How to Meditate?

How to meditate is quite simple as any act can become a meditation; it is a question of bringing our attention to what we are doing and taking notice. There are many meditation techniques. Some of the techniques are quite simple and can be picked up with a little practice. Others require training by an experienced instructor.

• In Christian spiritual training, meditation means thinking with concentration about some topic.
• In the Eastern sense, meditation may be viewed as the opposite of thinking about a topic. Here the objective is to become detached from thoughts and images and opening up silent gaps between them. The result is a quietening of our mind and is sometimes called relaxation response.
• In Christian mystical practice, this practice is called `contemplation`.

How to meditate... one must break away, however briefly, from the world. Turn off your cell phone and pager, disconnect the fax machine, shut down the computer and turn on the answering machine... allow no interruptions during this special time.

Instead of pushing and straining yourself physically and mentally, just relax; sit in a chair, any chair will do, even the chair at your desk, as long as it is comfortable.

• Sit with your feet flat on the floor, hands resting in your lap or on the arms of the chair, and your head comfortably balanced. It is not a good idea to slump as it is a relaxed attentiveness that you desire.
• Bring your awareness to your breath as it is a good way of bringing attention into the "here and now". Use each out-breath to relax a little more deeply.
• Enjoy and observe.

How to Meditate Successfully

Meditation is about relaxing and letting go into deeper levels of your being, and sometimes this is best achieved through a passive "non-doing" state.

How to meditate is above all about staying with the moment, about being in touch with your surroundings and your inner world, much of which is more easily reached when in the contemplative state, when you allow yourself to be "lost in thought". If you enjoy walking, for instance, you can make this your meditation.

Instead of hurriedly rushing to be somewhere, slow down and take the time to feel your feet connect with the earth as you take each step.

As you walk, be mindful of what you are doing, thinking and feeling, and be aware of your energy flowing through your body. Take time to look around, to experience just walking.

Whenever I make the above suggestion of taking a stroll I have the recollection of reading about the 10th Century Buddhist monk, who said:

"If you walk, just walk. If you sit, just sit; but whatever you do, don't wobble."

He walked up and down the same path in the forest everyday; he moved slowly, giving total attention to his feet, the movement of his feet, the changing pressures on the soles of his feet, and the reaction of the ground to his feet... this is how to meditate when you take a stroll. A truly amazing, relaxing and pleasurable experience.

Common Meditation Aspects

Whatever the technique of meditation, the following aspects are generally common to all of them:

ATMOSPHERE - The best environment for the practice of meditation is a quiet place with minimum distractions. It sometimes helps to set up a meditating room with special pictures, icons, holy books or even burning incense sticks and soothing music in order to infuse the atmosphere with spiritual energy. It is best to sit in a well ventilated room, which receives natural light.

ATTITUDE - The best attitude to follow while practicing meditation is that of a receptive observer. Try to observe either the mind or the immediate physical environment, without thinking anything in particular. Watch the mind slowly empty itself out.

POSTURE - Assuming a certain posture has been central to many meditation techniques however a major characteristic of prescribed meditation postures in many traditions is that the spine is kept straight. This is true in Hindu and Buddhist yogas, in the Christian attitude of kneeling prayer, in the Egyptian sitting position, and in the Taoist standing meditation of "embracing the pillar." People with misalignments may feel uncomfortable in the beginning when assuming these postures. The spine is put back into a structurally sound line, and the weight of the body distributed around it in a balanced pattern in which gravity, not muscular tension, is the primary influence. It is possible, although it has not been conclusively proven that this postural realignment affects the state of mind.

ELEMENTS OF CONCENTRATION - In Hindu meditative techniques, the object the attention dwells on is often a mantra, usually a Sanskrit word or syllable. Usually the meditator repeats an affirmation to increase positive spiritual energies. Alternately prayers or are often said for calming the mind.

In Buddhism, the focus of attention is often the meditators own breathing, a luminous sphere or a translucent Buddha Statue.

Whether one performs mantra meditation, Buddhist breath meditations or any other for that matter, they all fulfill all the elements required for meditating for relaxation.

TIME - It is always recommended that meditation be practiced daily. The emphasis however is the regularity of practice at all costs.

During meditation your business is simple awareness, nothing else. It is a time to connect to your inner Source and let go of the things and roles we get caught up in: work, parenting, concerns and responsibilities. It may be that your meditation is peaceful, or it may be fretful and full of obsessive thought. Regardless, daily meditation will have a positive effect on your life. Try Visualizing and Meditating with Color.