Meditation & How To Do It

I’ve heard it many times from people I know to celebrities to gurus.  Meditation should be a part of everyone’s daily routine.  Even though I have heard this for years, I have not given it a try, but I want to give it a go.  Before I start meditating I should probably learn how to meditate properly.  So, how do you meditate?  A small disclaimer, although I am Christian, I am not going to prescribe a particular religious philosophy in this meditation exploration.

                You can find anything on the internet.  I’m sure that none of you are surprised about that.  My first action to learn how to meditate was to do a search and this is what popped up at the top of the list: http://how-to-meditate.org/.  I will provide a link of all the sites that I used in my research so that credit can be given to where credit is due.  Also, I am only going to be discussing the basics because this subject goes way into more depth than I expected!

                First on the lists - location & time:  https://www.wikihow.com/Meditate provides a great rundown of the fundamentals of mediation.  The location that you chose should be a place that you find peaceful and quiet.  It is important to not be somewhere where there are a lot of distractions that could disrupt your concentration.  A lot of time is not necessary.  Five to twenty minutes for beginners seems to be what is recommended.  So, if you are a busy person you should still be able to find enough time for a session.  Meditating at the same time every day will help you get the most out of it.

                Second - wear comfortable clothes:  Personally, I think that everyone should wear what they are comfortable in everyday, but we are not all so blessed as to be able to make this decision.  A lot of us have to wear uniforms or our place of employment has s dress code.  If you work in a place that requires certain attire then you will probably want to have comfortable clothes for meditation before or after getting ready for work.  You do not want to have your concentration disturbed by uncomfortable clothing.  And, concentration is a big part of meditating.

                Third – posture:  I might deviate a little here, but I don’t think by too much.  The gist of posture is to be in a comfortable position.  Again, the idea is that you are not distracted by feeling uncomfortable in your posture.  You can chose to sit in a chair, sit on the floor in a more traditional meditation posture.  In my mind this posture is sitting on my butt, legs crossed, eyes closed and the back of my hands on my knees with my thumb and forefinger touching.  However, you can chose to be in whatever posture you chose.  Just be comfortable.

                Fourth – types & purpose of meditating:  www.gaiam.com describes different purposes for mediation depending on what you want to get out of the experience.  Some types of meditation described on this site is concentration and mindfulness.   I recommend visiting this site for a detailed look into these meditation techniques.  For me, I’m going to try the mindfulness meditation.  The purpose of this technique is to be aware of thoughts as they come and go.  However, do not let yourself get stuck on one thought.  Let them come and let them go.  Just be aware of them.

                Finally, fifth – how to meditate:  Here we go, the how to.  Dressed in your comfortable clothes, get into a position that is most comfortable to you.  Close your eyes.  Breathe, but do not try to control your breathing.  Breathe naturally.  Add that to the type of meditation you are doing and that is basically it.  Start with shorter sessions and then as you progress you can extend the session as you are able to control your concentration for longer periods of time. 

                Personally, I am going to have a pen and paper ready to go when I finish with my meditation.  I am going to write down the thoughts that came to me as I practiced mindful meditation.  I don’t want to lose those potential great ideas!

                Some noted benefits of meditation are provided on the websites I visited.  They are: relaxation, lower blood pressure, improved blood circulation, lower hear rate, slower respiratory rate, reduced anxiety, feeling of wellbeing, and less stress to name a few.  For myself, I want to see if I can get more productivity out of it.  While I am mindfully meditating, I want to see if ideas come to me that will be worth pursuing.  I’ll keep everyone up to date.  Take it easy!

Sites visited: http://how-to-meditate.org/; https://www.wikihow.com/Meditate; https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/meditation-101-techniques-benefits-and-a-beginner-s-how-to.