Writers and other humans need all the help they can get to tap into mental acuity and find the peace of insight.
I have come late to the practice of meditation and wish I had started it years ago. I really can’t think of anything that is so readily available, inexpensive (i.e., free) and empowering as a few minutes alone with yourself, your mind connecting to the Big Mind that underlies everything.
There is nothing highfaluting about meditation. No prerequisites, no training, no goal, no secret sauce.
To begin meditating all you need is a place to sit and be still for a little while. You can sit on the floor cross-legged, or kneeling, or you can use a chair if your joints can’t take getting all the way down on the floor (or you can’t figure out how to get up off the floor once you’re down there).
You can see my setup in the featured image. It includes a small mat and a pillow. The mat makes the floor easier to take and the pillow is a place to put your rear end that elevates it off the mat and takes most of the pressure off your legs. Some people use a bench to sit on and curl their legs under the bench.
The point here is that you should use whatever method works for you and you don’t need to sweat the small stuff.
So what do you do when you are in position?
You open your mind.
To what?
The “what” is what you discover when your mind is free.
Most people who train others how to begin meditating say that the easiest technique for newbies is simply to count your breaths. You breathe in and out and count “one.” You breathe in and out and count “two.” You continue this until you reach ten, and then you start at “one” again. Keep it up until you’ve completed your allotted time.
How much time?
Some people start with five minutes, others with ten.
Set a timer. This is important because it gets you in the swing and prevents you cheating your time. You’ve gone to the trouble of giving meditation a try, and you should give it a real chance. Everybody has a timer available because everyone has a cell phone.
Just sit down, push go on the timer, and begin counting your breaths.
I know. I can hear you saying, “How the heck will counting my breaths bring me insight?”
Trust me on this.
Before you know it you will begin to feel the release that comes from freeing your mind of all the chatter you’re accustomed to.
As you embrace the process you will start to experience the beauty of the moment, then you will want to extend your time, and you will come to cherish the time each day when you sit.
I started with ten minutes. Now I am at thirty.
Time flies when you’re having fun.
Comments