towards all. 

5: The Throat Chakra
associated colour: light blue

The throat chakra represents our ability to communicate and self express.

It is located in the throat. When opened expressing your self is easy and if often done through the art form.

6: The Third Eye Chakra
associated colour: blue

The third eye chakra (also known as brow chakra) represents our ability to focus on and see the bigger picture.

It is located on the forehead between the eyes.  When opened, you will have excellent clairvoyance and you tend to dream a lot. 

7: The Crown Chakra
associated colour: pink

The crown chakra is the highest chakra. It represents our ability to be fully connected spiritually.

It is located at the very top of the head. When it is open you experience a greater awareness of the world and its connection to yourself.