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How to Meditate: A Beginners Guide
By Todd | November 14, 2007
Last week Zen Habits published an article of mine describing effective meditation rituals for beginners.
The article was a huge success, got thousands of comments, and I thought it would be a good idea to expand on these recommendations especially for those of you who have not tried meditation before or consider yourself a novice.
I think the article I posted on ZH was so appealing because I myself am a beginner at meditation (well, maybe an advanced beginner) and am constantly learning new ways to go deeper into my awareness.
Bottom line, meditation can do wonders for your energy levels, ability to focus, health, and overall well-being. The practice is an integral piece to any spiritual development pursuit. So, I bring you How To Meditate For Beginners:
Meditation Is The Art Of Focusing 100% Of Your Attention In One Area
When I made this point on Zen Habits many of the “advanced meditators” told me I was wrong, and argued that meditation is the art of focusing your mind on nothing (or everything).
BUT for beginners, the real challenge is quieting the never-ending chatterbox that is always telling you something. Buddhists call the inner voice “a crazy monkey” and for people who just starting meditation centering ALL your attention in one area is a fantastic way to create razor-sharp focus in the mind.
Whether you use your breath, a candle, or some mental image beginners must cultivate the ability to put their full attention towards one thing! Plus the ability to do this can be SO beneficial in your every day life.
Once you are able to quiet the mind and focus your attention singularly, you get to a second level of meditative experience where “nothing-ness” (or everything-ness) occurs. But the first step HAS to be: Get that chatterbox quiet!
Before You Start a Meditation Practice, Have The Following Mindset:
• Meditate with purpose. You have to realize that meditation is a very ACTIVE process. The art of focusing your attention to a single point is hard work, and you have to be purposefully engaged.
• Commit for the long haul. Meditation is a life-long practice, and you will benefit most by NOT examining the results of your daily practice. Just do the best you can every day, and then let it go!
• Set aside specific time. You will only get to the next level in meditation by creating scheduled pockets of time to practice. For beginners, I recommend 2 daily sessions 15 minutes in length (one in the morning and one at night).
• Make sure you will not be disturbed. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is not insuring peaceful practice conditions. If you have it in the back of your mind that the phone might ring, your kids might wake, or your coffee pot might whistle than you will not be able to attain a state of deep relaxation.
OK, Here Are Some More Detailed Recommendations for Beginners:
• Perhaps the smartest thing you can do in the beginning is read a book (or two) on the practice. Preferably an instructional guide AND one that describes the benefits of deep meditative states. This will get you motivated. John Kabat-Zinn’s Wherever You Go, There You Are is terrific for beginners.
• Similarly, listening to instructional tapes and CDs during sessions can be a huge help.
• Stretch first. Stretching loosens the muscles and tendons allowing you to sit (or lie) more comfortably. Additionally, stretching starts the process of “going inward” and brings added attention to the body.
• Start with the breath. Breathing deep slows the heart rate, relaxes the muscles, focuses the mind and is an ideal way to begin practice.
• Meditating with eyes closed can be challenging for a beginner. Try lighting a candle and using it as your point of focus, this allows you to strengthen your attention with a visual cue and can be very powerful.
• If you choose to meditate with eyes closed, pick a point in the darkness and make that your point of focus. If you start to see “flashes” of light that is a great sign that you are in the present moment, and becoming more aware! When this happens, just try and stay right there!
• Notice frustration creep up on you. This is very common for beginners as we think “hey, what am I doing here” or “why can’t I just quiet my damn mind already”. When this happens, really focus in on your breath and let the frustrated feelings go.
• Generate moments of awareness during the day. Finding your breath and “being present” while not in formal practice is a wonderful way to evolve your meditation habits.
• Be grateful at the end! Once your practice is through, spend 2-3 minutes feeling appreciative of the opportunity to practice and your mind’s ability to focus.
Lastly, I made this point in the ZH article but it is worth mentioning again: Notice when your interest in meditation begins to wane. Meditation is hard work, and you will inevitably come to a point where it seemingly does not fit into the picture anymore.
THIS is when you need your practice the most and I recommend you go back to the book(s) or the CD’s you listened to and become re-invigorated with meditation. Chances are that losing the ability to focus on meditation is parallel with your inability to focus in other areas of your life!
If there were one personal development activity I would encourage you to master it would be meditation. Living moment-to-moment allows your life to flow like a river, and nothing can help your spiritual growth like the practice of meditation!
Photo above by Concept Vessel
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Topics: Alternative and Holistic Healing, Spirituality/Meditation |
[…] Goldfarb presents How to Meditate: A Beginners Guide posted at We The […]
Posted by: I will change your life . com » Blog Archive » Personal Stories of Change Blog Carnival: Edition 11 on November 25th, 2007 at 12:25 pmTodd….I rather like a more informal version of meditation…let the clouds come and go…think thoughts but do not become attached.
Posted by: CG Walters on November 25th, 2007 at 7:49 pmEach has his own way, the proper key to the lock in hand. This is just the way that works for me.
