Edgar Cayce's Meditation for Everyone

Welcome! There is no greater adventure than this inward one called

meditation. It is safe, it is easy, and you will find within your own mind
and heart an endless stream of treasures!

Meditation in Seven Steps:

Step One: Find a comfortable position. Keep your spine straight, legs uncrossed, and
relax any tense muscles in your body.

Step Two: Head-and-neck exercises. Do each of the following three times: head
forward, head backward, head to the right shoulder, head to the left shoulder, rotate head
in a complete circle clockwise, rotate head in a complete circle counterclockwise. Do not
strain or force.

Step Three: Deep breathing exercises. Fill lungs from bottom to top, exhale from top to
bottom. Breathe in through your right nostril and out through your mouth; repeat three
times. Breathe in through your left nostril and out through your right; repeat three times.

Step Four: Special meditation aids can be used as desired. Music, incense, chants,
personal rituals, inspirational reading, prayers and theprayer of protection. Send out light
and constructive energies to the people on your personal prayer list.

Step Five: Affirmation and prayer for deeper meditation. Move through the three stages
of focusing on the affirmation: thinking about it, feeling it, experiencing it. Return to the
thinking stage whenever the mind wanders. Allow ten to fifteen minutes for Step Five.
Healing prayer.

StepSix: Decision making. Test any tentative decisions you have made according to the
decision-making exercise.

Step Seven: Health tips for improved meditation.

Head-and-neck exercises

Note: All head-and-neck exercises should be done slowly and gently, without
straining or forcing the muscles in any way.

1. Stretch to Front: Repeat three times

 Sit in an upright position. Tip head forward, trying Return head to upright
to touch chin to chest. position.

2.Stretch to Back: Repeat three times.

Sit in an upright position. Tip head backward, as if Return head to upright

to look at the ceiling. position.

3. Stretch to Side: Repeat three times to right; three times to left:

Sit in upright Tip head toward Incorrrect: Shoulder Return to

position. shoulder, as if to should not lift upright position.
touch it with your ear. or shrug.

Step Three: Breathing Exercises

Three-Stage Deep Breathing

Filling the Lungs:

Stage 1: Fill bottom of Stage 2: Fill middle third Stage 3: Fill top third of
lungs; abdomen expands. of lungs; chest lungs; shoulders lift.
cavity expands.

Emptying the lungs:

Stage 1: Top third of lungs Stage 2: Chest cavity Stage 3: Abdomen is pulled
empties first, contracts, pushing air out in, forcing all remaining air
shoulders relax. of middle third of lungs. out of lungs.
Repeat three times, again using the three stage deep-breathing exercise.

Alternate-Nostril Breathing

Left nostril is held closed, Air is exhaled Right nostril is held Left nostril is then
air is drawn in through through mouth. closed; air is drawn in closed; air is exhaled
right nostril. through left nostril. through the open
right nostril.
Repeat three times, again using the three stage deep-breathing exercise.

Steps Four: Special Meditation Aids

Special meditation aids can be used as desired. Music, incense, chants, personal rituals,
inspirational reading, prayers, and the prayer of protection. Send out light and
constructive energies to the people on your personal prayer list.

Music for Meditating: Music preferences vary widely, even among people who
meditate. However, here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• The Fairy Ring, Mike Rowland

• Pachelbel: Canon (Many versions, some especially arranged for meditation)
• River of Stars, 2002
• Crystals, Llewellyn
• Adagio: Music for Meditation, Peter Davison

Chants for Meditation: The Cayce readings recommend certain chants as very effective
in connecting us with spiritual realms.Take a long, deep breath, and chant these sounds as
you slowly exhale. See if you can make the sounds vibrate deeply within yourself. Repeat
up to a dozen times or more before meditating.

In reading 1158-10, we are told that the following syllables awaken the ability to draw
God’s love. (The “e” and “o” are both “long,” as in “seek” and “home.”)
ahrrrrrr—eeeee—ooooo—mmmmm
A second chant uses a variant of the four Hebrew letters of Yahweh. This chant,
according to reading 2533-8, can awaken within us the ability to know ourselves to be
individuals, yet one with the Whole.
Yah—hay—vah—hay

Prayers:

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

A Prayer of Protection
As I open myself to the unseen forces that surround the throne of beauty, grace, and
might, I throw about myself the protection that is found in the thoughts of Him.

The Twenty-Third Psalm

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou
art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my
head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord for ever.
Make a Personal Prayer List:

Take time to hold in the light people who have asked for your prayers or given you
permission to pray for them.

