Consistency is as important as any other element in good service.

Ritual is important in promoting a good sense of submission. Making a span of time each day to focus quietly on your submissive nature, accomplishments, and goals is important time. If you are just into the sensory experience, bondage, pain,sexual domination / stimulation and the like, it may not seem like there is much of value here. But there is.

So you know... how I approach training, In a full training or service mode I require a submissive to crawl to their bedside, chant a mantra of dedication, then meditate specifically on submission. Focus on the positive aspects of allowing yourself to serve and be lead.

Miss Abernathy also has some ideas about this so it isn't a technique or ritual unique to just My brand of training.

This excerpt from Training with Miss Abernathy: page 19

--------------

Chapter II Basic Training

Lesson 7. Obedience I: First steps towards Mindfulness
" If you were to ask one hundred submissives for a definition of "Obedience", ninety five of them would tell you that means doing as you are told or following orders. In the strict sense, they would be correct.

But what if you received the following order. "Tell me what you are feeling right now." Would you be able to answer correctly and accurately?

And what about situations in which no verbal command is issued? Perhaps you are faced with a difficult choice and the dominant is not present to guide you. How can you act in the spirit of obedience if the "letter of the law" is missing?

Exercise: After you finish reading the instructions for this exercise but without looking around you first, close your eyes. Now name three things that are in the room behind you, to your right and to your left and in front of you.

This exercise will have given you some insight into your skills of observation. The next time you are in an unfamiliar environment, try the exercise again Does being in a New place change your observations?

Now you will learn a technique to help you observe not only your physical surroundings but also yourself.

Activity: sit comfortably with your spine straight. You may choose to sit in a chair or cross legged on the floor as long as you can maintain the position for at least 20 minutes. Do not lie down, as this posture encourages drowsiness.
Now close your eyes and draw your attention to your breath. Observe how the breath enters your nostrils as you in hale and exits as you exhale. Focus your awareness on the point where the breath enters and exits. If thoughts or feelings surface -and they will- simply return your attention to the breath. Count ten full breaths.( in and out) when you are finished, slowly become aware of your surroundings. When you are ready, open your eyes.

The purpose of this meditation is to help you quiet your mind and to be able to observe the flow of thoughts that arise as you do so. The content of the thoughts is irrelevant What IS important is that the mind is in constant motion, and that it is very difficult to stop or control that motion. We also observe that as thoughts arise, so also do they pass.

Try this meditation every day for at least one week; you may choose to make it a regular part of your training. At first you may only be able to count a single breath before thoughts and feeling come crowding in. this is normal. If you persist- just letting thoughts pass by like boats on a stream- you will be able to distance yourself from your thoughts and your feelings. This distance will allow you the space to name and describe your thoughts and feeling without getting caught up in them.

In full service I require a daily writing that briefly covers four topics.

A. My Meditation last night.

B. What I have learned since yesterday about myself or D/s.

C. What I am pondering now..

D. A question for my Trainer/ Mentor/ Dominant/ or Master

You may send other correspondence to me besides this, but this is the minimum daily requirement and you are not required to write Saturday to Sunday. The entire meditation will require a minimum of 15- 20 each night just before you retire. Morning writings may take up to 30 minutes and should be posted reasonably early (you will be given a deadline time based on your time zone) but not written until after you have slept. So the entire ritual will require 45 minutes to an hour of each day. Is your submission that important to you. Do you wish to find value in this path? Can you make that commitment and keep to it?

I hope this exercise and these guidelines help you begin to discover how I work and I hope you find some value. It can be difficult to work with a student sometimes because I also require reading and writing assignments as part of submission. In my estimation, blood family, school/work, and health including emotional therapy, are the only things that supersede attention to the D/s lifestyle. Indeed as one progresses many of these elements become incorporated into your being and service and actually don't compete for time, because they are part of the total being, just as true submission is.

You will benefit from this exercise even if you do not elect or are not selected to serve myself or someone else.

I've written a lot. I'll give you time to digest and try the exercise. Keep in mind if I ask you to enter into this service...I want you to focus on the positive aspects of your submission as you relax and meditate. Places you felt best serving. Early recollections of doing well or helping others. Current feelings of service and accomplishment. A positive self inventory that melts into rest relaxation and letting go of all cares.

