What factors have led you towards meditation?
Several things: for one, as an empath and an emotional person I want to not only understand those emotions but learn to control them better. I also have a somewhat stressful life: my college is very very intense, and I expect myself to do as well as I can. Sometimes this can be overwhelming. Cultivating a strong inner sense of calm is the best way I can work on both of these goals. Furthermore, Meditation is a good time to reflect on my own thoughts and ideas, and to better get to know the person I am becoming.
What hopes and expectations do you have?
I hope I will be able to meditate frequently, and that the re-conquering of my monkey mind wont be too arduous. I also hope I can accomplish the goals above. I feel meditating is a good way for me to more strongly reenter my relationship with the force.
Do you practice meditation currently, or have in the past? If so, how successful have you been?
I have in the past: eastern styles such as zazen, visualization meditation, prayer, yogic, etc. At one point I was fairly consistent with my meditations, but as life became more busy and stressful I was unable to maintain my practice. I think I can be more successful this time around.
Often when I used to meditate I would do complicated energy work, or intense visualizations. However I think what I need at this point is to cultivate something simple. This is not to say that I cannot, for example, try to reconstruct or re-visualize the house where I found chakra talismans, or attempt astral projection as some point. I would just like to have a constant simple meditation in my life, so every day I have a few minutes to reflect. I think thats really what I need right now. I’m looking forward to it. 
Much love,
Kai-An
And, do a series of deep breaths and body ‘shiver’ to relax before going into meditation. After a bit, this ‘habit’ is a signal to your body and brain that you are trying to ‘get into that state’ again. Then, all you have to do is take a series of breaths and … your body / mind automatically shifts to a more calm mode in ‘preparation’. Something which can help during classes, etc.
I am a big advocate of guided imagery during meditation since most can ‘do’ that much easier then ‘no mind’. Plus, creating a personal ‘safe space’ or meditative ‘home’ is a good tool to help reinforce the meditation and establishing a ‘place’ where you can always go to meet with advisors, etc.
Yeah definitely. I like visualization, but what I find most powerful is a mindfulness meditation. Just sitting and being aware of my surroundings, both or either internal or external. narrowing my focus is a very grounding thing for me.
Much love,
Kai-An