INTRODUCTION

One of the most frequent questions we are asked is, “How do I start a daily spiritual
practice?”

Clearly, One who asks this question is already aware, on some level, of the importance
of such a practice in One’s spiritual development. Nothing, in fact, is more important to
spiritual growth and evolution than the establishment of a daily practice. Everything else
you wish to accomplish on your path depends on your being in regular touch with your
Divine Mind Consciousness.

There are really only three fundamental keys to developing and growing a daily spiritual
practice:

Meditating
Breathing
Repeating

Meditation is the core idea. It is important that One be in meditation for some or all of
the daily spiritual practice period. Many are unclear what it means to meditate. It is often
made more complicated than it needs to be by well-intentioned teachers and writers
who wish to provide detailed guidelines to assist beginners in experiencing the state we
call meditation. But meditation is not a complicated idea at all. In fact, it is one of the
simplest ideas in Divine Mind. Meditation is a state of relaxed awareness in which One’s
focus is shifted away from what is going on around you and to what is going on inside
you.

The reason many people have difficulty meditating is not so much about what
meditation is, but rather how to attain it. Here again, many perfectly well-intentioned
teachers and writers have offered millions of words on this topic. All of what they say is
valuable to those with whom their message resonates. For me, the answer is very
simple.

The key to meditating is proper breathing.

That is all. When you breathe properly in a relaxed state, you will not be able not to
meditate because that is precisely what meditation is: relaxed breathing with focus.

Once you know how to relax and breathe and focus -- in other words, once you know
how to meditate -- the rest is a matter of spending time each day doing it. Science has
demonstrated that for most people, any activity that is regularly repeated over a period
of 15 days in a row becomes a pattern. After 30 consecutive days of doing a particular
thing, it becomes a habit.
So you need only practice daily for 30 days or so and you will have a daily spiritual
practice.

THE TWO PLANS

This booklet presents two basic plans for achieving a meditative state and practicing it
long enough to permit it to become a habitual part of your spiritual walk.

The first plan helps One learn basic meditation as a singular practice. That is, it
presents some suggested steps through which you can learn to meditate in the simplest
and easiest possible way.

The second plan helps One learn a more focused meditation that involves both relaxed
focused breathing and contemplation of Spiritual Truth.

You should read through both of these plans in their entirety and then decide how you
wish to approach your own spiritual discipline development. You may:

Choose to do only one of them for the prescribed 15 days and then continue
that one for an additional 15 days
Follow the first suggestion for 15 days and then begin the second approach
for another 15 days
Try each of them for a few days (perhaps the first five) each and then decide
which appeals more to your desired goals and practice.

With any of these approaches -- or perhaps one that you will create that is not included
in the above list -- you will be able to establish a daily spiritual practice if you engage in
some activity for 30 consecutive days.

“RULES” FOR MEDITATION?

Many people when they first come to learn and practice meditation have myriad
questions about how to meditate “correctly.” They ask such questions as:

Should my eyes be open or closed?

Should I sit or lie down?
If I’m sitting, should my feet be flat on the floor or should my legs be crossed?
What time of day should I meditate?
is it important that I meditate at the same time and in the same place every
day?
Can I play background music while I meditate?

These and many other questions make it seem like meditation is some sort of contest in
which you can do it right or wrong and, if you do it wrong, something bad happens. At
the very least, you’d expect your meditation not to “work” (whatever that means) if you
do it incorrectly.

There are no “shoulds” in meditation.

None. Period.

Many have found that meditation works better for them if they follow certain procedures
like sitting down, feet flat on the floor, hands on their laps, palms up, eyes closed. Just
as many others find any or all of those procedures bothersome and distracting.

Experiment. Find what works for you and use it. Leave the other “stuff” aside unless
Spirit prompts you to give them another try.
SUGGESTED MEDITATION PATH #1: SIMPLE
BREATHING
The first suggested meditation path involves these basic steps:

Short relaxation exercise

Yogic breathing
Closing thought

Short Relaxation exercise

This is a relaxation technique many have found useful. Try it. If it doesn’t work well for
you, let your Spiritual Coach know and s/he will describe another approach for you.

1. Get into a comfortable position where you don’t feel a need to move or shift
around.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Visualize a narrow beam of warm, pure-white light coming down from high
above into the top of your head.
4. Breathe slowly and gently without paying too much attention to your breath.
5. Visualize the beam of warm, pure-white light flowing like a liquid down your
cheeks and neck, over your shoulders.
6. Visualize the beam of warm, pure-white light flowing like a liquid down your
back, down your arms to your hands and fingers, and down your chest to your
abdominal area, all at one time.
7. Visualize the beam of warm, pure-white light flowing down past your abdomen
to your genitals, then down both thighs, through your knees, into your calves,
and out through the toes.
8. Say to yourself, “I am now completely relaxed and open to receive what Spirit
has to offer me right now.”

Some people find it helpful to contract and relax each joint and muscle group as they
visualize the flow of the light. Try that. If it works for you, continue to do it. If it doesn’t
work for you, don’t do it.

