The State of Grace may be a useful starting point for people having trouble settling into Mindfulness, or meditation.

Inspiritive's Chris Collingwood introduced me to this technique as part of his Circle of Excellence Resource Anchor exercise.

Chris believes that the state of having your self talk quiet, your peripheral vision open, and feeling that your center of gravity is low in your body is a a very special feeling. Hence the term 'State of Grace'.

Peripheral Vision Open.

Much of the time we are focused directly on what we're looking at, through our foveal vision. The theory goes that the focusing brings our conscious minds strongly into play, engaging our thought processes that do things like name the objects we're seeing.

When we deliberately open our peripheral vision we open ourselves to the greater world, and allow our attention to expand into our whole field of sight.

The technique is to open your eyes a little wider than usual, looking straight ahead. Spread your arms out on both sides and gently wriggle your fingers, so that you can just see them at the edge of your vision. Remember the feeling you get.

It may also be worth remembering that many experienced meditators practise with their eyes half closed, looking at a spot on the floor maybe a meter out in front of them. This may allow them to have their peripheral vision open while not being distracted.

Lowering Your Center of Gravity.

Imagine a line running down your center from your head to your feet. Think about where the central axis of your body is, and put the imaginary line there. You might like to think about the way your body arranges itself around that line. Now consider where you place your attention on your center of gravity.

If it's high in your body, you might like to think about the effect it has, as you sway slightly backwards and forwards and then sideways.

You may notice that a high center of gravity means that your body can easily get off balance.

Try moving your sense of your center of gravity downwards. You may find that it can move down from your chest to your stomach, and then even into your hips. Notice the way you feel as you lower it.

The traditional mediative 'sit' on the floor, of course, provides you with an absolutely definitive low centre of gravity.

Self-Talk Quiet.

Many people (probably most of us) have little voices in their heads that comment on what's going on. Sometimes they can be positive, sometimes negative. As useful as the voices may try to be, they can be an annoying distraction when you're seeking a meditative state.

Traditional meditation uses a couple of familiar methods for quieting them. Mantras, of course, replace them with other words. The frequent sound of a gong also ties up our auditory channels, distracting us from inner voices. And the practice of holding the tip of the tongue against the front of the palate also works to stop them.

There are a couple of other methods that may be useful. Bringing those inner voices back to your own throat and mouth can give you power over them.

Or you may wish to catch a moment when your mind is quiet, and then hold the silence, and extend it. With practice you should be able to keep that mute button on.

Combining the peripheral vision open, low center of gravity and lack of self-talk is relatively easy using the Anchoring technique.