Maestro Reiki

A tremendous variety of meditation instruction methods exist. There are many different schools of meditation in both the East and the West. You can climb to the heights of the Himalayas and find great meditation instructors. You may descend to the floor of the lowest desert and find them there, as well. The practice of meditation certainly predates recorded history, and endures vigorously into our own century.

The American Meditation Institute for Yoga Science and Philosophy, located in Averill Park, New York, is a well-recommended school in the United States. It takes a holistic approach to wellness, combining the finest in Himalayan wisdom from centuries past with modern Western science. Among the courses it offers include those on the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Ayurveda, the chakra system, Yoga Nidra and Advaita Vedanta. All are accepted and highly respected sources of wisdom on the art of meditation.

Another renowned venue for meditation instruction are the Shambhala Centers. There are actually more than 170 of these centers and groups around the world, and thousands of individual members. The Shambhala Centers boast a wide variety of "contemplative arts and disciplines." They also regularly bring in visiting instructors from different contemplative traditions. Shambhala has several rural "practice centers" – in Colorado, Vermont, upstate New York, Nova Scotia and France – where they provide week- and month-long retreats and courses, along with weekend programs.

Perhaps the most important and influential publication, in the United States, with regard to meditation practices is Tricycle. It is an all-purpose Buddhist magazine, published both in print form and online. Publishing four times a year in print and updating its website content on a daily basis, the magazine keeps American Buddhists up-to-date on relevant issues and current events. A wealth of information is available, through Tricycle, on schools and home study programs that teach meditation techniques. Indeed, the magazine offers so much information that for many who meditate, even those who are not Buddhists, it serves as a virtual clearinghouse for instruction opportunities.

Expert instruction may also be obtained through any of the monasteries that abound not only throughout Asia and Europe but even in the United States. Located in the Catskill Mountains, Zen Mountain Monastery is one of the most prominent. Even the facility’s training schedule is patterned after that traditionally found in the Zen Buddhist monasteries of China and Japan. Each year, it hosts two 90-day programs, called "ango," which provide a spiritual background. Monthly, they hold a week-long silent meditation retreat, giving students the chance to practice "zazen," or seated meditation, as well as offering face-to-face instructions with a teacher. The retreats are held outdoors in the summer months, while in the winter time is scheduled for solitary study and introspection.

Universities and community colleges also commonly offer courses in meditation. Some churches, particularly Roman Catholic parishes or retreat centers, may offer such training as well. An instructor versed in the Western tradition of meditation may be especially valuable to those interested in preserving it as an alternative, or even a complement, to those traditions developed in the East.

At the time of this writing, Rachel has been meditating for about a year. In that time, she’s seen many astounding near-instant results. She’s found her way to her purpose (which she believes has to do with helping people discover their spirituality), has had greater relationships, released weight, and is overall a LOT happier.

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