Meditation for Beginners

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“Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Meditation in an ancient practice that spans many spiritual traditions and takes many forms. When I learned to meditate at a Zen Buddhist temple, the instruction was for single object focus using the breath. It was an 8 week class that transformed my experience of life on a deep level, across all situations. At the time my kids were just two and five years old, we lived 3,000 miles away from family; I felt off kilter and in a constant state of anxiety. Learning to meditate and maintaining a practice changed my brain circuitry forever. My anxiety was managed, I was almost unrecognizable from an energy standpoint. Meditation helped me to pay attention to what I pay attention to. If I can learn and practice meditation, I am certain even the most wound-up, distracted, and sceptical person can. You can start today, even if you feel that you can spare no more than five minutes. Today is a great day to give it a go.

The best meditation practice is one that you will do. And the simplest place to begin, is with what you’ve already got with you every moment of every day; your breath. Using your breath as the object of focus as you meditate means you can mediate anywhere at any time. You don’t need fancy cushions, either, you can meditate in a chair, standing up, or lying on a yoga mat. The key to a meditation practice that will be impactful is to do it every day. We both know you’ve got five minutes a day.

Think of Attention as a muscle that needs to be strengthened. Each time your mind wanders and you notice it’s wandered, bring it back to the breath. That noticing and bringing back is where the strength of attention is going to come from. Some days you may have a calm, easy time keeping your attention and others you will have to work harder. This is just how a mind works, the weather of your life is sometimes a peaceful spring day and sometimes a hurricane. Trying to get a mind to stop thinking is like trying to stop the weather from happening. Allow thoughts to happen without attaching or following them. I have heard it suggested that imagining thoughts are like clouds passing in the sky is helpful.

Happy meditating.