A few easy steps to meditate?!

Hello Rach :)

The easiest way to meditate is to simply bring the mind's awareness to the physical sensations of breathing. However, keeping continuous present moment awareness of that breath can be quite difficult, especially for a beginner. Therefore, one of the most important things a beginning meditator needs to do is establish a mind set that meditation is a training, that it takes lots of practice for one to get skillful. To begin, you must first establish a daily meditation routine and stick with it. Find a place that you will feel most comfortable and sit there at least once a day. It doesn't matter what position you sit in. You can sit on the floor or in a chair. Just make sure you are comfortable and you can keep your back straight. Now sit for as long as you possibly can. It takes time for both the body and mind to build endurance. Start with five or ten minuets and gradually increase the length of time as you get more comfortable. Just remember, meditating takes a lot of practice. One must first be an apprentice before they can become a master.

Meditation training can be thought of as a series of stages. The first stage is training the mind to become aware of the present moment. What do you think about most of the time? Chances are the mind is churning with thought about either the past or future. There needs to be something that grounds you to the present, to the moment happening right now! The easiest way to do this is by connecting with the breath. When you first sit down take a couple of long, deep breaths to feel the breath inside the body. How is it that you know you are breathing? Start to focus on that. Now close your eyes and let the breath start to breath itself. Become fully aware of both the inhalation and exhalation. Make the breath an anchor, a place to call home. Let go of all distractions, both inside and outside. Drop the attachment to both what you want and what you don't want. When the mind wanders into the past or future, bring the attention back to the breath as its happening in the now.

Once you start practicing like this, you will begin to notice that the mind is like a monkey jumping from tree to tree. This is what is called "Monkey Mind." Be patient and keep bringing the attention back to the breath. With practice you will soon notice that the inner commentary will begin to slow down and create more space in between thoughts. Stage two incorporates focusing on that space, resting in silent present moment awareness. With practice that space will grow, the inner chatter will stay silent, and staying with the breath becomes almost effortless. Once this happens then you have reached the next stage of full sustained attention of the breath. Keep practicing at this stage and you will soon be knocking on the door to the deep states of meditation that are filled with pure, awesome bliss.

This is just a brief summary of breath awareness meditation, also known as anapanasati. There are other types of meditation practices as well. But anapanasati is usually the recommended practice for beginners. It is not about going blank, but about getting to know your own mind and its habits, and to develop skillful qualities such as mindfulness and concentration. Remember to be patient with the mind, but be persistent as well. Meditation is truly a wonderful habit to develop. I wish you much success in all your efforts.


For more information, check out the following links:

Brief Instructions for Sitting Meditation
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/b…

Approaching Zazen (seated meditation)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csyCrcpDs…

Meditation Attitudes
http://sayadawutejaniya.org/wp-content/u…

Basic Method of Meditation
http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/articles/it…

Mindfulness in Plain English
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.…

Introduction to Meditation Course
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/b…

Meditation Postures
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/b…

Wild Mind Website
http://www.wildmind.org/meditation


Hope this helps. May all beings be free from suffering. May all live in peace and happiness.

Actually, mediation is being at total ease: that is why it is so hard. For this reason you don't have to follow any proscribed list of steps, but most people do because a method allows them to more deeply concentrate. I would listen to Allan Watts on YouTube because he knows a lot about mediation. You can also buy some literature: "8 Minute Meditation: Quiet Your Mind. Change Your Life" by Victor Davich is great for beginners. Honestly though, all you need to do is close your eyes, stop thinking, and let yourself breathe. Don't force it. And if you are wondering whether you are "doing it" you are not because meditation is "not doing" and you will know when you are there.

Try some different techniques, for a while, such as the Yoga Nidra, (a series of easy mental exercises; no bodily flexibility or asanas [special positions] are required) at http://your-mental-health.weebly.com/l.h…

Then try the PMR.

Some days later: http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/mindbody… & http://www.wikihow.com/Meditate (some hours, or preferably a day apart; late morning, or early afternoon is best).

I find that employing the EMDR variant before meditation reduces distractions to the meditative process, and I go from it to the word/phrase repetition, for a while, then, when my mind is tired of the repetition, and my eyes have had enough of moving, I switch to the mindfulness breathing (another version is at http://your-mental-health.weebly.com/b.h… and it's also on page 1, in the post about insomnia).

Expect your mind to wander, occasionally; mine does, and I just gently redirect my focus to the task at hand. It takes time, to become proficient, and younger people tend to want everything "here; now". Be patient with yourself; persist, and it will come. Don't permit yourself the indulgence of becoming frustrated, and giving up in disgust, too early.

If you still have trouble: Most people are suggestible, to some extent, so consider professional hypnotherapy, or, if not an option, hypnosisdownloads.com has: Meditation Hypnosis, & Yoga Nidra, and/or instant-hypnosis.com has: Meditation Pack, Stay Awake During Meditation, Go Even Deeper with Meditation, & Become a Meditation Guru. Mantras (word, or phrase repetition) that work well: the traditional: "nam myoho renge kyo is one", "aum" is another, or just "easy".

Use whatever method you find works best for you. 10 mns is alright, but 15 is better, and 20 is probably optimal in the early stages, (or to continue with at the basic relaxation level) unless intending to pursue the subject further, which really should involve an experienced instructor.

Just relax and close ur eyes