Candle Meditation

I’m relatively new to meditation but it’s something that everyone seems to recommend consistently for every ailment in the same way that the benefits of apples, water and a good night’s sleep will never go out of fashion.

Meditation is a relatively simple process in theory. You sit or lie in a quiet position and simply let thoughts pass in and out of your mind without analysing or obsessing. In this way, you practice mindfulness. You attempt to quiet and steady the mind.

I’ve been practising a variation of a meditation/self-hypnosis supposedly used to banish fear, but I think it could equally be used to obtain focus, ease you to sleep or create a feel or mood of power, or even just a deeper connection with the elements and the soul. Fire can produce a powerful atmosphere that can totally transform and transcend regular surroundings. If you’ve ever entered a temple or place of worship, the use of candles really can elevate a basic setting to a spiritual and instinctual place. It can invoke passion, anger, lust or leadership, but when it flickers with a steady flame, it can be a source of great comfort and strength.

The original meditation is very simple.

You sit or lie somewhere quiet and light a candle (scented or unscented is a matter of preference).

Focus on the candle for anywhere between 20-30 minutes.

During this time, simply concentrate on the candle and allow your thoughts to come and go. The idea of concentrating sharpens focus and serves as a distraction. If you recall the feeling of sitting around a camp fire or by your fire place on a cold day, you’ll know there’s something soothing and calming about the pulse of a steady fire flaring nearby. This distraction enables fear to melt (or squirm) away, even if temporarily. It’s a great way to alleviate stress and anxiety and to put your trust back into all things elemental.

The exercise also encourages you, once you’ve practiced focusing for 20-30 minutes, to use this time to focus on the issue or problem causing you fear and think of ways to resolve/ease the feeling that arises. An answer, solution, relief or acceptance may come to you during these moments.

I find it difficult to sit in complete silence so I’ve created a playlist which is essentially a mixture of Native American and Middle Eastern music (with a few curve balls thrown in).

None of the songs include singing, and those that do are chanted/sung in a foreign language, meaning that I don’t focus on the words. Instead I focus on the beat and swell of the music, music that represents and solidifies what I want to feel.

I let the playlist run and stare at the flame.

I feel a strong sense of comfort, calm and the greatest paradox of all, peaceful and powerful.

During this time, I simply sit and stare at the flame, I let myself think thoughts I want to purge myself of and mentally place them into the flame. I then admire the flame. In focusing on it, I see all of its details. I start to refine and focus my thoughts repeating affirmations, ideas, desires that I want to manifest in my life and in myself. Finally, I lose all thoughts altogether and instead I just feel….alive, real, okay…

As I said, this meditation/hypnosis combined with the right music really calms the soul.

It can ease fears…

Sooth you to sleep…

Placate anxiety…

Inspire creativity…

Wake you up…

Get you in touch with fire and all traits associated with it…

Help you feel powerful…

Help you focus…

Inspire ambition/inspiration/action…

Purge you of toxic thoughts/feelings

I urge you to try it out and see what feelings arise and melt away….

Happy meditating!

Original meditation/hypnosis taken from 'The Answer' by Glenn Harrold

The Answer - Glenn Harrold

I’m a big lover of self-help books. It’s not that I perceive myself as a particularly damaged individual in desperate need of guidance and coaching, but I am most definitely an over thinker, and I find such books very calming and ‘stilling’. I enjoy such a book at particularly perilous times; before my first stint to Thailand I got myself straight to Gatwick’s WHSmiths and loaded myself up with ‘feel good’ books or books about individuals triumphing over adversity, anything to make myself feel braver and more competent by osmosis. This time, wandering around Heathrow, I picked up a little book called ‘The Answer’ by Glenn Harrold. The inspiring motif intricately written on the cover urges readers to ‘supercharge the Law of Attraction and find the secret to true happiness’. The back conveniently reminds us ‘the secret to happiness is within you, unlock the secret with the answer’.

Now there’s something tantalizing about a book called ‘The Answer’, especially for someone as curious and into taboo as me. First of all, what’s the question?  Clever marketing strategy there. They know that people like me won’t be able to resist. The aesthetic of the book is also rather desirable. It’s a small book with gold lettering on a red backdrop; red – the colour of lust, anger, passion, volatility –it could almost be a miniature bible. What is it promising? The meaning of life? The way to happiness?

The ‘answer’ if I’m honest is ever so slightly disappointing.

Firstly, the good points.

It’s a short, concise book which means no lengthy reading, no exaggerated, tongue-twisting spiralling sentences that could be boiled down to a meagre five word sentence and no trawling through for specks of nourishing heart and soul feeding advice. The booklet is divided into sections focusing on a different ‘theme’; love, fear, career, wealth etc. and providing to the point advice on how to maximise your positive potential in these areas by harnessing the power of the law of attraction and combining this with thoughtful meditation and hypnosis. The book then provides examples of meditations and exercises that enhance the message of each chapter, enabling the reader to utilise their desires in this area.

It encourages you to think about what you want in each area of your life and then attempt to think/feel it into existence. Of course thinking and feeling alone do not cause miracles to materialise out of thin air, but they are a starting point. Rarely do you hear of positive things happening to negative people. Usually it’s because they wouldn’t recognise a positive occurrence if it smacked into them, but also it’s because negative people rarely attract positive things, and if they do, not consistently. In saying this, a rapist won the lottery once so….

I like the simple, straightforward advice. ‘What do you want? Think positive. Feel positive. Complete this exercise. Meditate’. It’s all about getting you into a good head and heart space so that you can encourage good things into your life and allow your desires to manifest. It also encourages and inspires action and doing.

I definitely agree that it’s true that usually when things aren’t happening for us, it’s because some part of us is resisting it, whether through fear, anxiety or security. This negativity can appear in many guises, from procrastination to inaction to apathy. When we think positively and move
freely, there is something contagious and infectious about this. 9 times out of 10, people will be encouraged, inspired and motivated by your confidence and competency and things will start to happen in some way. When we’re feeling negative and insecure we tend to shy away from opportunities, challenges and experiences that would promote our growth and materialise the things we want. If you aren’t feeling pretty, you won’t want to go on that date, if you don’t think you know what you’re talking about, you’ll mess up the interview if you show up at all.

I’ve read various books that revolve around this subject matter: the power of our thoughts, the importance of understanding them and utilizing positive thinking and hypnosis or meditation to increase our potential and contentment.

Read this book if:

• You like a short, concise, to the point guide


• You’re a ‘doer’ prepared to complete exercises


• You are prepared to combine the law of attraction with hypnosis exercises


• You’re on the move and need to tuck a little positive self-help away


• You’re looking forward to the candle exercise for relieving fear. This worked powerfully for me

Leave this book if:

• You’d rather a more extensive read about the law of attraction and hypnosis


• You don't want to use meditation/hypnosis


• You're looking for an answer rather than an action plan