BUBBLES
Use this meditation practice on its own or before another practice
From Jimmy Morgan
This meditation practice will help focus your feelings, emotions, and thoughts. At the same time, the addition of prayer can be very powerful. By utilizing meditation to put yourself in a calm, relaxed, and focused state, you may find that you are able to acknowledge God’s presence and welcome him into your life and heart at that very moment. This is a great time to give thanks, pray, and give him your weaknesses and negative thoughts or negative energy.
Meditation usually takes some practice, so don’t be discouraged if you struggle the first few times. Your mind may tend to wander during meditation, which is completely normal. But with consistent practice it becomes easier and enjoyable.
Please keep in mind that this simple guide does not have to be strictly followed. Everyone is different. You can add more breathing or less, add more time or less. It is totally up to you, but this guide can get you started. Have fun!
Plan for at least 8 to 15 minutes. Once you are comfortable with meditation, you might find yourself meditating for even longer. You can practice this at any time; meditate as often as you like. If you are having trouble falling asleep, try this meditation while laying down.
Preparation - Find a room or an area where you can be without distraction. Make sure part of your body is connected to the floor. If you are in a chair, make sure your feet are flat to the ground. If sitting on the ground, be aware of how your body is touching the ground. If you have access to slow (or non-tempo) music, play at a soft volume. Aromatherapy is also great if you enjoy that.
Physical Preparation - Try to maintain good posture and relax your neck, shoulders, jaw, and eyes. Place your hands in a comfortable position on your lap or by your sides.
Initial Breathing - Focus all your attention on a slow, deep inhale for 5 seconds. Slowly exhale for 5 seconds. Keep your mind focused on your breathing. Notice the way your abdomen, shoulders and your body are moving during the breathing. Feel clean air entering your lungs and impurities leaving as you exhale. If your mind wanders bring it back to your breathing. Close your eyes and perform the inhale and exhale 10 times.
Breathe in Energy - Inhale slowly for 5 seconds and hold it for 5 seconds more, then slowly release the breath. Visualize that you are breathing in God’s white light, his energy. It is being absorbed in through the top of your head, filling your entire body down through to your feet. Feel the energy of God’s love as you hold that breath. Feel the ground’s energy through your feet. Close your eyes and breathe. Repeat this 5 times.
Normal Breathing – Breathe normally. If you feel tingling, heat, cold, or any other unusual sensations, this is normal. Focus on your breathing for the next 30 seconds or so while the white light embraces you.
Visualizing Your Environment - Now visualize a place. It could be your favorite place, e.g., a meadow, a shore, a forest, the mountains, or any place that makes you feel calm, loved, and happy. (Yes, your happy place.) Put yourself in that place. Look around and enjoy God’s creation. Hear the birds. Hear the stream or ocean. Hear the wind. Give thanks for such a beautiful place.
Releasing Distractions - If you are experiencing distractions, take one distraction at a time and put each one in a bubble. It could be a person, pet, relative, job, weather, or anything else. Place each of them in their own individual bubble and let the bubble slowly float away. Pay attention to the bubble. Watch it slowly vanish into the sky. This could even be a person you love. Letting them float away doesn’t mean that you don’t want them in your life, you are simply clearing your mind. Remove the distractions one at a time. Continue normal breathing.
Giving Negatives Away - Any distraction, negative feeling or emotion, anxiety, anger, or fear can be collected into a ball of dark orange light energy and placed into another bubble. Do not ignore those negative thoughts and feelings. Be aware of them. Know exactly what they are and control them into the ball of energy. Before letting the bubble go, stare directly into it at the negativity. You know this emotion or fear. Ask God to take this distraction away. Let it slowly float away. Continue to watch it vanish. Give thanks to God. “Thank you, God, for taking this from me.”
Removing the Pain - Continue to breathe normally. Place any pain you have, physical or emotional, in another bubble and ask God to take it away. Let the bubble go and watch it float away. Give thanks.
Other’s Protection - Continue to let anything else go. It could be someone else’s pain. Let it float away remembering to be very thankful. It should be just you in your beautiful place with no other distractions.
Prayer - Now is the perfect time to pray. You might find that you are able to connect with God with more focus and without distraction. Continue to breathe normally.
Final Refresh - After you’ve prayed, open your eyes and take 3 deep cleansing breaths. Inhale for 3 seconds and immediately exhale deeply. At the same time start moving your fingers and toes to help wake up your body from being in a relaxed state. Smile and enjoy the peace you are feeling.
*If you have trouble visualizing any of these elements, take it slow by trying to visualize one thing at a time per session. Start with your favorite place. (Mine is sitting on the shore of a lake with beautiful foliage. There’s a mountain behind the lake that I am facing. The time of the day is sunset and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. I hear frogs, crickets, some evening birds, and the gentle sounds of the water rolling up on shore. I feel a very gentle, warm breeze.) Then move directly to your prayer. Continue past the Releasing steps to the Prayer step and Final Refresh step. For the next meditation session, attempt to add a single distraction into the bubble, then move to the Prayer and Final Refresh. In the next sessions add more and more until you are comfortable with all the visualizations.