How on Earth do I Meditate?

YOU CAN MEDITATE!

So often in this busy modern world, we are advised to meditate, but it's rare that we are told exactly how to do this! If we try to research meditation, we will be met by myriad techniques or people selling books, courses, self-help guides, and even physical meditation aids.

What do we need to buy? What do we need to do? Here is a helpful guide to just some of the methods you can use to attempt to achieve that desired inner peace...

1. The Art Of Zen

True meditation is a Buddhist practice and involves a complete emptying of the mind of all thoughts and emotions, just being. The problem with setting this as a goal is that Buddhist monks dedicate their lives to achieving this and still do not always succeed. We can be setting ourselves up for failure if we judge the success of our meditation session by how "empty" our mind is.

That doesn't mean that we shouldn't give it a try. The Buddhist who taught me this method of meditation used the breath as a means of focussing the thoughts of the mind. Try this.

Sit somewhere comfortable, but not too comfortable. The aim of this meditation is not to be so relaxed that you fall asleep; this is a wakeful state. Close your eyes and first notice how your body feels. Are there any aches or pains? Try to sit up straight. Now, turn your attention to the breath coming in and out of your nostrils. Feel how cool it is as you inhale it, and then a little warmer as it leaves your body. Set a timer to go off in five or ten minutes time (a gentle chime rather than a loud ringing!) and try to keep your attention on the tip of your nose and your breath. Your mind will inevitably wander, and when it does, just acknowledge that this has happened and gently bring your attention back to your nose. If it helps, when a thought pops into your head, try not to be swept away with it, but rather observe it coming in and passing through your mind and leaving again. You can agree with yourself to give it some time later, but not now. You can gradually increase the amount of time you spend in this state, and your ability to focus without distraction will improve with practice.

Why meditate in this way? Just for a while, you can have some respite from the ever-turning world of your mind. If you have troubles, this method can give you some temporary peace. People often find that their thoughts have more clarity for the rest of the day.

2. Guiding You Through

Another form of meditation is the guided meditation. There are many of these available online at no cost. Try some of them out to see which ones you most enjoy. You don't have to listen to someone else, however, to be guided. Try this.

As before, sit somewhere comfortable, or this time you can lie down if you prefer. Close your eyes and take a journey. Begin in the room where you physically are, then picture yourself leaving this room and travelling to somewhere outdoors. In front of you there is a path. As you begin to walk along this path, notice every detail, the flowers at the side of the path, the sounds of the birds. The path leads you to the edge of a forest. You begin to walk through the trees, stop to touch one of them as you pass and notice how its bark feels. What else can you see and hear? Eventually you come to a small clearing. Take some time to sit down here on the green grass. An animal comes to you, sits with you for a while. What do you notice? How do you feel? As you get up to leave, you notice an object on the grass. This is a gift for you, or a message. Bring this back with you as you leave the clearing, walk back past the trees that you touched, back along the path with the flowers, back to the room, and gradually when you are ready open your eyes.

This is obviously a shortened version of what can be a beautiful and elaborate journey. Allow your mind to take you anywhere it wants to go during this meditation, or visualisation. If people pop in to your journey, that's ok too! Perhaps they come with a message for you. Your journey is personal to you, and you can take yourself to this peaceful spot whenever you need an escape from the stresses of every day life.

This method is also a wonderful way of developing your psychic ability if you so wish. It can be a way for you to meet your spirit guides.

3. Right Here, Right Now

The buzzword of spiritual circles today is "mindfulness", but what does this mean? The Buddhist meditation method described above is a form of mindfulness, but there are perhaps easier ways to achieve this state. Being mindful, is about being truly present in this moment, not thinking about what has happened in the past, or worrying about what might happen in the future. In this moment, there is nothing wrong. Right now, you are safe, nothing can harm you, you do not have to make any decisions, you cannot undo what you have done, you cannot control what is yet to come.

So, how do we shut out everything but the now? Try this.

Find a reasonably quiet and peaceful spot to sit. Do not close your eyes. Allow your gaze to rest on one spot, and notice exactly what you see. If you are sitting on the grass, perhaps you are looking at the shape and texture of a blade of grass, how it goes from green to brown at the tip, how it goes from fat to thin. Perhaps a small bug will be walking across your blade of grass, struggling and then falling to the ground. Keep watching this as you also now notice what you can hear. Perhaps a bird singing, or the distant rumble of cars on a nearby road. Don't try to shut these sounds out, hear them, enjoy them. If there is an animal nearby, understand that you are hearing the same sounds as each other. What can you feel? How do your clothes feel on your skin? Can you feel a breeze in your hair, the sun on your face, an itchy fabric or a soft one on your skin? You do not have to spend a long time doing this, but the more you practise, the longer you will be able to spend just focussing on these things that are happening to you now, the longer you will have given your mind a rest from the regrets of the past and the fears of the future.

These are just three ways to get you started with meditation. Many people find it helps to attend a group and learn together, but for many it is a solitary practice. Remember, there are no right or wrong ways to find a little peace of mind.

As always, share your comments below. Let us know if you have other methods which you find helpful.

Nicky xx