- Sir

Words of Encouragement from jewel 08/04
After many tries on meditation , some successful some not..i've learned one basic rule of thumb...no matter how silly or awkward you feel, just keep trying. Believe me, when it works that first time you will soar. Do not expect it to be easy each and every time. Each day you are faced with new thoughts and tasks, everything around us affects us in some way which in turn we bring to our meditations whether intentionally or inadvertantly. The best thing is just not to fight it...flow with it. Concentrate and it will come. Pick the best way for you as an individual to reach that peace point.(that's what i call it for when i find it i am at peace). For me i learned a mantra from Sir and it has given me the direction that i need. Your mantra must be your own in order for it to work. The process to "finding my mantra was amazing, it was personalized just for me. Find yours and make it your own, embrace it and let it go, just try, try and try again.

Best of luck,

I offer additional links at the bottom of this page.

jewel

Additional resources for meditation and spiritual centering.

Some folks entering this notion of meditation are bewildered by it. Meditation is a deeply personal experience. But there are many writings, styles and schools of thought on it. Here then are several other links and writings to assist.

Dzogchen Meditation

This meditation link originates at journeyalways and is presented here with out spelling errors or missing graphics. Thanks to
honestly-ari for discovering and contributing these resources

In the beginning, meditative awareness is like a small flame, which can easily be extinguished and needs to be protected and nurtured. Later, it is more like a huge bonfire, which consumes whatever falls into it....Then the more thoughts that arise, the more awareness blazes up, like adding logs to a bonfire! Emaho! Everything is food for naked enlightened awareness!  
- Dzogchen Master Jigme Lingpa
 
 
Emaho is the shortest Dzogchen teaching. It means wondrous, Amazing! Dzogchen masters always say it. The word expresses a tremendous sense of joy and wonder. Love of life in all its forms is a byproduct of spiritual development. Let's not forget that joy is an important ingredient in a meditation practice. The aspiration for enlightenment can be happily balanced with appreciation of just where we are.

     People often ask how Dzogchen differs from concentration or insight meditation. As we learn to meditate, we typically go through three distinct stages. The first stage of concentration meditation initially implies real effort as we learn to hold our attention on an object of meditation.
     In the second stage, we have trained the mind; we are able to hold a concentrated state for longer periods of time. Our directed attention stays wherever we place it.
     In the third and final stage, we have really mastered the art of focused attention. In this stage we are able to relax, yet we remain almost effortlessly concentrated and undistracted. The weighty gravity of our heightened awareness keeps us centered. Our attention remains naturally in place, like a calm and reflective clear lake when no winds or undercurrents move it.
     Concentration practice is extremely helpful as a foundation for the more advanced, deeper, broader, and more inclusive awareness and discriminating insight practices such as the advanced forms of Vipasssana, Zen, and Dzogchen. Concentration techniques help us to get where we are going.
     However, concentrated states of mind are put together, fabricated, built-up through intensive, continuous, one-pointed focusing practices. Whatever is put together inevitably falls apart. Like muscle tone, concentration disappears when it isn't used. However, the insight, wisdom, and understanding we can realize through meditation training does stay with us. This greater perspective becomes part of us.
 
A rushen Meditation
Discerning Differences
 
     Part of the unique preliminary practice for Dzogchen is called rushen. It includes analytical contemplation's that employ the rational powers of the mind; in these contemplation's we use the well-honed, focused mind like a sharp tool to penetrate further into reality. This special self-inquiry helps us recognize the essential nature of mind.
     The word rushen literally means " discerning the difference between" --traditional images are separating the wheat from the chaff or a kernel from its husk. We use the practice of rushen to distinguish between the dualism's that confront and confuse us; between samsara and nirvana, between bondage and freedom, between small mind and Big Mind, or Buddha-mind; between finite and conceptual mind and infinite awareness; between finite self and our true Buddha-nature.
     Now let's use the self-inquiry part of rushen practice. Let's penetrate further into heart and soul, and perceive the essential nature of mind. We can use investigative self-inquiry to unmask ourselves and deconstruct the illusory prison that ego built, thus gaining insight and the wisdom of awareness.
     Exploring the age-old question "Who am I?" is an open-ended inquiry that takes us beyond thoughts and mere concepts. This is one of the very best practice's to help you get to know your true nature, beyond your illusory conventional self. Recognizing our natural mind, Buddha-nature, helps us live freely in the present moment, without preconceptions about what we'll get out of it. Let's discern  the difference between the ego, which strategizes and manipulates, and the spontaneous natural heart-mind. The heart and mind are beautiful in their natural state. We can afford to leave them alone. The better we come to know and accept ourselves, the more at home and profoundly at peace we can be, wherever we are. Whoever we may be. 
   