Thanks for a nice article. Continued good meditation.
CG
Thanks for the comment CG….and good points!
Posted by: Todd on November 25th, 2007 at 8:11 pmTodd
[…] How To Meditate For Beginners 20 Steps for Quieting The Mind […]
Posted by: Using Body Awareness For Deeper Meditation on April 4th, 2008 at 8:15 amThe mind is like a crazy monkey! I love that line. Seriously, that’s so accurate.
Posted by: G.Davis on April 22nd, 2008 at 4:20 pmTHANKS G. It really is an accurate sentiment
Posted by: Todd on April 22nd, 2008 at 8:52 pmTodd
[…] enjoy any of those experiences, but I was able to do them all at once. I fear I am actually losing the ability to focus on anything for longer than the time it takes to read a few […]
Posted by: » The One With All The Links Mister Comedy on September 1st, 2008 at 9:05 amGreat words Todd(you know this is good stuff), this help me allot!
I’m a newbie, and so this cleared up what I believe to be 100% of me reaching that state of relaxation that I’m really looking forward to.
Thank you! Keep doing what you are doing!
Posted by: Willie on September 17th, 2008 at 3:27 amAWESOME Willie…thank you SO much for the encouraging words…and glad I could be of service
Posted by: Todd on September 17th, 2008 at 12:06 pmTodd
Todd
Good article thanks.
My son has adhd with mild aspergers. 11 years old and not doing well in school due to not concentrating. I’ve decided to try meditation with him. I’m trying transcendental just now as I think - if I can hear him chanting at least I know he is doing something - and not just sitting thinking how he can get up to the next level on his PSP. Do you have and experience of transcendental? I just have him repeat I am calm. I read elsewhere it was a reasonable choice as it sounds a lot like the traditional Om chant.
Posted by: Andy on October 18th, 2008 at 6:42 amHi Andy, YES I have heard wonderful things about TM. And teaching your child to meditate is an amazing move…I wish I did this when I was younger
Posted by: Todd on October 19th, 2008 at 6:10 pmA great book is Jon Kabat Zinns “Wherever you go there you are”….DEF check it out!
Todd
Thank you Todd, I am searching for ways to find ME and how to stay positive and happy and your articles are very helpful. Thanks
Posted by: Sally on October 25th, 2008 at 9:50 pmI couldn’t agree with you more on the topic of meditating on nothing vrs. something. It is so much more effective for the beginner. When I started I almost quit until I stumbled across that very thing of focusing on something specific. It was extremely discouraging to attempt to achieve “nothingness” as a beginner. For me I found that I could quickly go beyond the singular object visualization and move into meditating on or visualizing a concept or even an event. I found this to be a different experience to be sure than meditating on the proverbial flower but incredibly powerful in helping me in my every day.
Posted by: David Selby on December 16th, 2008 at 1:45 pmHi Todd,
Beautiful article. I tried meditating today, and well… I got frustrated because I couldn’t focus. Your article provides some fantastic insights and recommendations that I will be trying out in today’s evening session. Thank you for that.
But, I was wondering if you could give me some suggestions on where I could find some good instructional tapes. Once again, thank you.
Posted by: Karthik Rajendiran on December 31st, 2008 at 10:11 amI found this very helpful. My Dad has always told me meditation will help me to concentrate more. But I barely knew how to meditate. So, I decided to google search instructions on it. I tried the instructions but never could tell if I was doing it right or not. I always started out by seeing darkness. Then a flash of light, which to me, I thought my eyes had suddenly opened a little and saw some light from the room. So I decided to give up. That was probably a year or two ago. Now, I searched again and this was the third one I found. It helped me very much understand that I am on the right track. I hope to learn more on meditation because it’s the only thing I find I can actually concentrate on
Posted by: Lisa on January 6th, 2009 at 11:33 pmThank you for making this site! It’s very helpful!! And sorry for the long post
Thanks so much Lisa, and no worries about the long comment
I am glad the article helped…all I can tell you re: meditation is this: keep trying! It is a life long practice and journey…each experiece is unique, and learning how to embrace the moment, whatever it is, is the key!
Posted by: Todd on January 7th, 2009 at 2:37 pmGood luck, and I’ll be writing more on meditation soon!
Todd
Im a beginniner… a pre teen at that and i think i got flashes as well as the frustration…every thing you said happened…i think
Posted by: shan on April 21st, 2009 at 6:00 pmI’m just starting meditiation, but this helped me a lot I felt like I had reached this trance it was the weirdest thing but amazing at the same time thanks.
Posted by: Bailey on April 22nd, 2009 at 1:44 ami wanna try it out to see how it is..
can something bad happen to u while u do this like collapse or anything liek that?
Posted by: erick on May 3rd, 2009 at 3:18 pmHoping this will work they say it’s great for depression…i really need a picker upper. Gonna try tonight! Thanks for the site with what to expect and do…thanks!
Posted by: Ashley on May 22nd, 2009 at 12:19 am