Steps Five: Sample Affirmations for Use in Deeper Meditation

• Oneness
• Love
• I am at peace.
• Let me be a channel of blessings to all I meet.
• God is love.
• Peace, be still. All is well.
• I am at one with the universe.
• Let Thy healing power flow through me, in my life, day by day.

Stage One: Think about what the words of the affirmation mean.

Stage Two: As you continue thinking about what the affirmation means, you begin to
feel what it means.
 Stage Three:As you hold on to the feeling of the affirmation, your awareness shifts to
experiencing it.

If you notice your mind has wandered, and you gently go back to Stage One.

Step Six: Decision Making with Meditation

This is an optional exercise that can be used to test any tentative decisions you need to
make.

Part One: List the decisions you need to make in different areas of your life:

Work:____________________________________
Relationships:_____________________________
Errands:_________________________________
Finances:________________________________
Purchases:_______________________________
Family:__________________________________
Health:__________________________________
Other:___________________________________

Part Two:
Select one small decision you want to make, and formulate a question that can be
answered “yes” or “no”:

Consider the decision from as many angles as possible. Of what facts and issues are you
already aware?

Will your decision affect others? If so, how?

What are the likely consequences of each way of deciding? Yes and No

“Yes” "No"
Good
Results
Unwanted
Results

Breathe into your heart three times, and then see how you feel as you imagine going with
a “yes” decision. Also watch for any images that might come to mind. Repeat with a “no”
decision.

Hold each answer together with your spiritual ideal and your ethical views.

Considering all of your answers so far, make a tentative decision: Now, put this tentative
decision aside and meditate.

At the conclusion of your quiet time, silently ask your “yes” or “no” question, give the
tentative answer you reached earlier, and then wait for any feelings or images that come
to mind. What would you say is your “inner” answer? If you are unsure of your inner
guidance, you may repeat these steps on another day. However, if you feel confident that
your decision is the right one, think about how you might act on your decision.

Take the action, and watch for results.

Health Tips for Meditation

Remember that meditation and a healthy body can work together in a constructive cycle.
The practice of meditation is an important element in your overall program for
maintaining good health. Good health practices in your daily life will aid your meditation
life. Below are areas to which you might want to pay particular attention:

• Healthy Diet
Eat a good, balanced diet, with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as whole
grains. The Edgar Cayce readings recommended:
 o that 80 percent of the diet consist of non-starchy vegetables and fruits,
with the remaining 20 percent provided by proteins, cereals, and starches.
o that meat intake consist mainly of fish, fowl, and lamb, with red meat
eaten only sparingly and pork rarely or never.
o that we avoid overly processed foods, all fried foods, and foods containing
white flour and/or sugar.

• Rest and Recreation

Adequate rest and recreation are essential parts of a balanced lifestyle. Be sure to
get adequate sleep in order to avoid fatigue during your meditation experience.
Recreation helps to relax both your body and mind, which is important when you
sit down to meditate.

• Eliminate Toxins from Your Body

The elimination of toxins—the waste products left over after the body has
digested and metabolized its food—is crucial to good health. You eliminate toxins
through your skin, lungs, bowels, and kidneys. The following practices are all
helpful:
o Breathe deeply and fully, remembering to exhale completely. Breathing
exercises before meditation help here, but you should also develop the
habit of breathing deeply throughout the day.
o Drink at least six to eight glasses of pure water daily, which will help
remove toxins and wastes from your body.
o Bowel eliminations should be kept regular through proper diet (including
lots of fiber) and exercise, especially walking.

• Exercise
Exercise will help keep your body healthy and aid in stress reduction. Always
check with your doctor before embarking on any new program of exercise.
Moderate, consistent exercise is more helpful than sporadic, strenuous workouts.
Gentle stretching and daily walks will go a long way toward keeping you fit and
releasing tensions.

Finally, remember that you are a whole person, with all parts working together. Your
attitudes and emotions are vital to good health. As you meditate daily, it will have an
impact on your physical health. As you pay attention to basic health practices listed here,
you’ll find your meditation life enhanced as well.