Practice self-inquiry now by asking yourself:
     Who or what is experiencing my present experience? Is it my body? Do the eyes and ears hear? (Remember a corpse has eyes and ears, but it doesn't see and hear.) Where is the experiencer, the perceiver? Is it my head? my torso? my heart? Perhaps within the body and also all around it, like a nimbus, an astral body or a luminous sphere? 
     Mind is the knower. Consciousness animates the sense s., perceiving all that transpires through the gates of the senses. What is the essence or nature of this mind? Peer into the nature of your own mind in this very present moment. Know the knower. See the seer, and be free.
     Does the mind have a particular shape or form?  A color? A size or weight? Is it always the same or simply a stream of consciousness, a collection of various mind-moments and mental events--like the ever changing weather, dependent on fluctuating circumstances and conditions? Do I have one mine, several, or many? Is it separate from the mind of another being and of all others--or is it connected? Is it perhaps part of universal cosmic consciousness?
     In a moment of no thought, how is it, and what is it? When one dies, where does it go? Can you tell me? Can you say? Where do your thoughts come from? Where do they go when they pass on? Where does thinking stem from? Try to say something about this. The effort could be extremely revealing. Your could have a close encounter with yourself. Who is thinking, hearing, seeing, wondering?  Who am I? What am I? What is happening right now, this immediate instant?
     Turn the mind back upon itself with this laser like question:
Who is experiencing your experience right now? And then let go of thinking. See what comes up. Sense directly.
 
Dzogchen Five - Element
Meditation
 
     Dzogchen meditations often emphasize nature - the awesome mystery and splendor of it all. Mother Nature is like a great goddess. In the Diamond Skydancer Tantra, the Great Kakini says, "The whole universe is my body, all sentient beings my soul, my heart-mind." The salient principle in this meditation is merging into five elements of nature --water, earth, fire, air, and space. This helps us return to our natural, innate Buddha-mind.
      Let's meditate, let's contemplate; let's unify ourselves with these elements. The element of water with its cooling nature and natural flow is a good way to begin.
     We can practice this meditation by the ocean, a lake, a river, or a pond. We can even p practice this meditation while washing the dishes. The sound of water could be the tranquil lapping of waves against a dock, the dripping of a faucet in a kitchen sink, the melodic flowing  of the water in an aquarium, a waterfall, or the thundering surf. The vision of water may range from a shimmering puddle to the Pacific Ocean. Water is water. The natural element is the same.
     Merging and dissolving the natural elements helps us to go beyond ourselves. We enter into the dimension of that element, unifying ourselves and the universe. In this way we transcend our separate selves and realize our primordial nature.
 
     Listen to the "white sound" of water. Enter into the contemplative space, the flow, the reflectiveness of water. Concentrate on the sound of water. Let it wash everything else away. Just focus on listening to the sound. Dzogchen meditation calls for the senses to be left in their natural state. And the state is Natural Great Perfection, Dzogchen. Let the sound of the water wash over you, wash through you. Leave your senses open, sensitive, and receptive. Enter the resonant spiritual dimension of pure sound.
     Open your eyes. Look at the water. Let all thoughts fall into the water and dissolve into the lake of your mind, like snowflakes settling and dissolving in the ocean. All waves of thought and feeling, and emotion and energy, gradually slow down and dissolve, like gentle ripples in a stream or in the placid sea of natural awareness. The ocean's waves come and go; watch them until you forget yourself and become one with the waves.

