Ocean Meditation

Right now I'm taking a meditation class in college. For the rest of the semester each student is responsible for choosing a form of meditation, presenting it to the class, and guiding the class through their meditation form. 

It's been awesome so far, but today was by far the best. One of my classmates chose ocean meditation. Since she obviously couldn't bring the entire class to the beach, she brought in jars of sand, shells, and water from the beach. I thought this was an amazing idea. So much so that I figured I would share. 

And hey, I don't even like the beach!

Here's my spin on my classmate's meditation...

First, you'll need:

• A comfortable sitting place and position. (ie: yoga mat, pillow, a bed, a chair, so on.)
• A jar of some kind, preferably with a lid
• Sticky notes/paper, and or pebbles/shells large enough to write on
• A permanent marker or pen
• Meditation music and or the sounds of the ocean
• Sand, water, sea shells from the ocean
• A quiet space to practice

First, assemble your jar. You can really do this any way you like. Mainly, the important thing is to have the sand at the bottom and fill your jar with the ocean's water. From there, you can add sea shells or even blue food coloring to make the water a bright blue color. There's no right or wrong! However, make sure you leave enough space in your jar to throw negative shells/rocks/paper. 

Be seated, comfortably. If you have back issues, make sure it's leaning on something or is supported either in a chair or against a wall. 

Have your feet flat on the floor to ground you.

You can even play this video as you meditate, it's super helpful! 

Concentrate on your breath for a few moments. Breathe comfortably, yet deeply. Try to see if you can match your breath with the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. 

If it helps, you can keep your eyes open for the moment and stare at your ocean in a jar, focusing on your breath and the sound of the waves.

Once you've settled into your breath, you can slowly close your eyes. Imagine you are walking along the beach. Visualize carrying two buckets in either hand. One, sea shells or perhaps rocks/sea glass that represent positive emotions, feelings, places, people in your life. In the other bucket, there are sea shells, rocks/sea glass that represent negative emotions, feelings, places, people, attachments and so on in your life. 

Imagine yourself walking slowly, mindfully, with these two buckets. Be mindful of your breath.

Now, visualize yourself throwing the negative bucket into the water. Water is a purifying element (from Buddhism and many other religions/philosophies) and by throwing your negativity into the ocean, you are cleansing your spirit of the negativity it held onto.

Again, focus on your breath, slowly and gently lengthening your breath. If you have any thoughts that seem to bog you down or hinder you in this meditation, simply notice them without judgement and let them go. You can always come back to them later. 

You can ask for help in any way that you feel can best serve you in this moment. You can ask for guidance, if you wish.

Always ask that this help be the highest and best.

Now, gently and very slowly open your eyes. Once again, stare at the jar in front of you. Concentrate on your breath once more. 

When you're ready, write on your piece of paper, rock/sea glass, shell, etc. something or someone that has a negative attachment for you. If it's a piece of paper, fold it up. 

Again, when you're ready, place that negativity inside of your jar. Know that the water has cleansed this negativity. It no longer belongs to you. You no longer need to carry it with you.

Gently, rub the palms of your hands together, even rub your hands on the tops of your legs to bring yourself back.

Namaste ("The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you").

I hope this was helpful!

--Dana