How to do meditation

1

Choose a peaceful environment. Meditation should be practiced somewhere calming and peaceful. This will enable you to focus exclusively on the task at hand and avoid bombarding your mind with outside stimuli. Try to find a place where you will not be interrupted for the duration of your meditation - whether it lasts five minutes or half an hour. The space does not need to be very large - a walk-in closet or even your office can be used for meditation, as long as it's somewhere private.

• For those new to meditation, it's especially important to avoid any external distractions. Turn off TV sets, the phone or other noisy appliances. If you play music, choose calm, repetitive and gentle tunes, so as not to break your concentration. Another option is to turn on a small water fountain - the sound of running water can be extremely calming.
• Understand that the meditation space does not need to be completely silent, so there should be no need to reach for the earplugs. The sound of a lawnmower running or the dog barking next door shouldn't prevent effective meditation. In fact, being aware of these noises but not letting them dominate your thoughts is an important component of successful meditation.
• Meditating outside works for many meditators. As long as you don't sit near a busy roadway or another source of loud noise, you can find peace under a tree or sitting upon some lush grass in a favorite corner of the garden.

2

Wear comfortable clothes. One of the major goals of meditation is to calm the mind and block out external factors. This can be difficult if you feel physically uncomfortable due to tight or restrictive clothing. Try to wear loose clothing during meditation practice and make sure to remove your shoes.

• Wear a sweater or cardigan if you plan on meditating someplace cool. If you don't, the sensation of being cold will consume your thoughts and you will be tempted to cut your practice short.
• If you are in the office, or somewhere that you can't easily change your clothes, do your best to make yourself as comfortable as possible. Take off your shoes and jacket, open the collar of your shirt or blouse and remove your belt.

3

Decide how long you want to meditate. Before you begin, you should decide how long you are going to meditate. While many seasoned meditators recommend twenty minute sessions twice a day, beginners can start out doing as little as five minutes, once a day.

• You should also try to meditate at the same time each day - whether it's 15 minutes first thing in the morning, or five minutes on your lunch hour. Whatever time you choose, try to make meditation an unshakable part of your daily routine.
• Once you have decided on a time frame, try to stick to it. Don't just give up because you feel like it isn't working - it will take time and practice to achieve successful meditation - right now, the most important thing is to keep trying.
• Although you will want to keep track of your meditation time, it is not beneficial to be constantly checking your watch. Think about setting a gentle alarm to alert you when your practice is up, or time your practice to end with a certain event - such as your partner getting out of bed, or the sun hitting a certain spot on the wall.

4

Stretch out. Meditation involves sitting in one spot for a certain period of time, so it is important to minimize any tension or tightness before you begin. Doing a couple of minutes of light stretching can really help to loosen you up and prepare both your body and mind for meditation. It will also prevent you from focusing on any sore spots instead of relaxing your mind.

• Remember to stretch your neck and shoulders, especially if you've been sitting in front of a computer, and don't forget your lower back. Stretching out your legs, particularly those on the inner thigh, can be helpful when meditating in the lotus position.

5

Sit in a comfortable position. As stated above, it is very important that you are comfortable while you meditate, which is why finding the best position for you is essential. Traditionally, meditation is practiced by sitting on a cushion on the ground, in a lotus, or half-lotus position. Unless your legs, hips, and low back are very flexible, lotus postures tend to bow your low back and prevent you from balancing your torso around your spine. Choose a posture that allows you to be balanced tall and straight.

• However, you can also sit without crossing your legs, on a cushion, chair, or meditation bench. Your pelvis needs to be tilted forwards enough for your spine to be centered over the two bony bits in your butt, the spots that bear your weight. To tilt your pelvis into the right position, sit on the forward edge of a thick cushion, or place something about 3 or 4 inches (7.6 or 10.2 cm) thick under the back legs of a chair. Meditation benches are usually built with a tilted seat. If not, put something under it to tilt it forward between a half inch and an inch.
• The most important thing is that you are comfortable, relaxed, and your torso is balanced so that your spine supports all of your weight from the waist up.
• Tilt your pelvis forward. Then, starting from your bottom, stack up the vertebrae in your spine, so that they are balanced one on top of another and support the whole weight of your torso, neck, and head. It requires practice to find the position that allows you to relax your whole torso almost completely, only slight effort being used to maintain your balance. Whenever you feel tension, relax the area. If you can't relax it without slumping, check the alignment of your posture and seek to re-balance your torso so that area can relax.
• The traditional hand placement involves resting your hands in your lap, palms facing upward, with your right hand on top of your left. However, your can also just rest your hands on your knees or leave them hanging down by your side - whichever you prefer.

