WHY MEDITATE? - BACKGROUND FOR BEGINNERS Meditation is largely about regaining control over a mind that is unfocused, unproductive and possibly even causing you suffering. Often people think of meditation in terms of the peace it brings, but really the peace is merely an after effect. The point of meditation is the mental mastery that makes things like peace of mind, heightened intelligence, amplified creativity, resistance to illness, etc. an option. First you regain the ability to put your attention where you want it to be simply because you choose it. Then you further develop your ability to focus on solutions at work, or health, or positive emotions, or whatever it is you choose for your life in that moment. On this page I will teach you a simple but effective method for developing this powerful skill: mental self-mastery. Though it is simple, and though it is but one of many possible ways you could practice meditation, don't let that cause you to dismiss its power. Nor should you allow your mind's defenses against being controlled to cause you to use this as but the starting point in an endless search for new and better methods. The point isn't to find "the best meditation method." The point is simply to actually DO any meditation method. Might as well start and end with this one, as they are all equally effective if DONE. Good luck! And enjoy the enhanced success and satisfaction that lies on the other side of having become the master of your life experience. (BTC/ETH/LTC donations welcomed and appreciated if this is of value to you.)
5 STEPS IN THE PROCESS 1 - Close your eyes (or soften your downward gaze) and become aware of the feeling of your body resting on whatever seat you are on. 2 - Maintain your mental alertness as you relax into the seat. Let the seat hold you up, so that your muscles relax, even as your mind remains alert. 3 - Now focus your attention on your breath as it moves in and out. 4 - As you breathe in, think the word "In." As you breathe out, think the word, "Out." 5 - Whenever you notice that your mind has wandered off somewhere and that you're now thinking any thought other than breathing in and out, simply decide to go back to noticing the breath and announcing its movement to yourself with "in" and "out." Do this for 3 minutes at first. Then lengthen the period to 5 minutes. Gradually increase the time you spend meditating in each session to at least 15 minutes but no more than 40. Do as many sessions per day as you wish, but one is enough to see results within 30 days. Notes: The practice of watching the breath (or any object of meditation) is not the point. The point is that when your mind invariably wanders off and you notice that it has, in that moment you make the decision to return to focusing only on the breath, and enforce that decision. That moment of decision is the meditation practice. Your thoughts when sitting for meditation will get more and more fascinating. More and more useful. Your mind will offer you so many enticing bribes to get you to return power to its control. You will have to have a firm commitment to self-mastery in order to ignore the oh so very important solutions, insights and reminders it will offer you and return to the boring, ever-present, oh so very irrelevant breath. When you do, you are building your mental muscle and regaining control over your life.