     Contemplating the waves - just listening - let everything else be washed away. Enter into non-dual dimension of just being. Be that sound, flow with the water. Relax into the natural state of the water element as if worshipping the spirit of nature or the deity of water. All of the elements are like embodied deities. Attend to them. Rest in their shrines. Be one with them. Enter into that sacred dimension right now.

The following two meditations are from a link which originates at fortune city and is presented without spelling errors or pop-ups. Thanks to honestly -ari for discovering and contributing these resources

Sky-Gazing Meditation

Close your eyes.

Still your hands.

Have a seat.

Take a deep breath, and let it out.

And another.

Relax Let go.

Drop everything.

Rest Naturally, and at ease.  
    

Just for a moment, let everything pass by like waves in the sea,

like clouds in the infinite sky.
    

Simply observe.

Be still.

And know. Everything is right here.
    

Let it be.
    

Let go and let bed.
    

At ease,

Nothing more to do.

Nothing to figure out, understand or achieve.
    

Simply present

Natural.

At home and at ease.

Know yourself.

See things just as they are in the present moment.
Breathe in and out.

Deeply and slowly.

Letting it in, letting it out.

Letting go a little more with each breath.
Let everything quiet down naturally, by itself.
Let the body settle naturally in its own place, in its own time.
Let the mind settle naturally, in its own way, in its own time.
Let everything go naturally for a few moments.
Moment by moment, one moment at a time.
Breathe. Smile. Be Aware
Breathe. Smile. Be Aware
Breathe. Smile. Be Aware
Now
Open your eyes
Raise your gaze.
Elevate the scope of the 360-degree sphere of total awareness.
Look at the sky.
Gaze evenly into space, with a soft focus.
(No eye strain necessary.)
Space, like mind, has no beginning and now end.
No inside and no outside. No actual form, no color, no size, no shape.
Mingle the gaze with space; merge mind with infinite, empty space.
Dissolve into space - spacious awareness.
Cast the breath into space, following the out-breath--
out, out, out, out.

Allow all thoughts, feelings, sensations, and emotions to come and go freely, casting everything off into vast space.

Gaze freely in vast space, into the open sky, in the crystal  clear sphere of pristine awareness.
And let go, let go, let go.
Breath out.    

Breathe the sky in and out, and breathe and dissolve into the sky with your out-breath.

Follow the out-breath --out, out, out.
Breathe out.
Open up.
Unfurl your infinite Buddha-mind.
Let it all go.
Let be.
Drop everything, past and future.
Drop off body and mind.
Mingle with the sky and slowly
dissolve totally
into the spacious
luminous
joy of meditation.
 
 
After this meditation sit and enjoy the infinite luminous emptiness.

Candle - Flame
Concentration/Visualization
Meditation

This candle flame meditation helps us look beyond the separation between inside and outside. While doing it we see how easy it is to retain the image of the candle flame long after it has been snuffed out. It prepares us for the other, more detailed, creative imagination and visualization practices, as well as for the entering into the clear light as we fall asleep each night.
 
 
Light a candle.
Turn off the lights and sit down one or two feet away.
Stare at the candle flame for several minutes;
just watch the flame.
When the mind waders and is carried away by thought, notice
that distraction and gently bring it back to totally paying
attention to the flame.
Watch the flame.
See the flame
See fire burn.
Watch the flame;
go into the flame.
Become the flame.
Suddenly, snuff or blow out the candle.
And close your eyes.
Watch the afterimage of the flame
forming o the inside your eyelids.
Watch the flame.
See the flame.
Go into the flame.
Be flame.
Let go
and dissolve
into the clear light within
the natural mind --
and just like that
without further effort

meditate.

Links from jewel 8.04

Here are some links i found.
1. http://www.exaltedliving.com/meditation.htm
this one was interesting because it showed active mediations..and since i have a hard time sitting still i thought perhaps this one was worth looking at.

2. http://www.learningmeditation.com/room.htm
i liked this one cause i am really into musics and sounds...maybe focusing on a particular tone would help?

3. http://www.pilgrimsmindbodyspirit.co.uk/meditationsanctuary.htm
liked this site cause it had a lot of information

4. http://www.pioneerthinking.com/simplemeditation.html
i like the "Master Plan"