Now, how does one meditate? I think the first thing is to understand the general purpose of mediation. Based on A LOT of reading and experimentation, meditation seems to be a way to train the mind to focus. Meditation comes in many forms like martial arts or music, but all forms seem to lead back to the central purpose of strengthening the mind’s ability to focus. Our brains were not designed to multi-task and so when we focus on one thing for short periods of time (5-20 minutes), our brains can relax and operate at maximum efficiency to solve the present problem. This max efficiency tends to be peaceful and is often associated with being in the “zone.” It was also nice to find out that although meditation arose in religion, it requires no special belief systems or creeds to benefit. It is just you spending time with your mind to help it grow stronger. That’s it! And who does not want a stronger mind?
As far as how to do it, the process can be broken down into about six easy steps.
Step 1: Find a comfortable position to sit in. Laying on your back can work, but we tend to associate that position with sleep and usually do fall asleep shortly after lying down.
Step 2: Set a timer for 5 minutes. It can be more or less, but 5 minutes is a good time to start with.
Step 3: Close your eyes. With years of practice one can meditate with their eyes open, but this tends to be nearly impossible because our eyes have evolved to be attracted motion (which distracts us) and are constantly making imperceptibly small motions called saccades to find moving targets or to scan for danger (another source of distraction). With all that said, close your eyes.
Step 4: Concentrate on your breath. Whether you listen to the sound of your breath, feel your lungs expand and contract, are startled by the not-so-gentle thump of your heartbeat, or notice the way air feels coming in and going out of your body; focus on that. You can actually focus on just about anything, but your breath is a great place to start.
Step 5: When you notice that your attention has slipped, and it will… a lot… bring your attention back to your breathing. Do not judge yourself for this, just calmly bring your attention back to your breathing. Do this until the timer rings then you are done.
Step 6: Do it again tomorrow. Most people start noticing its effects after a week of practice.
Congratulations, you just meditated for the first time! Everyone experiences different things, but you should expect to see positive side-effects as you continue to practice. For one, you will be more relaxed as you go through your day. Most of us do not stop our bodies or our minds from running rampant and with this practice that is exactly what you are doing. You are teaching yourself to chill out little by little. You will probably start to notice how much more you can focus on specific tasks even if it is just 30 seconds longer than usual. You may also have more epiphanies more frequently due to a less frantic mental state. There are all sorts of cool social side-effects of daily meditation too. For one thing you will start to actually listen to what people are saying, which strengthens your ability to empathize with them and that strengthens their trust in you. Sounds like a win-win to me! Perhaps the biggest side effect for me was the peacefulness I felt more often and for longer periods of time. I also really liked that I became much more attentive and grateful for what is instead of being distracted by the past or hopelessly wishing for the “future.” Let’s just say, I got real comfortable with the now.
I could go on for hours like this, but I think you get the point. Daily mindfulness meditation has helped me to improve my quality of life and I am confident that it will help you improve yours.
Thanks for reading!
Just Breathe 