“Without meditation you do not know the secrets of life, you know only the surface of life.” ~ Osho

While there are hundreds of meditation techniques, they all lead us to the same place: ourselves.

When you find a technique that works for you, stick to it. If you haven’t found one yet, keep looking.

The meditation technique that works for me is the one that I teach. It works. It provides a direct portal to presence and self. It has a way of transcending thought and helps me to discern the surface level stuff of my external life from the depths of my innermost life.

It distinguishes the superficial periphery from the importance of the center.

It is an experiential process, and it starts with body awareness. Getting comfortable, relaxing and assuming an easy upright posture.

From the body, I move to breath awareness. Breathing consciously but without effort. Breathing naturally with no desire to change my breath. Observing the breathing process rather than controlling it. Following the path of the breath with my mind. Noticing whether I’m breathing evenly through both nostrils or whether one nostril dominates. Noticing whether the inhale and exhale are of even length or if they differ. Noticing where the two streams of air that enter each nostril merge as one. Noticing the exhale divide in two as it exits each nostril.

Notice how each inhale has a start and an end. Feel the first sip of air on the inhale and follow that until you can’t take in any more air—until you’re full. Then enjoy the first release of the exhale and follow that until the end, until there’s no air left.

Become absorbed in the breath.

As each breath has a start and an end, notice the space that exists between breaths. Notice the pause at the end of the inhale before the exhale commences. Notice the gap at the end of the exhale before you take your next inhale. Become increasingly aware of the space between breaths—without trying to change it or control it. Breathing naturally, becoming more interested in the space between breaths, the space from which the breath arises.

As you delve into this space, notice what happens here. There’s no movement. No breath. Empty space. Stillness, emptiness, space. Feel into this space as you fall off the end of your exhale.

Feel this opening, like a doorway into a new way of being—a new realm, a new level of consciousness. This is the space that exists beneath the surface. The space in between breaths, the space between thoughts.

Stay with the feeling of space. Notice how vast it feels. Feel the infinite nature of this space. This expansive space that is holding you, that surrounds you and in which you are suspended.

Surrender to this space.

Feel this same sense of space, opening, possibility and energy in your cells and your body. Feel the space left behind by your breath. The space between heart beats. The space between your thoughts.

This is the fabric of life, the rest is peripheral.

Let yourself be drawn to this feeling of space. There is no need to fill this space with thought and desire. This is the place where your inner space merges with the external world. Inner and outer space fuse. Let this space, both within and around you, nourish and support you. Plug yourself into the source—the infinite space—to recharge and fill up.

Let the surface-level concerns of your life dissolve into this space. Offer them up and let them go. And in return, open yourself to receiving insight and wisdom from this space.

When you are ready to emerge from this space, remember the feelings of spaciousness and expansiveness. Hold that space for yourself, and keep it with you until next time.

Finding space through meditation can be likened to the wisdom of perspective. Our focus shifts and we are able to see a larger picture. Cultivating inner space through meditation can provide refuge from life’s storms and can keep us grounded and connected in life’s highs.

When life becomes crowded, the mind cluttered and time limited, it is necessary to find our inner space.

Space can be found everywhere. The silence between sounds, the pause between words, the gaps between breaths. These spaces are one and the same and they provide a portal back to yourself.

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Author: Monica Deane

Editor: Toby Israel

Photo: Telmo32/Flickr

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