The goal of traditional meditation is to quiet the analytical mind and enter a state of receptivity and balance. As we learn to relax into this stillness, our heart opens and we reconnect with the essence of our being.

To help us embrace mystifying messages that flow through our own inner wisdom and the divine mystery, the following exercises activate four of our seven chakras — the Solar Plexus, the Heart, the Throat, and the Third Eye.

In the first three exercises, you will place your hand on your belly. Why the belly? According to the ancient chakra system, the belly is where the solar plexus/navel center is located. This center relates to the rational mind. By placing your right hand on the belly and your left hand on a specific energy center, you create an avenue that links these centers in the body with the rational mind. By doing this, the perception associated with that energy center flows into the rational mind. There, the mind expands that perception and releases any restricted thinking.

Before you begin each meditation, take a deep breath. As you exhale, see yourself releasing the cares and concerns of your day. Now take a second deep breath. This time as you exhale, see this breath carrying away anything left hanging on. On your third and last deep breath, inhale deeply, and as you exhale, bring yourself and all of your energy into the moment.

Connecting Your Heart and Mind

The heart chakra is associated with emotional wisdom.

• Place your left hand on your heart, then place your right hand on your belly.
• Inhale deeply and slowly and then exhale that breath fully and slowly.
• In your mind’s eye, watch your breath flowing easily from your heart to your belly and back again and again.
• As you breathe, notice the rhythm of your breath connecting your heart and mind.
• Continue breathing this way until the energy feels complete.

Integrating Your Left Brain and Right Brain

The throat chakra is associated with abstract and conceptual wisdom.

• Place your left hand on your throat and your right hand on your belly.
• Inhale deeply and slowly and then exhale that breath fully and slowly.
• In your mind’s eye, watch your breath flowing easily from your throat to your belly and back again and again.
• As you breathe in and out, notice the rhythm of your breath connecting your abstract mind and your rational mind.
• Continue breathing this way until the energy feels complete.

Activating Your Intuition

The forehead (third eye) is associated with intuition.

• Place your left hand on your forehead (your third eye), then place your right hand on your belly.
• Inhale deeply and slowly and then exhale that breath fully and slowly.
• In your mind’s eye, watch your breath flowing easily from your third eye to your belly and back again and again.
• As you breathe, notice the rhythm of your breath as it opens your third eye.
• Continue breathing this way until the energy feels complete.

The next meditation helps us tune in to the element of earth.

Opening and Connecting to Mother Earth

Lie on your belly on a soft spot on the ground and place a small pillow under your head. Turn your head to the side if you like. Relax completely into the support of the earth, allowing as much of your body to be in contact with the earth as possible.

When your body is comfortable and cozied up to the earth, focus on your breath. Inhale long, deep breaths, and then exhale slowly. As you breathe in, imagine that you are drawing the earth’s energy into your body. Bring this energy into each part of your body. Remember the diagram of the seven chakra centers and let the energy of the earth bathe and fill each one. Or simply allow the earth energy to flow to each part of your body. Trust your body wisdom to direct the energy flow where it’s needed.

As you allow the natural life force of the earth to flow into you, meditate on qualities that you seek in your life, such as stability, peace, wholeness, calmness, and centeredness. Feel these qualities become a part of you and absorb them into your being.

Continue to lie still until your connection with the energy feels complete, and you feel like sitting up. Before you do, you may want to give Mother Earth a hug and express your gratitude to her for always supporting you and sharing her energy with you.

©2013 by Ann Bolinger-McQuade.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, a member of
Penguin Group (USA).  www.us.PenguinGroup.com.

This article was excerpted with permission from the book:

Everyday Oracles: Decoding the Divine Messages That Are All Around Us
by Ann Bolinger-McQuade.

It could be a cloud in the shape of a loved one's face or an extremely relevant song playing on the radio at the exact time of a friend's death -- if we allow ourselves to stop, look, and listen, we can identify what spiritual teacher Ann Bolinger-McQuade calls personal oracles. And when we tune into these subtle messages from Spirit, we will discover guidance for navigating life's most trying situations. In addition to illuminating oracles through examples, the author offers the reader practical instructions for identifying and decoding the divine messages in their own lives.

Click here for more info and/or to order this book.

About the Author

Ann Bolinger-McQuade has always sensed the world as alive, nurturing, and filled with personal oracles -- concepts deeply seeded in her Native American ancestry. Before becoming a full-time writer in 1999, then a monthly columnist, regular radio show guest, lecturer, and workshop facilitator, she worked in advertising and sales, writing for a trade publication in the fashion industry and later owning a small business in California. Ann has been part of the spiritual communities of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico for the past three decades. Before his death in 2009, Native American Elder Richard Deertrack of the Taos Pueblo honored Ann in a sacred ceremony. He supported her vision to expand the consciousness of an interconnected universe through the awareness of personal oracles. Visit her website at http://www.oraclesinthesky.com