Meditation
Two years before my divorce I discovered meditation, enrolling in a teacher's certification class for kundalini yoga. Good thing, too; without meditation, I could easily have fallen into alcoholism, depression, or worse.
The benefits of meditation are many and I won't bore you with those here, I will wait until I see you in person. Instead, I will review a few meditation methods that incorporate our way--runic meditations, or galdr, along with a few pointers to get your own practice going. This first in a series covers a few basics.
Meditation can be practiced in dozens of ways, and all of them have good points about their method. Luckily by the time I began meditating diligently I was well-grounded in my faith in the Aesir, so I was able to use my practice as a supplement to my faith. I found many ways in which meditation fits neatly with the beliefs and practices of The Folk.
You can meditate any time of the day or night, but I find it is best in the early morning before breakfast. Get up earlier than usual (I know, it was difficult at first), go to your quiet place (mine is in front of my altar) and sit. To begin with, let's do something simple, and do just that: just sit. Your squirrel-mind will panic and begin flailing around looking for something-ANYTHING to do to fill its need for busyness. Ignore that as best you can; don't force it down or suppress it though. My favorite technique is to just say to myself, "I'm not doing that right now," and let the thought drift away.
Find a timer, like an electronic kitchen timer. Yes, you can use your phone, but your phone has is the distraction and its presence does not lend focus. Start with fifteen minutes; yes, it will seem like fifteen hours, but believe me, the timer is not broken. Your mind will begin to heal itself from that first session.
Yes, it is hard to sit on the floor, but that is best. Find a small rug or even a large sofa cushion so you are not on the bare floor, and a firm, medium-sized cushion to put under your butt. Start with a simple cross-legged sit; try a quarter-lotus, placing your right foot up on your left calf. I prefer the adept's posture, with the left foot tucked into the fold of the right knee and the right heel against the perineum. Place your hands in your lap, right hand in the left hand, left fingertips on right knuckles, thumbs gently touching. Breathe deeply from the diaphragm; hold a moment, then relax. Repeat until the timer interrupts.
For this month, this is the exercise: sit. Fifteen minutes, every day. Allow your mind to relax, or wander, or consider the beauty of your altar.
This is the beginning; forming the world from the magically charged gap. Odin is the god of consciousness; he seeks for us not to worship him but to emulate him. We start with fifteen minutes.
Lawspeaker Allen Turnage
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