Yogic Breathing

Several definitions of “yogic breathing” have been offered and published. The one we
teach at OMF is the easiest for those starting out on a spiritual path of discipline. Once
you’ve established your daily practice, you may wish to experiment with other breathing
techniques. A good Yoga instructor can help you with that, as can your OMF Coach if
you ask.
This takes a little practice. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t seem to get it correct right
away. Remember there are no rules here. This is a suggested approach. The important
thing is to engage in slow, regular breathing and to focus on your breath as you do so.

To get maximum benefit from almost any regular breathing exercise, you should
combine belly-breathing and chest-breathing (or diaphragm-breathing). To do this, begin
your inhale through your nose by allowing your belly to expand and then when you’ve
taken in as much air as you can this way, switch to lifting and tightening your
diaphragm, expanding your lungs until you have inhaled fully. Exhaling reverses the
process. First relax your diaphragm and allow the air to escape slowly out your mouth,
then collapse your belly to force the remaining air to leave your body.

Using that technique, follow these instructions as closely as you comfortably can.

1. Slowly inhale until your lungs are completely filled, counting to six slowly as
you do. (HINT: You can try doing the first phase of Yogic breathing, the belly
breathing, to the count of four, and then finish with the chest breathing for the
count of two.)
2. Hold your breath for a few seconds (four to six is generally right but don’t let
yourself become the least bit uncomfortable).
3. Slowly release all your breath as you count slowly to six. (The same hint as in
step 1, above, applies.)
4. When your lungs are completely empty, hold our breath again for a few
seconds as before.
5. Repeat.

Don’t be too concerned about exact counts here. If you are breathing slowly and
regularly, you are accomplishing what you want to do.

Closing Thought

As you begin to slowly open your eyes at the end of the meditative period, say silently, “I
am now completely relaxed and tuned into Spirit. I am joyously content with where I am
in my life and eagerly anticipating even more wonderful experiences today. And so it is.”
Repeat Cycle

As you begin this 15-day exercise, follow these steps as you build slowly to a practice
that will be both meaningful and feasible regardless of how busy your life might seem or
be.

Days Time Practice Steps

1-5 One minute the See above

first day, adding
one minute each
day

6-10 5 minutes each While breathing, repeat a word or short phrase to

day yourself.

7-15 8 minutes each Repeat word or short phrase for first 5 minutes, then
day finish with the I AM meditation (described in a separate
booklet).
SUGGESTED MEDITATION PATH #2: Contemplating
Truth
As explained earlier in this booklet, this suggested path may be used instead of or in
addition to the first path described in the previous section.

Many people find that focusing on a short passage from Scripture or a brief thought or
phrase from a spiritual writer or teacher helps them get more out of their meditation
time. This suggested path is designed to allow you to test whether that experience
works well for you and your daily practice needs.

Selecting a Passage

Before you begin this practice approach, you must select a passage that will serve as
your focus for at least the first five days of the experience. This passage should be:

relatively brief (readable in less than a minute)

meaningful to you (for whatever reason)
rich enough that you can’t exhaust its meaning easily

Your OMF Coach will be happy to help you choose an appropriate passage or to
provide you with a list of passages we recommend for this exercise.

Write the passage down on a piece of paper containing only this passage. This reduces
the possibility that you will be distracted during the time you spend reading it.

The Practice

This practice consists of the same basic steps for all 15 days of its use.

1. Get comfortable.
2. Read the passage over silently one to three times.
3. (Optionally, use the Slow Relax procedure if you don’t feel relaxed.)
4. Begin Yogic breathing as described above.
5. After 3-5 minutes of Yogic breathing, silently say to yourself, “Spirit, show me
what this passage means for me in my life as I am living it here and now.”
6. Listen intently and quietly for an answer to the question for at least three
minutes.
7. When you are done, whether or not you have heard the answer, say silently
to yourself, “Spirit, thank you for providing me with constant guidance for my
life. I am grateful that you are as close as my breath any time I need answers
or help. And so it is.”

NOTE 1: Where we use the word “Spirit” above, you should substitute whatever word or
phrase is most comfortable for you in referring to your Inner Being. You may call it your
Christ Spirit, Divine Mind, Divine Mind Essence, God, Lord, or any of many other
alternatives. There is no “wrong” here.

NOTE 2: Although we use the word “listen” here, you may or may not “hear” an answer
in the sense of hearing actual words seeming to be spoken. You may well have that
experience; many people do. But sometimes, the answer comes not in the form of
words but in a visual image or in a sense or perception of truth or resolution. Listening
intently during meditational contemplation will often provide you with surprising answers
and guidance, but not if you spend your time judging the advice you receive and
questioning its source or authenticity. Trust your intuition. You will be right far more often
than not.

Repeat Cycle

This exercise is carried out basically the same way for all 15 days of its practice. As you
progress, we recommend you try one or more of the following enhancements as you
feel moved to do so:

Change the passage as often as you like or feel you need.

Spend longer in the listening period.
Write down the answers you’re hearing while you remain in meditation. You
can do this with practice even if you have to open your eyes to see to record
the insight.
Try to get a visual image of what Spirit (by whatever name you refer to it)
looks like to your inner sight.