Meditation: While Cayce sometimes described particular meditation techniques of

sitting or chanting "Arrr--eee-oommm" the crucial element, he believed, is that of
opening up to divine influences. The Search For God books say that "Through prayer we
speak to God. In meditation, God speaks to us." Cayce's concept of meditation has some
aspects in common with Hinduism or Buddhism (the chakras, kundalini) but is most
similar to Christian versions of New Thought. The symbolism of the Book of Revelation,
he says, is based on meditative experiences.
Lack of Focus

In case of lack of focus, it is very important that we understand the

importance of any work before we start doing it. If we want to meditate
and our mind wants to do something else, this is just one way of mind to
deviate us from a good job. Because if we are not hundred percent sincere
and honest to meditation, we would though be sitting in meditation, but
our mind would be somewhere else. In such a case, we need to do more of
Nadi Shodhana, Surya Namaskara and very importantly, practice mantra
japa. Mantra japa helps us make strong sankalpa (the power to do strong
resolve). You can achieve, what you want, provided your resolve has the
power. And your resolve gets power through mantra japa. The Pranav
Meditation technique is the best way to practice mantra japa. Watch the
video as Gurumaa explains the right technique to practice mantra japa.

Q: I am trying to do trataka. I made a circle on my computer screen and

am gazing at it. According to my understanding, I should be thoughtless
while doing trataka but lot of thoughts come into my mind while gazing at
the black dot. How can I stop these thoughts? Another thing is that can I
play mahamrityunjaya mantra while doing trataka in the background or
should mantra japa be done separately? Please give me your valuable
advice.

A: Jayakrishna no.1: in trataka, the focus is definitely not on controlling

your thoughts or making an effort to reduce the number of thoughts
coming into your conscious mind. If you are using my suggested cd - the
tratak album, then you should be very clear about the fact that before you
begin the trataka & even at the time of trataka, your focus is more on the
breath and elongating it. And second, focus is on the spot where you are
fixing your gaze. So if you are doing these 2 things then but obviously, the
flow of the thoughts would definitely recede.

But as such if thoughts are arising - why do you need to clear them or fight
with your own thoughts or why argue that I am having thoughts? Just
remain totally unbiased & watch the thoughts which are coming & if you
don’t identify yourself with these thoughts, then the thoughts would just
come & go like clouds.

Secondly, you can play maha mrityunjaya mantra in the back ground if
you wish to do so. If that helps, it is fine, as long as you are giving time to
yourself to evolve consciously; I am pleased with that.
Not able to concentrate?

Q: I am not able to concentrate during meditation. Please give me detail

method of doing meditation?

A: Well, concentration is a different thing & meditation is different. For

now, why don’t you do some mantra? Choose any mantra – “Mool
Mantra“, “Maha Mrityunjaya“, “Om Namah Shivaya“, “Waheguru
Mantra”. I have just recently given these 3-4 albums; you can log on to my
website to get that & use that. Sing along, chant in your heart, chant it
silently & this should help you.

And wait for some more time to finally move in meditation. With mantra
japa you may begin Paranayama. There is a DVD called “Shwason Ka
Vigyan“. You get that & practice with that.
In this informative video, Gurumaa explains the benefits of effective mantra
chanting. The posture we sit in, how we breathe, how we focus our mind
and the feeling we bring to our chanting, all make a huge difference. Mantra
chanting done correctly and sincerely has a great impact, both on our body
and mind. Our reflexes become sharper, our body becomes healthier and the
power of our mind to handle anything – favourable or unfavourable -
increases.

A trained mind is effective in whatever it does, whereas an untrained mind

diffuses our energies outwards. When we train our mind to focus on the
mantra, the mantra thus has a powerful effect on us. We can say that a
trained mind is like a laser beam which is fully concentrated on what it
needs to do at a specific moment. Listen attentively as Gurumaa reveals the
method to harness our concentration so that we can reap the full benefits of
mantra chanting and accomplish our goals in life.

Kapalbhati & Bhastrika

In this video Gurumaaji expounds upon two breathing techniques

Kapalbhati and Bhastrika Pranayam. Leading our busy and hectic lives,
many of us have forgotten the right way to breathe. Breathing properly
helps our body increase its intake of oxygen, which in turn leads to a more
healthy and energetic body. It also helps expulsion of toxic products and
carbon dioxide and cleanses our entire system. Breathing properly also
leads to a calm and peaceful mind free of worry and anxiety.
Bhastrika Pranayam is aimed at keeping the inhalation cycle equal to
exhalation, yet making breath deeper and longer. Deep breath inwards
and long exhalation outwards with equal time intervals constitutes this
pranayam technique. Kapalbhati is another technique where short and
strong forceful exhalations are stressed upon and inhalation happens
automatically.
Cleanse your breath with pranayam following Gurumaaji’s instructions in
this video and enjoy the moments of silence and stillness that follow it.