Take a slow and gentle breath. Allow yourself to relax. Release any tension in your muscles. Continue to breathe slowly. Concentrate on your breath so that your thoughts clear, allowing your mind to become still.Take another slow and gentle breath and as you release the breath, visualize drawing a line around your entire body beginning at the top of your head. Continue with the slow breathing relaxing deeper and deeper. Focus on delineating the outline of your body. Direct your thoughts completely outlining the body.Visualize yourself standing in front of a familiar casino. If you have never been to a casino, imagine a casino from a picture or a movie. Take a slow and gentle breath, going deeper and deeper. As you stand in front of the casino, become aware of all that is going on around you. With your next breath, expand yourself slightly in all directions. Doing so, expands the energy field around your body. Continue to gently push out with your energy field until it has doubled in size.Now, become aware of the people you have imagined around you. Push out with your feelings. Touch into the feelings of people around you. What can you know about them? Touch your thoughts into their emotions and personalities. Take another slow and gently breath, going deeper and deeper.

Now, begin walking towards the entrance of the casino. Walk through the entrance and step into the energy of the casino. Become intensely aware of the shift in energy. In your heightened sense of awareness, silently tell yourself to notice all things. Notice the elegance. Tune your senses to the sounds, lights, colors, people, and commotion. Take your awareness inward, notice how you feel in this environment. Stand there for a moment. Take another breath, going deeper and deeper.

Now, begin to visualize walking slowly. First, move towards the many rows of slot machines. Take your time to perceive the energy, as you walk slowly past the players at the machines. Pushing out with your energy, silently ask, “What are the player’s emotions? What are they feeling?” Touch into their being with your feelings. What information comes back to you as you a perceive their feelings?

Now, take yourself over to the roulette tables. Observe the slowly spinning wheel. Notice the direction it is turning. Look at the numbers on the layout and the players making bets. What feelings do you experience here at the roulette table?

Now, your attention is drawn to the roar of players celebrating at the Craps tables. Leave the roulette tables, slowly moving toward the sounds of people clapping and cheering at the Dice tables. As you approach the craps tables, push out with your feelings and imagine throwing a net over the craps players. What do you feel? Slowly, walk around the dice tables. What can you know about the players in this game? Look at players and feel their energy. (Pause)

Notice the chips in the table rails. Are the players winning or losing? What are the feelings that you experience, watching the? Notice how you are influenced by their feelings. Pushing outward with your energy, ask to be guided to the winning table. Walk over to it. What do you see? Most important, how does it feel? Stand there for a moment taking in all of the information.

Now, find your way over to the Blackjack tables. On your way, you pass the Baccarat room. Notice the personnel dressed in black tie. Notice how the players are dressed. Notice the energy and notice the stillness of the Baccarat room. Put your awareness into the Baccarat room for a moment. How does it cause you to feel?

Continue on to the Blackjack tables. Bring your awareness to the blackjack tables, the dealers, and the players. Notice that some tables have many players, some have fewer players, and some tables are empty. Slowly walk around the blackjack pit, observing each table. Observe all things, sights and sounds. Most of all, ask your heightened sense of awareness to be open to all things. Look at the dealer. Does the dealer feel friendly, generous and detached from the chips? Notice how the cards are dealt to the players. Now, look at the players. Look at their chips and their bets. How do they handle their play? What are the players experiencing? Become aware of yourself. Notice your composure and any sense of confidence within your feelings.

If you were to sit down to play, which table would you choose? Which seat would you choose? Slowly walk over to your table and stand behind your chosen seat.

Now, notice how standing there feels. Silently ask, “Is this my table? Is this my seat?” What answers comes back to you? Is it yes, no, or maybe? (Pause here for a few moments in meditation.)

Use a few slow, deep breaths as you ask your awareness to return to the present time. Slowly bring yourself back from meditation. Begin with a few deep breaths, slowly in and out. Doing so, allows your awareness to return to the present time. Slowly bring yourself back to the feeling of your body touching the chair or floor. Feel where you clothes touch your body. Allow yourself a few minutes to bring your awareness back to the room and to your body, before attempting to stand and move about.

Copyright © 2015 Michael Vernon – Playing 4 Keeps®

Use this meditation before a playing session. The purpose is to prepare you with heightened awareness, sensing all things. As you develop the exercise, it becomes more automatic. By that I mean to say, you train yourself to always be switch on for “Tell me everything I need to know about this situation”. You become comfortable with the experience of asking for information ahead of time. You hold an expectation of receiving information meaningful to your needs. You operate as though your “radar” is always on, gathering data. This involves your perception and translating feelings to describe present conditions. Reading the energy.

Back To Meditations