Meditation – once considered as something that was mysterious – is now taking a center stage in our lives. The reason why it has become so prevalent is because it gives positive effects to both our mind and body. Meditation, if practiced on a regular basis, can give you peace of mind and healthy body.
Meditation is not rocket science, in fact it’s something quite easy to do; with some practices, everyone can do it and enjoy its greatness. There are many meditation techniques exist but the ultimate purpose of meditation is to ‘quiet the mind’.
What do I mean by ‘quiet the mind’? Well, it simply means empty your mind; give your mind a break or make your mind free from any thought pattern. In other words, you are trying to stay in the present moment rather than thinking about the past or the future.
This leads to the next question… How do you do that?
Here are some easy meditation techniques you can follow and apply…
First, you need to find a place where you can sit comfortably without being disturbed by others. Close your eyes. Now, focus or give full attention to YOURSELF. Then, try to quiet your mind. At first, you’ll find it’s a bit difficult to quiet your mind as thoughts will soon creep in.
One technique you need to learn is make yourself become an observer of your thoughts, just listen to what the narrative voice in your head says without engage it. And then calmly remind yourself to focus on the present moment and try to quiet your mind again. With some practice, you’ll soon find it easy to make your mind still, stopping it to drift into the next thought.
If you find the above meditation technique (quiet or empty the mind) difficult, you can practice another technique called ‘Focused Meditation’. With this technique, you’re actually focusing intently on something… a music (sound of ocean waves), your own breathing, a liberty statue or a metronome. The idea is to focus on something that is repetitive and monotone.
Some people find this technique easier than focusing on nothing or trying to empty the mind. But, the basic idea is the same… trying to stay in the present moment and prevent the mind to slip into a normal thought pattern.
If you practice meditation using the above techniques on a regular basis, you will find your concentration improved
substantially. You’ll have a sharper mind and be able to focus on your daily activities better.
Give it a try! It’s good for your mind & body.
P.S. Here is a tool that can help you reach a meditative state within minutes. This tool is known as Meditation Binaural Beats.
| | 
Subscribe to It!
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 9:59 am and is filed under Meditation.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
November 12th, 2008 22:18
You make several good points. I’d like to point out that focused meditation, or mantra meditation, is more about stilling the mind than mindfulness meditation, which is the moment-to-moment awareness you mentioned in the beginning. Mindfulness is simply observing what goes on, but there’s no need to still the mind.
Any point of focus/mantra (thought, word, sensation etc.) is simply observed and accepted as part of your awareness and experience of life, while mantra meditation directs and re-directs awareness whenever the mind strays away from the mantra which the practitioner focuses on.
If you would like to get a clear picture of how mantra and mindfulness interact in meditation, please visit http://www.meditation-techniques-for-happiness.com/learning-meditation.html
Best wishes,
Oz
November 12th, 2008 22:45
Hello Oz,
Thanks for dropping by and shared some of the meditation tips. I like your site and I will visit it regularly to learn from you. I’m just started to practice little meditation recently and I can feel that the benefits are many… it helps me to focus better and able to sleep better at night.
November 13th, 2008 04:01
When I first started to meditate my mind seemed to be like a pack of monkeys, moving from one topic to another. But after time my mind became still and now meditation has helped me greatly with my stress levels
November 13th, 2008 20:08
Same thing happened to me, the first time I did meditation, I just couldn’t find the stillness in me. I kept having the usual “thought pattern” (could not stop thinking).
I think for the newcomers, it will be easier to start focus on something first, I mean focus on something “constant” like your breathing… just breathe through your abdomen slowly… feeling each breath. Your abdomen should expand slightly everytime when you inhale and flatten when you exhale (not your chest)… that’s the right way to breathe.
It may be difficult at first, but with some practice, everyone can achieve meditative state. Try it! it’s good for your mind & body