When taking certain programs at the Monroe Institute, such as Lifeline and Exploration 27, you will get to participate in a very exciting exercise where you create a “special place” in Focus 27. This place can be anything you want it to be, and more. The only limitation is your own imagination. You can visualize a futuristic environment, an ancient palace, a wonderous space of water-filled canals, or even a simple cottage off in the woods. It’s not really about how it looks, but rather, how it makes you feel. In fact, some of us are not visualizers when it comes to meditation, so your special place may not easily come to you as a visualization at all. Instead, it could just be a comfortable feeling.

Regardless of how you experience it, your special place is there for you to feel safe. It’s a nonphysical location in Focus 27 where your energy can go to prior to any of the exercises you will be doing in your programs. It’s a state of being, a feeling, and more importantly, a way to refresh your energies in a happy, safe space filled completely with your energy. The more I further my adventures into my own consciousness and in my meditation exercises, the more I realize the importance of this special place.

The only limitation is your own imagination. You can visualize a futuristic environment, an ancient palace, a wondrous space of water-filled canals, or even a simple cottage off in the woods.

When meditating, or practicing any form of consciousness exploration, feeling completely comfortable and safe is top priority. Cultivate that feeling of excitement and wanderlust as you prepare for each exercise, and there’s no better place to do that than in a metaphysical representation of your happiest place. This then becomes a place for you to go inside yourself, a refreshing center of your own energies, where you can fully relax, get completely comfortable, feel fully safe, and wash yourself in waves of your own distinct energy to prepare for whatever exercise you are heading into. It’s optimal to start these meditations from a place of happiness and in a good state of mind. If you begin meditating while in a negative space, you may be prone toward a bad experience and possibly even attract negativity to yourself. By going to your personal sanctuary, you are helping to ensure that you are starting your meditation out on the right foot.

This practice also helps to ground you and bring you to a place of complete safety and comfort no matter where you are. While I travel, I meditate in a plethora of different and unique places. Not all of these places make me feel as safe and cozy as my own home does, so certain meditation exercises have the potential for failure from the beginning just because I can’t get completely comfortable. But luckily, I can access my special place from absolutely anywhere. It’s a great way to get myself comfortable and fully present for my exercises before officially beginning. It can help me to drop my walls. It’s a way to feel at home no matter where I am.

Cultivate that feeling of excitement and wanderlust as you prepare for each exercise, and there’s no better place to do that than in a metaphysical representation of your happiest place.

In the same vein, my special place can put me in a better mood regardless of where I am or what type of day I’m having. In fact, if I’m having a bad day, I find that meditating and spending time in my special place can reverse it and make my day better. Even if I just sit in silence and visualize my special place, I wind up in a better mood.

So, as you progress with your Monroe Institute studies and your journeys into your own consciousness, I encourage you to create your special place, visit it often, and discover all the ways it can benefit you both in your meditation journey as well as in your daily life.

For me, my special place has become a safe haven for me no matter where my travels take me. It’s a way to prepare for my meditation exercises and also a way to refresh my energies and boost my mood when I’m not feeling my best. My special place has gotten me through many things, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.