6

Close your eyes. Meditation can be performed with the eyes open or closed, however as a beginner it may be best to first try meditating with your eyes closed. This will block out any external visual stimulation and prevent you from becoming distracted as you focus on calming your mind.

• Once you have grown accustomed to meditation, you can try practicing with your eyes open. This can be helpful if you find you are either falling asleep or concentrating too hard with your eyes closed, or if you are experiencing disturbing mental images (which happens to a small proportion of people).
• When you keep your eyes open, you will need to keep them "soft" - that is, not focused on anything in particular. However, you don't want to go into a trance-like state either - the goal is to feel relaxed but alert.

Now

Follow your breathing. The most basic and universal of all meditation techniques, breathing meditation is a great place to start your practice. Pick a spot above your navel and focus on that spot with your mind. Become aware of the rising and falling of your abdomen as you breathe in and out. Don't make a conscious effort to change your breathing patterns, just breathe normally.

• Try to focus on your breathing and only your breathing. Don't think about your breathing or pass any sort of judgment of it (e.g. that breath was shorter than the last one), just attempt to know it and be aware of it.^[1]
• Some mental images which might help you include: imagining a coin sitting on the spot above your navel, rising and falling with your breath; imagining a buoy floating in the ocean, bobbing up and down with the swell and lull of your breathing; or imagining a lotus flower sitting in your belly, unfurling its petals with every intake of breath.
• Don't worry if your mind starts to wander - you are a beginner and, like anything, becoming good at meditation takes practice. Just make an effort to refocus your mind on your breathing and try to think of nothing else. Drown out the chatter and attempt to clear your mind

Clear your mind.

• To meditate, you must focus on one thing maximum
• If you're a beginner, it might help to focus on one thing, like a mantra or visual object. More advanced meditators may try to clear their minds completely.

Repeat a mantra. Mantra meditation is another common form of meditation, which involves repeating a mantra (a sound, word or phrase) over and over, until you silence the mind and enter a deep meditative state. The mantra can be anything you choose, as long as it is easy to remember.

• Some good mantras to start out with include words like one, peace, calm, tranquil, and silence. If you want to use more traditional mantras, you can use the word "Om" which symbolizes omnipresent consciousness, or the phrase "Sat, Chit, Ananda" which means "Existence, Consciousness, Bliss".
• In Sanskrit, the word mantra means "instrument of the mind". The mantra is an instrument which creates vibrations in the mind, allowing you to disconnect from your thoughts and enter a deeper state of consciousness.
• Silently repeat the mantra over and over to yourself as you meditate, allowing the word or phrase to whisper through your mind. Don't worry if your mind wanders off, just refocus your attention and return to repeating the word.
• As you enter a deeper level of awareness and consciousness, it may become unnecessary to continue repeating the mantra.

Concentrate on a simple visual object. In a similar way to using a mantra, you can use a simple visual object to fill your mind and allow you to reach a level of deeper consciousness. This is a form of open-eye meditation, which many people find easier when they have something to focus their gaze on.

• The visual object can be anything you wish, though many people find the flame of a lit candle particularly pleasant. Other possible objects include crystals, flowers, and pictures or statues of divine beings, such as the Buddha.
• Place the object at eye level, so you don't need to strain your head and neck to view it. Gaze at it and nothing else, until your peripheral vision starts to dim and the object consumes your vision.
• Once you are focused entirely on the object, with no other stimuli reaching your brain, you should feel a sense of profound serenity.

Practice visualization. Visualization is another popular meditation technique, which involves creating a peaceful place in your mind and exploring it, until you reach a state of complete calm. The place can be anywhere you like - however, it should not be entirely real, it should be unique and personalized for you.

• The place you visualize could be a warm, sandy beach, a flower-filled meadow, a quiet forest or even a comfortable sitting room with a roaring fire. Whatever place you choose, allow it to be your sanctuary.
• Once you have entered your sanctuary, allow yourself to explore. There's no need to "create" your surroundings, they are already there. Allow them to come to the forefront of your mind.
• Take in the sights, sounds and scents of your surroundings - feel the fresh breeze against your face, or the heat of the flames warming your body. Enjoy the space for as long as you wish, allowing it to naturally expand and become more tangible. When you are ready to leave, take a few deep breaths, then open your eyes.
• Know that you can come back to this same place the next time you meditate to visualization, or you can simply create a new space. Any space you create will be unique to you and a reflection of your individual personality.

FOLLOW THIS STEPS TO MEDITATE PROPERLY....

PEACE>>!!!