Making meditation work for you: How to increase your spiritual abilities using meditation

When people are new to a spiritual path, one of the first recommendations you hear is "meditate". Everyone is resistant to this. What is meditation and why are we resistant to it? Why is meditation beneficial? Is it beneficial? Does everyone have to do it?

First let me say that there are no shoulds. I know amazing healers and mediums that meditate, and I know awesome ones who do not. I can really only speak of my own experience and how meditation opened the doorway for me. We are all pretty resistant to meditation because we are conditioned to be fully focused on our physical lives and tasks. We spend much, if not most, of our time doing things: working, driving, shopping, cleaning, taking care of people, watching TV, using our phones, etc. etc. In our culture, much emphasis and value is given to “being busy” and there is not much put on quieting the mind. For example, the invention of the smartphone completely caters to the nonstop drive of the mind that is constantly seeking distraction. In our culture we are taught to live fully in the mind: to consume as much information and fulfill every urge and desire our minds have. In reality, the mind is a tool meant to serve us, but most of the time we are serving it by indulging it’s every whim. When we open to Spirit, we need to quiet all the noise going on in our heads so we can perceive the subtle information Spirit is giving.

 

Meditation is time dedicated to opening your inner awareness, your heart, your Spirit and to letting your mind sit in the back seat. It is time you take to train yourself to let your Spirit come forward and talk to you. It is time to allow yourself to be who you really are: a multi-sensory Spiritual being that is fully connected to the Higher realms that exist around you all of the time. Meditation is about opening the inner doorway and finding the world that lies behind your eyes. This world is infinite, and you are an integral part of it all.

Meditation has opened the world of Spirit to me. Very soon after I began meditating, I began connecting with Spirits – Angels and Archangels were first, then came power animals, Spirit Guides, Deceased Loved Ones and fairies. At first, all spirits kind of felt the same to me, but soon I began to be able to discern the unique energy signatures of different groups: Angels have a high, loving, positive and radiant vibration while Spirit Guides feel more grounded. Power Animals are patient, generous and calm and Deceased Loved Ones have tons of personality. As you practice, your own awareness will increase and the sensations you experience when Spirit is present will change. At first you may experience all Spirit as a ringing or buzzing in your ears, or as an underwater feeling. Over time and as your vibration raises the physical sensations will clarify and separate. You will get used to how an Angel feels different from a Guide or Loved One. This only takes time and practice – trust your process!

Here are some practices you can try to get more out of your meditation time and heighten your spiritual abilities:

Fine-tune your energy awareness

Try holding different objects in your meditation. Over the course of a few days/sessions, try holding in your hand a crystal, then a flower and then an object of someone else’s, like a ring, necklace or keys. Try each of these in separate meditation sessions, then try focusing on each one in one meditation session. You will sense and discern the subtle differences between the life force energy of the crystal vs. the plant and how to describe the energy that is imbued in the personal object. These exercises help to heighten and sensitize your energy awareness as well as your ability to discern differences between different energies. The more you fine-tune this, the clearer and more detailed your communication with Spirit will be.

Surround yourself with your totems

Bring into your meditation space the sacred items you have collected. Do you collect any signs from your Angels or Guides like coins or feathers? Put them in a nice container and put it in your meditation space. Bring in your oracle/tarot cards, pictures of your power animals, flowers, crystals, incense, Deceased Loved Ones – anything and everything you are collecting as part of your spiritual altar.

Meditate in the same place every time

This accomplishes two things: First it cues your body and mind that it is time to tune into Spirit. Second, it increases the psychic energy of the space so each time you return there to meditate, the energy of meditation raises the vibration of the space. Try to also meditate at roughly the same time each day. Meditating in the same space at about the same time helps build routine and consistency as well as helps you to notice how things change in each meditation from day to day. I also recommend meditating in a small, enclosed room or even the bathroom. A small room keeps the energy confined and clear and I find it easier to sense the Spirit around me than in a larger space.

Stand up

I recommend this because it helps to identify all of the ways your body is responding to Spirit. For example, in my meditations my body will shift facings in response to different Spirits present and this has increased my ability to discern and identify Spirit.

Standing up really allows my entire body to be part of experience and it also keeps me alert and engaged!

Write it ALL down!

One of the things I recommend when meditating is to have a notebook handy to record the feelings, sensations and experiences you have in your meditations. Writing it down right after is important as often meditations and connecting with Spirit feels like a dream space: at the time it is super clear, but the memories fade fast! Writing it down will record your experiences so you can refer back and see your development, but also serves to bring into the physical world what you have experienced in the Spiritual. World. Writing it down anchors your experience and allows you to really digest it, absorb it and accept it as real, because it is.

Just do it

A regular consistent practice is key. Trust me, I know all about not “feeling like it”. But as a dancer I can attest to the truth that you are what you do. The more you spend time and prioritize your meditation, the more your Spirit (and your Spirits) will respond in kind!

All of my meditation experiences have shown me how infinite and loving the universe is and how much spiritual support we have with us. Meditation was my doorway to the Light: the more I let myself enter the world that lie behind my eyes, the more I was able to release fear and doubt, connect with Spirit and let my own Spirit take the driver's seat in my life. Everyone’s experience with meditation is uniquely different. The most important thing is to trust yourself and let your own Spirit show you the way. I hope your practice brings you much joy, excitement and awe.

I would love to hear about your meditation experiences! Please share them in comments below or on my Facebook page!

 

With love,

 

Ashley