Have you ever had a day where your mind buzzes incessantly? Are you on your last straw?
Meditation eliminates that buzz so you can use your mind the way it’s supposed to be used. It’s like dropping a backpack full of rocks on the hiking trail of life.
Many people ask me curiously about meditation. What is it? Why do you meditate? How do I mediate? This article will answer these questions and hopefully inspire you to try it for yourself.
What is Mediation?
Wikipedia says that meditation is a holistic discipline by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.
In my own words, meditation is the art of relaxing your mind. I like to call it an art because 1) it’s a creative process and 2) there’s no wrong way to do it. As long as you get the results, you’re on the right track.
What are the results and benefits of mediation?
Many people who regularly mediate have been known to have creative leaps of genius or return from meditation with a relaxing sense of peace. Some even experience visions of the future.
A lot of people avoid meditation because it seems counter intuitive. “You want me to sit here and do nothing and think of nothing, and it’s supposed to help me how? You’re crazy!”
Hundreds of companies in the Eastern world have adopted meditation as a core employee tool; it’s even in their company handbooks. Most major religions use mediation as way to reach a higher understanding of our world. It is not the same as traditional prayer, although sometimes it’s accompanied with prayer.
The one benefit I usually experience is an significant increase in awareness. Awareness is simply deeply recognizing your current reality. This awareness helps me realize the insignificance of my current challenges and focus on my life’s mission.
How do I meditate?
In my own words, meditation is the art of relaxing your mind. These are some helpful techniques to prompt you into mediation.
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The Muscle Relaxer- This is my favorite. While in a comfortable chair, close your eyes and imagine a soothing, massaging force traveling up from your toes. This force will travel slowly up your entire body, relaxing each muscle as it travels past. As the force passes over each muscle, it will unravel all the tension and the muscle will be completely relaxed. As the force finally passes to the top of your head, do nothing. Think of nothing. Repeat as needed.
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The Sound of the Earth- Pretend you’re literally sitting on a cloud (Indian-style or half-lotus) watching over a large city or landscape. I usually use a vast & scenic outdoor place that I’ve personally visited. Listen to the deep, slow sound of the earth as it rotates.
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Blank- try to think of nothing. Sometimes I do this is an a spacial sense. There’s a floor and then nothing.
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Meditation works best when you practice it often. I usually do this at night or first thing in the morning. Of the Zen Masters I’ve met or read books from, they usually suggest a minimum meditation of 20 minutes a day. It’s also important to not fall asleep while meditating.
If you’d like to learn more about the philosophy of mediation, I highly recommend The Power of Now, especially those of you that are familiar with the Christian faith, but are searching for a deeper truth through mediation practice.
This is a the best advice I can give to beginners: Your goal is to think of nothing and “feel” your surroundings. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t “get it” the first few times. Keep at it. The benefits of mediation are directly proportional to the time you invest. That is, if you think time actually exists 
I sometimes do some meditation and yoga. I forgot what it’s called but I start it with a color countdown. I get into some comfortable position, and think about the color red starting with a dot and it grows larger until all I can see is red, then orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and lastly, indigo. I see myself covered with indigo colored smoke. It really works for me. After 15 minutes, I get up refreshed. If anyone is interested in some more personal development tips you could try the Mentor club.