How to meditate in one easy lesson

For all those people who have never meditated, or would like to but don't think they can.

SIT QUIETLY AND DO NOTHING

There you have it, all the instructions you really need. Ok ... ok, you expected a little more, so I'll give you the long version. But all you really need is what I just told you. Let's break it down into parts.

SIT You can sit on the floor, in a chair, on the ground, anywhere you want. What you're looking for is someplace quiet and comfortable. I highly recommend sitting rather than laying as most people tend to fall asleep if they try meditating laying down. A blanket or thick rug with a pillow just under the buttocks works well. You want to keep your spine straight but not rigid. It allows you to breath easier. Your shoulders should be allowed to fall slightly down naturally. Not hunched forward and not drawn back like a soldier at attention. Just let them relax. If you imagine someone standing just behind you lifting gently on your jaw bone you'll get the basic posture for your spine and shoulders. When you first sit down you might try moving your upper body in smaller circles. As the circles get smaller your body will find its best center of balance. Your eyes can be opened or closed or in-between, whatever you feel the most comfortable with. If you keep them open you'll want to make sure your surroundings aren't too distracting.

As for your hands, lay them in your lap or on your thighs. You can cup one in the other. Some find that by letting their forefingers and thumbs just barely touch (as if holding a piece of paper between them) it helps keep them from drifting off to sleep. I suggest you not interlock your fingers as bone against bone might cause some soreness. The main thing is to be comfortable, but not too comfortable.

QUIETLY Here's where it starts getting a little trickier. When you first start out you'll find that the instant you try to sit quietly your body turns saboteur. You'll be surprised at just how distracted you can get. Something will surely itch. Your hair will tickle your ears. An eyelash will feel out of place. It may seem that you suddenly can't keep still. Unfortunately, all I can offer is that this stage will pass. You might allow yourself a minute or two when you first sit down to get everything in place. After that you'll acknowledge the sensation but not act on it. Sort of like, yes, my chin itches but I'll let it pass.

The next culprit will likely be your breathing. Strange how fifteen minutes before you sat down you were getting along fine without a thought of how you breath. Now it seems to be a major project. So if you ask me how you're suppose to breath, I'll answer, the same way you did before you sat down ... naturally. Now different schools of meditation teach different breathing techniques. Whole chapters have been written on the proper way to breath. I'll tell you here and now, while meditating, the less you interfere with this most natural of functions the better. You can take months if you want, perfecting some special way of breathing while meditating. But I suggest that if you have to do anything ... just watch. By that I mean you can be aware of your breathing process but don't give in to trying to control it. Just watch ... each breath will follow the other just as surely as each wave in the ocean is replaced by the next. Let them come as they will, you're not concerned with how they come.

DO NOTHING Now, here's the hard part. You remember that little voice we spoke of earlier? Well you sit down with the idea of doing nothing and it goes amuck. A thousand and seventeen stray thoughts will race into your head the minute you sit down. Did I this and did I that? The car, the job, the pets, and the kids, with everything else to boot. I like to think of it as the ego trying to guess what it is we want to think about. It's unaccustomed to this idleness when you're awake, so it offers a myriad of topics for you to pick from. Pick none! Instead, allow the thoughts to fall away as quickly and as naturally as they arose.

Don't fall into the trap of trying to stop or subdue your thoughts. You'll just get caught up in thinking about not thinking. Here's a little trick to help gently calm that voice, give it a job. Assign it the task of counting your breaths. But give it strict rules. First it is not to interfere, its job is just to count. Next, it is to count the breaths from one to ten and then start back at one. However, if it interferes with the count by slipping in stray thoughts it has to start back at one. Trust me, you'll be surprised at how long it is before you reach ten. Persist and you will reach it on a regular basis. Each time you sit to meditate you'll get better and better at quieting your mind. Somewhere along the way you may notice that you ego quit counting and just joined in your quietness. Congratulations ... you're there.

There is an old analogy that compares the mind clouded with thoughts to muddy water. Stirring it up will only keep it cloudy. The only way for the water to clear it to wait. Left alone, it will clear on its own and so will your mind.

When you first start, sit only for short periods. Forcing yourself to sit for prolonged periods when nothing is going right will only make you think you can't succeed. Nothing is further from the truth. You'll get better with practice, I promise. With time and practice, you'll find you can swiftly slip into this relaxed state, even in a crowded airport.

So you're meditating, now what. Now nothing. There isn't some magical payoff once you meditate successfully. It's the process that's important. Just let your mind be calm for this short while. Get to know your feelings, not your thoughts about your feelings, but the feelings themselves. But don't forget that your feelings are just feelings and your thoughts are just thoughts.

Let me know how you get on ... even if it's months from now. Take care and choose happiness.

In ways that are indescribable.

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