Simple Relaxation
This is the single most important thing you will do in your quest for an effective connection with Spirit. It is also the most effective "self-help" tool at your disposal. If you decide not to begin or continue with your Spiritual development at this time, daily relaxation is still very beneficial to your general well being. Spirit will not work with you if you have not expressed a wish to do so.
If you are ready for Spiritual development and choose to miss out this step, not only will you make your development unnecessarily difficult, you will hinder it.
Very few people achieve total relaxation with ease but it is worth persevering and learning this art for it will bring many benefits:
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When you are relaxed it is much easier for spirit to draw closer to you and to work with you
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Your physical body will benefit from a break from the stress hormones
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Your mind will become calmer and your thinking will become clearer
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As time goes on, you will become generally more balanced and better able to cope with whatever happens in your life
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20 minutes of deep relaxation is worth approximately 2 hours of refreshing sleep but it should never used to replace sleep in order to add more hours to your day. This would adversely affect your health and would mean that Spirit would have to step back and stop working with you. Despite your free will, Spirit have responsibilities when working with you and one of these is not to help you to do yourself harm
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You will learn to meditate in a natural, unforced way
To achieve Simple Relaxation:
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Find somewhere quiet where you will not be disturbed and where you can either sit or lie comfortably with support for your head.
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If you have some, put on some relaxation music and make yourself comfortable. If you have chosen to do this to develop your connection, say in your head "please work with me today". This makes your intentions clear.
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Close your eyes and take in a deep breath then let it out slowly - when you think that you have got rid of it all, gently squeeze your tummy muscles by pulling your navel towards your spine to get rid of the rest.
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Follow this with 3 slow deep breaths in and out (it is not necessary to squeeze the tummy muscles for these) then breathe normally.
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Starting at your toes, gently stretch them out then allow them to relax.
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Next go to your calf muscles, gently flex them and allow them to relax
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Move to your thigh muscles and flex and relax in the same gentle manner
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Gently tighten and relax your tummy muscles and then the muscles in your chest
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Move to your fingers and gently stretch and relax
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Move to your forearms; gently flex the muscles and relax
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Now gently flex and relax the muscles in your upper arms
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Gently shrug your shoulders and relax
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Lastly, gently screw up your face then relax
All you need to do now is enjoy being where you are - your whole body will be in a state of relaxation. Allow thoughts to just flit through your mind without focusing on them. Remain like this for as long as you feel able. At first you may only be able to achieve 5 or 10 minutes but as you become more proficient you are likely to be able to achieve about 20 minutes each time.
Gently.
We have emphasized gently each time because this is very important - if you squeeze too hard, the muscles will not fully relax afterwards and you will be unable to achieve deep relaxation. This is a mistake that is very commonly made.
Do not waste time trying to empty your mind - no matter what you may have been told in the past, whilst you are in a human body this is not possible. Follow the advice contained in the last bullet point and you will find that your mind will calm and not interfere with your relaxation unless you are particularly worried or upset about something. If this should be the case, it will probably be better to wait until you are in a better frame of mind - possibly later in the day or even the following day. This is not failure on your part, merely part of living an earthly life!
Frequency.
How often should you do this? Daily will give you the best results but if this is not possible, aim to make it part of your routine as often as possible. See also Developing Your Connection
