Easy Ways to Learn to Meditate
by Jonathan Evatt

 

The easiest way to learn to meditate is perhaps to simply sit down and give it a try. The following includes some guidelines and instructions that will assist you in doing exactly that, at which point you'll be medtating like a pro!

I've met many people who say they can't meditate, only to discover this is not true after I explain a few key points with them, just as I am explaining these points to you. I ask them what happens when they try to meditate. Typically they tell me that they can't stop thinking. This is the number one reason people tell me they can't meditate, tried meditating and gave up, or simply think meditation is too difficult for them. Here's a little secret which I am sure, like these people, you'll be happy to hear. Meditation is not about stopping your mind from thinking. Whether you are thinking or not is quite irrelevant. In fact your thinking mind is the perfect foundation for developing a very deep and fruitful meditation practice.


What exactly might I mean by the idea that meditation is not about stopping your thoughts? Meditation takes place whether thought is there or not. A state of meditative awareness exists beneath the thinking you experience in the mind. It is always there. The key point of difference between meditation and ordinary waking consciousness is whether or not you give your attention to the actual thoughts or to your awareness that you are thinking. Your awareness of the thinking (as opposed to the thinking itself) is what taps you into this underlying state of meditation. To see how simple this really is, let's look at how this applies in a practical situation.


I sit down to meditate. I get my body comfortable. I may then focus my attention on the flow of breath for a while in order to calm my body and mind. Naturally thoughts arise. I may even get engaged in actively thinking about something, whilst completely forgetting I was intending to meditate. Then I realise "I am here to meditate, and I was busy thinking". In that moment I can ask myself, "who is aware that I was thinking just now?" There is no need to answer this question. Rather you simply feel into the question and the awareness that you were engaged in the act of thinking.


Meditation is all about cultivating awareness. The awareness I am thinking. The awareness I am sitting. The awareness I am breathing. The awareness I am feeling something to do with my partner or my job or whatever, and most significantly simply the awareness that "I Am". A key to cultivating awareness is to lovingly (as opposed to forcefully) disengage your mind from judging and engage it with the act of observation and acceptance. When you notice you have wandered off into thinking about something in that very moment of noticing this you have a profound opportunity to deepen your awareness and thus to deepen your experience of meditation. In that moment the awareness arises, "I was sitting here watching my breath, and then I got caught up (for however long) in thinking about such and such. Wow. Neat." and it is this awareness that takes you further into meditation.
How easy is that?

The thinking and whatever else comes up whilst meditating is a gift. Far from being a problem, this incessant thinking is the very thing that will propel you deeper into the still, calm awareness at the centre of your Being. Similarly, so are the feelings and emotions that arise and distract your attention while sitting in meditation. So you can put all anguish and frustration aside now with regards to just how much your mind wanders into thinking and emoting when all you intend to do is sit and observe. Meditation does not imply the absence of thought. This means the easiest way to learn to meditate is to unlearn the idea that it's something special and out of the ordinary. Just to be aware is all that's required.

Taking the above points into consideration let's look at some simple steps to easily teach yourself to meditate.


1) Find or create a relatively quiet place where you are unlikely to be disturbed. You may want to turn off the phone, and let other people in your environment know you don't wish to be interrupted. If you are interrupted, know that you can simply deal with whatever it is accordingly and then return to your meditation when your circumstances permit.


2) Make yourself comfortable.

Sitting on the floor cross legged is a common position and is quite fine for many people. I recommend propping the back edge of your buttocks on the edge of a firm cushion. This helps keep the spine straight and more comfortable. Try it out and see if it suits you.


If it is uncomfortable to sit on the floor (or you simply prefer not to) you may like to meditate sitting on the edge of a chair with your feet on the ground and you knees bent at a right angle. This is a position common in Taoist meditation and Qigong practices. The Taoists observe that it helps them ground their energy through their feet into the Earth, which they feel provides certain health benefits.


If the edge of a chair is not your style then try sitting fully on a chair. I do recommend not leaning back into a chair; rather try supporting your back yourself. Although if you think it might be better for you to lean back into the chair then ry it out. This is your way you are discovering. Experiment and have fun figuring out what works best for you.


I don't recommend lying down because in my experience most people fall asleep when they try to meditate in this position. If you think it might be the best way for you, give it a try. If you fall asleep then try another way.


3) State inwardly your intention to meditate and to experience the deep awareness within you for the benefit of your whole Being and your life. You may like to add that it is also for the benefit of all Beings or all your relations and relatives if that feel true for you. Personally I find this to be a life-affirming intention to engage with at the start of meditation and that over time it provides its own unique benefits. You may also find it useful to make a resolution to meditate for at least a certain amount of time. It need not be long, and you are always free to sit there longer if you like. Among other things, these statements help train the other-than-conscious mind and bring it to your support.


Such a statement might go something like this, "I am now sitting to meditate. I am doing this for the benefit of my whole Being and my life, and for the benefit of all my relations. I resolve to meditate for at least the next 15 minutes.
"

4) Simply be aware of the breathing process taking place in your body. Observe the inhalation. Observe the transition from inhaling to exhaling, and observe the exhalation. Again, the transition, and then the next inhalation. It's as simple as that. Inhale, transition, exhale, transition, inhale, transition, and so on. Just to be aware. That is all.

When the mind wanders you will eventually become aware that it has done so. Perhaps it wanders for 15 minutes before you notice, or perhaps it's even longer! That's just fine. It's fantastic you eventually noticed and this is a perfect indication you are deepening into meditation, even if you sat there thinking for a whole hour before you noticed, and then had to get up and go to work. Just to be aware. This is the key.


It's very likely the length of wandering will get shorter and shorter the more you practice meditation. Either way, it doesn't matter. Simply be aware that the mind wandered, enjoy this discovery, and again observe the breathing taking place in your body right now.


With these simple steps you are well on you have discovered how easy it is to meditate. To make it even easier I recommend you make an agreement with yourself to keep it up for at least 20 minutes a day for 30 days. Even if on some days you only manage to sit for 5 minutes just before you go to bed or first thing in the morning, this will make a positive difference. Just so long as every day you intentionally stop what you are doing and be aware. This will help to establish meditation as a positive habit pattern. Once that occurs your other-than-conscious mind will strongly compel you to feel like meditating every day, and then it is much easier to stick with it. Essentially you become positively addicted to meditation, and then you'll find it easy as can be to keep it up every day and experience the many great benefits this will bring you.
What are some of those benefits?

- Increased inner peace

- Deeper relaxation and feeling less stressed

- Heightened creativity, ingenuity, and intuition

- Improved health and self-healing

One closing point for your consideration: The next time you sit to meditate give up the inclination to reflect on your previous meditation experience. Cultivate a sense that this is the first time you have attempted meditation, every time. This keeps your attention fresh, alive, and present to here and now. Just as I recommend not self-critically comparing your experience to other people, you can also enjoy the freedom of not comparing your current experience with the memory of your past experience. Simply be here, now.

A share from Eerie's Place on Multiply
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