Let’s demystify meditation, here and now, once and for all.

The word ‘meditation’ is one of those words that often comes with a lot of unnecessary baggage. Many people haveinferences and associations with the word ‘meditation’, things it conjures upin their minds when they think of it, that turns them off to it and away fromit:

That it requires discipline; none but theslightest. If you brush your teeth every day, you can meditate too.
That it involves chanting and prayer; it can ifyou want, but it need not.
That I have to do it for a long time and I don’thave a long time, or I do but when I sit for a long time it hurts; it “works”instantaneously, 5-15 minutes a day is all you really need, and if you don’twant to sit for 5-15 minutes, lie down, and if you fall asleep, that’s okay.
That only Hippies and New Agers do it;businessmen and women, political leaders, teachers, doctors and judges, actorsand musicians, athletes - the list of those who meditate is bigger than youthink.
That you have to proscribe to a particularreligion in order to meditate; nonsense, though Hinduism and Buddhism andJudaism and Christianity and Islam all have their own forms and styles ofmeditation, Hindus and Buddhists and Jews and Christians and Muslims along withPagans and Agnostics and secularists alike all meditate all sorts of ways.
That it doesn’t work; the only ones who can getaway with saying that are those who have never tried.

To meditate all you need to do is find as quiet and peacefula place as you can to sit or lie still for 5-15 minutes and try to silence yourmind. One of the most effective ways to do this is by focusing on your breath.

Notice your breathing, in and out. Feel your breath, withyour body. Not with your mind. Release any thoughts that enter your mind andcalmly, forgivingly return your attention to your breathing.

If you have any thoughts about your breathing or aboutanything else, let them slip through your mind. Don’t hold on to them. Don’texamine and evaluate them. And don’t judge or criticize yourself for havingthem. Just let them slip past like a rolling stream and focus back in again onthe stream of your breath, in and out. In and out.

Alternately you could focus, instead of your breathing, onthe moment. Many people like to incorporate more of their senses in theexperience of meditation, and that’s fine too. That’s why we didn’t say younecessarily had to close your eyes to do it. Instead of focusing on yourbreath, then, focus on the Now. Experience the sounds, sights, and sensationsof this moment without any thought, any analysis or interpretation, anyjudgment. That too is meditation.

The rest is practice. Practice increasing and lengtheningthose moments when all you are is breath, when all you are is this moment.Practice maintaining that state of mindfulmindlessness every day for just a little bit, or if you can’t do that then justwhenever you think of it - either way you’ll be amazed at the positive resultsyou’ll find in your life.

You’ll feel better. You’ll feel healthier. You’ll feelhappier. You’ll have more of what you want. You’ll feel empowered and inspired.Passionate and enlivened.

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