I attended some Buddhist meditation classes for about a year when I was in my 20s but I just couldn’t get the hang of it. I struggled to switch off my very lively mind and couldn’t understand the point to sitting for 20 minutes doing nothing but breathing and existing – what was that achieving exactly? 🤔

I didn’t come back to meditation for three decades and when I did everything was different. I discovered a short guided meditation which really works for me and following someone’s voice really helped me switch off my own inner voice, but I also used meditation to enter an expanded state of consciousness and connection.

I am, by nature, a visual person and I’m not exactly sure how it happened but I started entering a meditation ‘space’. I lie down (sitting upright hurts my back and there are no rules which say you have to be sitting upright), take three deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth, and listen to my guided meditation for about 5 minutes. I stand by a small gate and when the bell rings to begin the meditation I walk through the gate. This allows me to leave my physical and earthly life behind and my Spirit is freed.

I am then on a rough path. The sun shines warmly down on me and either side are open fields. I continue down the path, eventually rounding a left hand bend to reach a pretty meadow. The meadow is on the top of a small cliff, beneath which is a sandy beach and a calm sea. I am in a cove, with hills surrounding me like a horseshoe and the sea stretching out to the front.

My guided meditation is quiet for 20 minutes, and during that time I simply let whatever comes to me come. Sometimes I’m joined in the meadow by animals, birds or butterflies. Sometimes I find myself in the sea, or flying in the sky. Sometimes I am met by other souls. Sometimes I stand on the edge of the cliff and expand my love and energy out into the universe. Sometimes I feel energy from the universe coming back to me. Nothing is off limits and many of my meditations have been profound. I have occasionally asked other people to meet me in my meditation ‘space’ which has been a beautiful experience.

For me, meditating has become a way of tuning in to my Soul, to the Souls of others and connecting to Universal energy. It is also where I’ve seen glimpses of past lives. Could all this just be my very creative imagination? Of course, which is why I sometimes ask for physical proof from the experience. For example, I recently had a connection with another Spirit in my ‘space’ and said “if this is real, show me a purple stone” and sure enough 3 days later someone gave me an Amethyst.

In the hustle and bustle of life it can be difficult to take time for meditation each day, so I do a group meditation on Zoom twice a week. The energy of a group meditation is totally different to the energy when you meditate alone and the regular time slot helps my discipline. The more regularly you meditate the easier it becomes to enter into the meditation ‘state’, although there are still times when I have things on my mind and it’s difficult to focus. I’m kind to myself over this and simply try again the next day.

There are well known health benefits to meditation but for me it’s the best way I have found of tuning in to my inner self, my Sprit, my Soul and for connecting to Universal energy (or whatever your definition of the Divine is). It can also be helpful in expanding consciousness. There are various apps which do free meditations including Insight Timer, Calm and Headspace and if you’re interested in Buddhist meditation there are lots of outreach groups all over the country which hold regular meditation evening classes. There is no right or wrong way to meditate, just the way which works for you.