1. Begin each meditation session by sitting quietly in a chair with your arms relaxed and in your lap or resting on your upper thighs (palms down), taking care to see that your elbows are relaxed and there is no strain on your shoulders or neck. Tuck your chin slightly in to keep your head steady.
2. Inhale deeply through your nose, hold in the breath, and exhale slowly three times. As you do this, feel yourself relax physically, mentally, and emotionally. Notice the increased sense of stability and centeredness as any cares, concerns, or frustrations of the day are swept away with your outgoing breath. There is no set maximum period for this initial relaxation process, and you may do this more than three times if needed in order to achieve the proper mental state before proceeding. Seven and nine repetitions are also very common.
3. Breathe deeply and hold in the breath for a comfortable period of time; then slowly exhale, hold the breath out for a comfortable period of time, and inhale again. Repeat the process for two or three minutes. As you inhale, imagine a brilliant, bluish silver light enter into you through your nose, and imagine that your body is absorbing the energy, starting with your feet and moving up to your head. You can spend as much time on this exercise as you like; however, two to five minutes will be sufficient for our purposes.
4. After you have filled your body with light, imagining in fact that your physical body is being transformed into light through this cyclic breathing, imagine a sphere of brilliant white light about a foot above you. Sense a connection to this light; it is your awareness of your Higher Self or "Angel," from whom you are seemingly separate. Breathe in, pulling a ray of light from the sphere into your heart, and feel it expand. As the light grows and glows, your sense of separation dissolves, and you sense the inner presence of your Higher Self in the form of compassion, wisdom, and strength.
5. Do this meditation each day for a week, simply sitting in the new state of inner peace that you have learned to create. The entire process should take anywhere from ten to thirty minutes, depending on how much time you would like to spend on it. When done, give thanks for whatever you have experienced, and know that you are growing closer to spiritual wholeness with each practice period.
After a week, you may add an exercise from the following list to your meditation period: