What Is Meditation?

Meditation is an ancient discipline that involves contemplation while focusing your mind on a thought or object.  The practice of meditation can enable you to examine and understanding the events of your life with a more clear perspective.

Meditative practices are a part of many religious traditions including Buddhism, Islamic Sufi Way, Judaism, Christian mysticism and many Paths of Yoga. 

How to Get Started

You can start learning to meditate on your own.  There are a variety of books, CD’s, DVD’s and free online resources to get you started.  Later you may want to join a group or organization.  Many cities now have organized groups in fitness centers and health organizations that offer classes.

Is Meditation A Religious Practice?

While many faiths and religions practice meditation, you do not have to be religious or join a particular religion to meditate.  Meditation is simply a tool that helps you to focus your attention and intentions.

Is Meditation Like Being In A Trance?

No.  The meditative state has nothing in common with being in a trance. 

How Can I Benefit From Meditating?

Through meditation, you will work to develop a deeper understanding of who you are or who you may become.   You will develop a new awareness, noticing fully every event in your life as it happens.  This expansion of awareness in the heart and mind will make your life richer and more fulfilled. 

Meditation promotes a state of physical relaxation and calmness.  This is good for your overall health including your heart/blood pressure, breathing, posture and energy.

You can find peace of mind by learning to detach from troubling thoughts and you will find that your ability to concentrate on the task at hand will improve.

How Can I Get Started?

It can be very beneficial to start by assessing where you are today.  Reflect honestly on the life you have created.  Is your life everything you want it to be?  Do you take care of yourself physically?  Do you work too hard or react badly to stress?  What are your priorities.. career?  family?  health and wealth?  Decide what parts of your life truly serve you and what does not.  It may be time to “clean house” and let go of some of your old habits and ways that are no longer working in your best interest.

Decide where you want to go in life.   A lot of people get stuck at this point because they confuse the idea of mapping out a destination to knowing all the steps to get there.  The idea is to get moving in the right direction, and if you don’t know where you’re going, that makes the journey even harder.  If you know that you want a more fulfilling career, a closer relationship with your family and friends, and more time to explore your hobbies, that’s good enough for now.  The steps to get there will become clearer as you move forward.

Once you have spent time taking inventory of your life, you may feel ready to start learning how to meditate.   It’s now time to move forward and leave the past behind.  This is key.  Focusing on the past will not benefit your future.   Learning from past mistakes is good, but dwelling on the events of the mistake is fruitless.  Start fresh and make this a brand new day.

Keeping a journal can be extremely helpful as a record of your growth.  Keep notes of the meditations you try, report problems you encounter and summarize your experiences.  Try to capture the essence of each experience and any “truths” or realizations that come to you during your session.   It’s important to do this immediately after your meditation.  Much like dreams, meditation images fade quickly and can be lost.  Write them down while your memory is still fresh.

Create the Proper Environment

There is no “right” way or place to meditate.  I have a friend who meditates in his car before going in to the gym to work out.  The right place in which to meditate depends on your lifestyle and the space you have available.   A quiet place to which you can return regularly is ideal.  When you meditate in the same place and at the same time each day, it becomes much easier for your body and mind to move back to a meditative state.  The space should be pleasant, calm, and quiet, especially when you first get started.  As you become more experienced, you will find that you can meditate in just about any environment (even at a traffic light with honking horns and passing cars).

Make yourself comfortable.  If you choose to sit on the floor, use a pillow or a mat.  Do not feel that you must place yourself in some strange cross-legged position to meditate, but good posture is helpful.  Try to keep your shoulders back and your back upright.  Relax your hands in your lap.   Some people like to sit in a hard-backed chair to promote good posture and alertness.  Lying down or sitting in a soft chair will most likely put you to sleep in your relaxed state.

Breathe from the diaphragm.  To meditate, you will breathe consciously, creating a slow, deep, rhythmic breath cycle using your lungs, abdomen, and diaphragm.  Take long, deep breaths through your nose.  You will feel your abdomen rise.  As you breathe out, you will feel the steady fall of your abdomen.  Be aware of your breathing - inhale.. pause… exhale.  Many practices encourage breath counting.  This trains your mind to be observant of the breath and focused on the feelings in your body as you breathe in and out.

There are many methodologies that you can explore.  I have listed some resources below to help you get started.  With practice and persistence, you will be able to meditate and reap the many benefits of the process.

NOTE: While all of the listed books and websites below are great reads for any level, I have chosen them specifically for beginner-level students.

Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition

Mindfulness for Beginners

Getting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God Through Meditation (Book with CD)

THE MOST DIRECT MEANS TO ETERNAL BLISS

WEBSITES

Learning Meditation http://www.learningmeditation.com/

How To Meditate http://www.how-to-meditate.org/

The Worldwide Meditation Center http://www.meditationcenter.com/

The Meditation Station http://www.meditationsociety.com/