Practical Meditation Tips - Setting Up Your Own Meditation Space

For those interested in taking up a daily meditationPlacing fresh flowers in your space evokes the
practice, setting up some little corner of theirqualities of beauty and innocence, whereas a
house reserved for meditation will be ofcandle evokes the inner flame in our hearts. Both
enormous benefit. After all, our home has aflower and candle in addition serve as excellent
kitchen for the purpose of eating and a bedroomobjects for concentration. If you are the outdoor
for the purpose of sleeping, so why cant wetype and easily inspired by scenes from nature,
create some little space for our self discovery?then photographs of inspiring scenery such as
- Choose an area of your house that is notmountains or sunsets. If you are religious, you can
well-trafficked and where you are unlikely to beadd a statue of Christ or the Buddha or whatever
disturbed. For many people, a corner of theirspiritual figure inspires you most. Also, since the
bedroom fits that purpose, although you couldadvent of photography over a hundred years
also use a study. Many people in big houses haveago, many students of spiritual teachers have
rooms dedicated to storage or 'junk rooms' - whykept a photograph of their teacher in their
not clear them out and use the space formeditation space for inspiration.
something constructive?- You can place your cushion or chair on a small
- In that space most meditators have some kindrug - this helps to further separate your special
of table or platform where they can decoratespace from the rest of the room. As with the
with things that help bring about a meditativecloth, you can choose the colour of the rug. I
atmosphere. The height of the table will dependactually know some friends who meditate seated
on whether you sit using a chair or cushions, ason an artificial tiger skin; since ancient times in
the objects you will place on this table should beIndia, sitting on a tiger skin has been a potent
at eye level. When sitting on cushions, one idea issymbol of the way meditation can conquer the
to use cardboard boxes to construct your table;'inner tiger' of stress and restlessness.
when they are covered, no-one will know the- Burning incense helps cleanse the atmosphere
difference! Sitting on a chair will most likely requirearound your space and create a special vibration
a table. Don't let the immediate lack of thefor meditation. Also it helps considerably if you
'perfect' table deter you from building your spacehave to hand a shelf of books on meditation
- it is much better to just start and then changewritten by genuine meditation teachers or
things as time and opportunity allows.advanced seekers of truth. Reading their accounts
- Now we can start decorating with objects thatof meditation and the journey of self-discovery
evoke a meditative mood. The first thing, ofcan be of tremendous inspiration to you in your
course, is the tablecloth. Bright colours in particularown practice.
evoke the qualities we are looking for in- You can rearrange your space every so often,
meditation: white suggests the quality of purityadding new and inspiring things; this will help create
and freedom from all the baggage of daily life,a sense of newness in your meditation. Meditation
light blue suggests the vastness of the sea andis often seen as dry and serious, but you can
the sky, and gold evokes a sense of victory overdefinitely add an element of childlike spontaneity
our vacillating mind and restless emotions.by doing things like this. Experiment and see what
- Now we can fill the space with objects that willworks for you!
evoke at atmosphere of silence and tranquility.