Meditation is no longer just something reserved for Buddhists and people who go away for long weekends on yoga retreats.
With scientifically proven benefits available for the body and mind, making time for daily meditation is something that all of us should be doing, no matter our backgrounds or the current goings-on in our lives.
If you want to develop a daily meditation practice that doesn’t require a lot of hard work to master and you want to also reflect on your life so that you can make improvements and be grateful for what you have, a dedicated practice like 6 Phase Meditation could be for you.
This is a special way of learning how to meditate that goes further than what most people know and makes it easy enough for anyone to master.
What is 6 Phase Meditation and what are the benefits?
6 Phase Meditation is a special type of meditation that helps you reflect on your life and it’s done over six steps that should be practiced each day for just 20 minutes. There are loads of benefits to learning this method including having a better understanding of how to meditate, increased feelings of gratitude, and more clarity and focus in your everyday life.
For those of us who have tried to meditate before and found our minds couldn’t stop wandering or we didn’t know what exactly we were meant to be doing, this is a great way to finally learn.
We’re going to look at what 6 Phase Meditation is all about to see if it’s the type of method you need in your life to finally acquire the benefits of meditation.
What Is 6 Phase Meditation?
6 Phase Meditation is a special method for learning to meditate that can be practiced every day for just 20 minutes, with the hopes that it will become second nature eventually.
Developed by Vishen Lakhiani who specializes in meditation and teaches it professionally, it follows six phases for you to work through in your practice, with all of the proven benefits that meditation offers.
This method is based on Vishen’s own experience with meditation and has been crafted over his 23 plus years of practice.
Every phase in the technique has been scientifically proven to improve your mental wellbeing with benefits like mindfulness, happiness, and peace of mind.
The 6 Phases Explained
Vishen Lakhiani delivers his 6 Phase Meditation Course on Mindvalley, but to get an idea of what it’s all about, we’re going to delve into the six phases.
Each meditation using this technique follows the six phases and you’ll spend some time on each one before moving on.
Before you can start any meditation, you need to take some time to calm yourself and settle into your surroundings.
You can do this by putting on some quiet music, white noise, or using just your breath as your sound, and finding somewhere comfortable to sit on the floor.
Starting from your scalp, move your way slowly down your body to your toes, relaxing each section as you go.
Phase 1: Connection
Understanding the sense of connection you have with yourself and those around you, whether it’s in the local community, your family, or globally, is the first part of this meditation and an important way to start any meditation.
One of the biggest blocks of spiritual growth has to do with this connection, and it can be achieved simply by looking inward and trying to focus your thoughts on it.
The point of this step is to get you back in tune with yourself and the world around you by feeling compassion and trying to reconnect.
Phase 2: Gratitude
Gratitude has always been an integral part of meditation and something that each of us should be striving to focus on each day.
Lakhiana recommends this step because science has shown the benefits of gratitude, like reduced rates of depression and having a kinder and more forgiving attitude.
During this part of the meditation, you’ll need to focus on three things you’re grateful for in your personal life, business life, and within yourself.
The goal here is to truly take time to be grateful for what we have currently, rather than always looking to the future to try and achieve something else or better our lives.
Phase 3: Forgiveness
In phase three of the meditation, you’ll want to focus on forgiveness.
By carrying around grudges, judgments, and harboring resentment on things that have happened in the past, we carry with us bad energy and find it hard to move on with our lives, so it’s essential to focus on forgiveness.
During this part, you’ll try to let go of the ill feelings you have against people who have wronged you and try to send them good feelings and thoughts instead.
It can take practice as it’s hard for many people to do, but the benefits of this phase can be some of the greatest.
Phase 4: Visualizing
This phase is all about visualizing the perfect future for yourself, and it’s one of the most enjoyable parts of the meditation.
By doing this, Vishen wants you to long for something better in your life, and this meditation is the way that you’re going to achieve.
You should be specific when visualizing your perfect future but focus only on the next three years.
You’ll want to include all of your senses to get the most out of it, so think about smells, sights, and sounds that you hope to hear.
Phase 5: Daily Intention
Many forms of meditation and spiritual practice use some sort of daily intention to help you set the mood for the day.
With 6 Phase Meditation, it’s no different, but you’ll focus on the day you’re in and how you’re going to make it amazing.
Vishen recommends completing this by visualizing yourself going to bed feeling happy and comfortable, drifting off into a deep sleep.
By not just saying that you’re going to have a good day but seeing it in your mind as well, it’s a lot more powerful.
Phase 6: Blessing
There’s no need to be a highly spiritual person for 6 Phase Meditiaotn to work, so the final blessing and phase doesn’t only relate if you believe in a God or other higher power.
The blessing is simply the way the meditation ends and asks for good luck through whatever you do with your day.
If you’re someone who isn’t necessarily religious, this higher power could just be you, and in wishing yourself good luck for the day you’re giving yourself a blessing.
You’ll feel supported and powerful going into the day and be protected in whatever you do.
How Does 6 Phase Meditation Work?
6 Phase Meditation is designed to make you focus on the importance of each of these steps and give you clear guidance for how your practice should go.
Rather than simply spending the time trying to practice gratitude or calm and clear your mind, you’re able to spend time on each of these phases and gain something new with every step.
To learn the complete technique, there are some great free resources available on Mindvalley that can help you listen to a guided meditation.
With regular practice, you’ll be able to perform the steps on your own and without the need for an audio track, and because it’s divided into six phases, there’s no need to feel bored anymore when you’re learning to meditate.
Related Questions
A daily meditation practice is the key to happiness for many people, but there are so many other benefits on offer than just feeling good.
If you’ve always wanted to start meditating but didn’t know where to begin, we’ve got the answers to some common questions that newcomers ask, so you can have more of the information you need.
How Does Meditation Work?
During meditation, the goal is to slow down your thoughts and focus on breathing, with the hopes that the mind will become calm and focused.
When following meditation practice, activity in the brain’s parietal lobe slows down, which means it reduces how much incoming information is making its way in so that you’re able to get the calm feeling it’s known for.
How Long Does Meditation Take to Work?
There’s no specific date for when you can start to feel the permanent effects of meditation but most people report a sense of calm and wellness after just their first experience with it.
After months of regular practice, you might notice other areas of your life improve, like a feeling of wellbeing or the ability to calm yourself down quickly when you’re feeling stressed, but there’s no set timeframe that everyone follows.
