Meditation Techniques for Mindfulness and Relaxation : หน้า 180/187

You may feel the soft touch of a bird's feather when it touches the surface of the water. Focus your mind at the center of the body with this feeling. Maintain the feeling of relaxation of your body and mind continuously, while you focus your mind at the center of the body in the middle of your abdomen. After you've found the starting point to focus your mind, softly imagine the meditation object within you, so that the mind can have something on which to focus, and so that your mind will not wander. You can imagine a diamond, a flawless diamond, of any size that you like. Let it be round as a clear pure crystal ball, and bright as the midday sun, clear and soothing as the moonlight on a full moon night. To imagine this object, you need to know the method. Slowly imagine the object, with ease. Relax. Keep it simple, as you might think of a football, a tennis ball, a ping pong ball, or anything that is familiar. Do not force your mind to think of the object to the point that it makes you feel tense. Do not use too much effort. Or else, you will stare at it; that is the wrong method. Gently imagine the object, and relax. It does not matter if it is not clear. Be satisfied with however clear it is. And maintain your mind calmly, let it stop and be still. Think of that diamond, which is round as a clear pure crystal ball, continuously. Do not let your mind wander. If you do think of something else, maintain your mind by reciting the mantra. Recite the mantra in your mind softly, as if the soft sound were coming from the center of a clear crystal ball, in the middle of your abdomen. Recite the mantra, "Samma Arahang, Samma Arahang, Samma Arahang", which means: purify your mind. So that you will be free from the suffering of life, or you can use any words, such as "clear and bright, clear and bright, clear and bright". Recite the mantra continuously, while at the same time thinking of the bright crystal ball, gently and comfortably. Focus your mind and be still at the center of pure brightness. Maintain your mind by imagining a bright object, and at the same time recite the mantra continuously, softly, comfortably, until your mind is still.