A peek at meditation

How to meditate and use it everyday

By Lydia Worth

Special to Niagara Frontier Publications

To meditate is “to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness,” as defined by Merriam Webster. Meditation is practiced in several religious traditions, and it can help significantly with stress, anxiety and depression, and it can enhance peace, perception and overall well-being.

Meditation can be very diverse. Different meditations can have different focus points and objectives; it may not have an objective at all.

At Village Roots, meditation is a very common practice, guided by Jenn Lefevre, psychic medium, mentor and owner. Jenn’s goals are to heal and help with the Power of Truth, wherever she can. She can provide you with the absolute unadulterated truth of any given situation you may be experiencing, without judgment. She specializes in accurately predicting the future paths with the aid of channeling your loved ones, ancestors, spirit guides, soul ancestors and all those on the other side.

A meditation can be done pretty much however you want to, “there aren’t really any rules to it,” Lefevre says. In fact, meditations in several different religious traditions are practiced in vastly different ways. You can do it sitting in the typical lotus position, you can lay down, you can have your eyes open or closed, whatever feels comfortable for you.

At Village Roots, a few members prefer different ways of meditation.

Christina Broderick, heart centered advocate, sometimes prefers to have her eyes open during meditation. Katelyn, intuitive tarot reader, and astrologer, likes to focus deeply on breathwork, i.e., “Deeply breathing in through your nose, and out through your mouth. It is very helpful if you’re looking to ground into yourself or recenter into yourself.” This can be used in a meditative or non-meditative way.

At Village Roots, Lefevre guides meditations and assists in analyzing them. Typically, your meditation that you do will have your own personal intention and an outcome that you are trying to reach.

There is a lot that goes into the meditations on “Spiritual Sunday,” as Lefevre calls it. One can choose to do a guided meditation, which can be done in person, under the guidance of an experienced teacher or practitioner, or you can listen to a guided meditation audio recorded by a practitioner.

Lefevre has her very own guided meditations that you can listen to. A meditation can be however long you want it to be. Sometimes they do a basic 10-15 minute one but, as Lefevre states, there are no rules to meditation, therefore you can do a one-hour meditation or a five minute one, it’s up to you!

Lefevre recommends that, when you are a beginner in meditation, set a timer for 5 minutes, so you can “relax and not worry about staying in meditation for too long.” But if you are able, try to do longer sessions, 15-20 minutes, a few times a week for better results.

One can burn sage or Paulo santo, to elevate and enhance the energy during the meditation. Lefevre occasionally prefers to use her own certain blend to burn.

During the meditation, it can be easy for one to lose focus with thoughts interrupting the process. “When thoughts enter your mind, gently acknowledge them and let them go, returning your focus to your breath,” Lefevre suggests.

A really important point that is stressed about meditation is to have a journal and a pen to write down what you saw or experienced during. Frequently, members will connect key points from past meditations with pieces from present meditations, and ultimately try to find more pieces in future meditations. Frequent and consistent meditation is a great way to help yourself grow.

“Start to learn how you operate, so you can use that guidance on a daily basis,” Lefevre said.

A big part of the meditation journaling is identifying symbols that one sees in the process. Symbolism is very important, “everything has a deeper meaning,” Lefevre said.

After the meditation is over, members can choose to share what they saw in their meditation and try to identify meanings from the symbols they saw or things they felt. This is done directly after the initial meditation is finished, typically so they are discussing with fresh thoughts.

Within this particular group, Village Roots, it is a very safe and comfortable atmosphere, and quite an interactive process so, if members choose to share pieces of their meditation, everyone assists in analyzing and identifying possible deeper meanings. In addition to assistance, the group occasionally livestreams its sessions so that anyone can follow along with the meditation and, if needed, one may comment something they are unsure about with their meditation and the group can offer assistance in analyzing.

As mentioned before, meditations are typically self-motivated, the one doing a meditation has their own intention and expected outcome, and when breaking down the symbols in one’s meditation, often the symbols can be connected to something that is happening in one’s life right now. Meditation can be done however one wants and it can help greatly with lowering stress, improving focus and being more mindful of decisions or pieces in your life, and so much more.

Frequent meditation is a wonderful and effective stress management tool, many people swear by it.

“Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what’s happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what’s happening, stories that get in the way of direct experience. Often such stories treat a fleeting state of mind as if it were our entire and permanent self,” said Sharon Salzberg in her book “Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation.” Salzberg, author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practice, has published numerous books on meditation and mindfulness. Salzberg preaches about the benefits of practicing meditation and how it is practiced. Nearly everyone that practices meditation recommends it to others because the benefits are so great. Give it a go, it might change your life.

Jenn Lefevre and the 716 Village Roots team: Village Roots (village-roots.com)

 

 

 

 

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