Practices are important in our daily life, they help has stay focused, balanced and regulated.

Meditation is quite simply medicine for the soul. It allows us to peel away the layers of the Onion such that our Soul can bring forth its message in a more congruent way (unmodified). For many, Meditation presents physical and mental challenges which can be very discouraging when we jare ust getting started. So, from the perspectives here, there is only one rule for Meditation, just do it! Sounds too simple? Meditation is a Practice and that means it needs Practicing, so lets get started.

Meditation requires that we make time, this is a given and we must be disciplined about this part. Next, we need some space so that we can stand, sit or lay down (hanging upside down from a tree would probably also work). But seriously, it doesn't matter how you are positioned as long as your reasonably comfortable.  Being comfortable is not the key but you have to remember that your going to be in this positions for some time and being too comfortable may result in falling asleep, being too uncomfortable might give your Ego too much to complain about and put you off Practicing.  The Half Lotus position can be seen in the website logo and above, it is possible the most comfortable position for long periods of Practice. The lower leg is turned down so that the toes and bridge of the foot are flat on the floor and there are no sticky-out boney parts in contact with the floor. The upper leg is also turn down in the same way but it is resting on the other legs calf muscle. There are of course variations on this but should provide a good foundation. A pillow or cushion is a good idea to sit on, it will help you keep your back straight and actually compliment the Half Lotus position. Sitting on a hard floor can be a little challenging so you might want to use a Yoga mat or towel. Our backs should be straight but also relaxed and our shoulders should also be relaxed. Our heads should be facing almost straight ahead but perhaps with a very slight tilt downwards. Eyes can be opend or closed, when open perhaps look at a point on the floor at a 45 degree angle. Breathing through your nose is one of the best ways to remain focused.

Meditation can be Practiced with sound, music, voice, guided or unguided. There are lots of materials available to assist with your Practice, use whatever works for you.

Our persona's are complex and shape the way we behave. Understanding our own psychology is key to being able to shed the layers of the Onion such that we can have a high quality of discernment.  As we know, discernment will allows us to take the next best step and as discussed before, that is the Goal. In the same way as Meditation is the medicine for the soul and exercise is medicine for our Wellbeing, Psychology is medicine for the ego. 

Whereas people have mostly given up saying "...but you're not fat.." when you say that you go to the gym regularly, if you were to say that you regularly see a therapist, they will either say "...but your not crazy..." or just assume that you are crazy. It would be nice to think that there were no judgements or stigmas attached to the word Therapy, perhaps it will be achieved one day.

There is nothing better than finding yourself a therapist with that fits the approach you need and can guide you through a process of understanding your own Psychology.  The important word there is Guide, it is important to know that you have all the answers already and you don't need to be poked, push and pulled until you realise what they are. A good therapist will be able to listen and respond in a non-judgemental way which will facilitate your process.

As time goes on, you will find that you will be able to describe all of your weekly activities in great detail, what they meant to you and how you responded to each of them.  This is known as actualising/verbalising and although you might just say "...its just talking...", it is actually a valuable process of observing yourself, you thoughts and your actions and then being able to turn them into words that someone else can understand. That is a beginning to end process which means, it is real and authentic!

So, you didn't expect Dreams to be in the Practices section did you?  Well, there are and there is a good reason. Dreams are very important and are not delivered on a silver platter with clear vision and understanding.  Dreams are a thing that happens after you fall asleep and some time before you wake up, they can be a blurry mixture of symbols and images that don't make much sense. This is why we need to Practice!

Given time and patience you can recall your dreams frequently and make sense of them.  They generally all have meaning and its all about you!

Your body is a temple! Another quote I read somewhere was:-

"...you are a soul and you have a body..."

Whichever way you look at it, you have a vehicle that you call a body and it needs caring for, you should care for it.  Our bodies pick up ailments and injuries during our Journey, accidents, things that we have exposed ourselves to and similar to Karma, things that don't always belong to us.  It may be something that we have been presented with and need to find the solution to it.  It may be something that we need to stop doing, or something else that we need to start doing.

Like everything else, be aware of what you do to your body and listen to what it needs, hopefully there are some Practices that you could be doing to benefit it.  But also like everything else it can be difficult to get started or know where to start.  Afterall, if you are reading this then you are probably not leading the most average of lives or having the most average Journey.  We may not be on the right path by having the usual healthy diet and standard excercise - but hopefully we are.  We may need to seek some more holistic solutions from those with a wider and more open approach to physical bodily health in general and any scars that can be left behind from past experiences.

Tricky subject this one, the simple answer is to worship as you see fit.  Hopefully we all have enough empathy and understanding of the rest of the Universe by now to all each an every person to worship their own way and hopefully that includes those that do not wish to take part in this particular practice.

Let me just say that I'm not a particularly religious person and you will not find me in a place of worship often.  Although I respect religion I tend to feel that it is within us and therefore I focus on the places on the outside.  Historically I believe that religion was created in each part of the World to assist the people living in those locations and was able to provide them with exactly what they needed.  The World it is a different place right now and people have evolved.  Religion has also evolved but perhaps religion needs to evolve a little faster to accommodate the changes that are going on globally.  Religion brings many great values and beliefs and helps people to regulate their lives and provide discipline for their growth.  Unfortunately religion is quite a powerful tool and sometimes goes astray but hopefully with time everything will settle down.

The point here is that it can be a very important practice and therefore so find your own way with it as best you can.