In 2015, it is fairly common knowledge that meditation provides many benefits. Scores of neurological articles have touted the physiological changes that occur in the brains of regular meditators. We see that meditation has a direct effect on stress, concentration, perspective, health, sleep, happiness, and sense of peace. There is no longer a question as to whether or not meditation is helpful, but the question now is: How in the heck is a person actually supposed to get started in meditation?
When many people hear the word “meditation,” they call to mind the image of a shaved-head monk on a mountainside sitting in the lotus position. Rest assured, however, that you do not need to climb a mountain or even shave your head to meditate. You can meditate anywhere you’d like (and you can do so with any hairstyle you’d like, as well). The ultimate goal of meditation is to quiet your mind. Quieting your mind is not particularly easy, but it is possible.
First, it’s important to know that meditation is like physical exercise: The more you do it, the better you get at it; and it definitely takes practice to become really good doing it. Just the way you cannot expect to exercise one time and become a champion fitness star, if you do not practice meditation regularly, you will not see results like you would if you did it regularly. Also just like exercise, there are more and less effective ways to meditate; so here are some quick guidelines to consider regarding effective ways you can meditate, followed by nine different types of meditation that you can try:
QUICK GUIDELINES
- Find a relatively quiet space
- Sit comfortably, but be mindful to keep your back straight (there is a difference between sitting to lounge around and sitting to meditate)
- Try to sit as absolutely still as possible (it is said that, “a still body leads to a still mind”)
- If you’re in a spot where you feel safe and comfortable to do so, consider closing your eyes so you’re not distracted by visual stimuli (as you progress in meditation, you will learn that many people keep their eyes slightly open)
- Be mindful to try to slow your breathing down to a controlled, comfortable rhythm
- Instead of worrying about whatever thoughts come to mind, just try your best to notice or observe whatever thoughts that you do have
- Attempt to be as present as possible by focusing on the here and now
9 DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEDITATION THAT YOU CAN TRY
Although the ultimate goal of meditation is quieting your mind, below are some great meditations to get you started in the habit of meditation. The more meditation becomes a habit, the more effective you will become at quieting your mind. In the meantime, these meditations are very effective means for gaining the benefits of meditation. Although 20 minutes a day is ideal, it is my recommendation that you start with 2 minutes a day. Whereas you might easily find an excuse to not have 20 minutes in a day, it is much more difficult to find an excuse to not have 2 minutes in a day. The more that mediation becomes a daily habit, the more likely you will naturally increase the time that you choose to sit in meditation.
- THE NOTICING MEDITATION: Try simply noticing whatever thoughts you have as if you are an outsider looking into your mind. Do not try to control your thoughts in any way, just simply observe your thoughts without judgment.
- THE FOCUSING MEDITATION: Try focusing solely on your breathing deep, controlled breaths.
- THE VISUALIZING MEDIATION: Try to visualize breathing in peaceful, clean, healing air, and then visualize breathing out anything negative or troubling that you feel is inside of you.
- THE MANTRA MEDITATION: Try repeating a mantra over and over. A mantra is a word or short saying. Try to pick one that resonates with you. The mantra can even be a name. The goal is to focus singularly on the word or phrase, instead of the myriad of thoughts that usually travel in and out of your mind.
- THE SINGLE SPOT MEDITATION: Try focusing on a single spot, such as a candle or statue (In this type of meditation, you will want to have your eyes open, or you can have your eyes closed and simply visualize a particular spot).
- THE COMPASSION MEDITATION: Try the following compassion meditation (to help you develop and expand your compassion for others). Repeat the phrase:
- May X be healthy
- May X be peaceful
- May all of X’s good intentions be fulfilled
- (Replace “X” with whatever name you choose)
In this type of compassion meditation, the goal is to expand your ability to show compassion for all people. You start with yourself, then say the phrases for your closest loved ones, then friends, and so on, until you are able to include people with whom you struggle (i.e., enemies). If you cannot get yourself to say this meditation for an enemy, just go back to saying it for those who are your closest loved ones again, and continue to move outward a second time. The more you practice it, the more you will likely be able to eventually include enemies, until you reach the goal of having no enemies or no people with whom you struggle to have compassion.
- THE LIGHT MEDITATION: Imagine a great light off in the distance. Imagine that the light begins to move closer toward you. As the light moves closer toward you, you notice that it is spinning, and you draw the light into you, focusing on gathering the light. The goal is to gather the light so much that it fills you up completely until you become the light itself.
- THE HELPING MEDITATION: Getting your mind off your own issues and more focused on helping others is a great way to actually help yourself. Try to help the suffering of others by doing the following meditation exercise: Breathe in the pain and suffering of others, trusting that the Divine energy within you will heal that pain and suffering as you breathe it in, and then, as you exhale, visualize sending the now healed energy as a balm back to the person or people who are struggling with that pain and suffering. Repeat this process for as many people as you would like.
- THE LISTENING MEDITATION: Here, you will attempt to simply quiet your mind by listening to your essence – which is definitely something you will get better at doing with practice. The goal of the listening meditation is to quiet your thoughts through the act of listening. There are different ways the listening meditation can be done. Two general ways you can practice the listening meditation are:
- Attempt to hear the sound of silence
- If you have spiritual beliefs, try asking a Divine source to come into your life, and then clear your mind so that you can hear what is being communicated
Although the ultimate goal of meditation is to quiet your mind and connect with your essence, any of these meditations here will help put you in the habit of actually practicing. Remember, start with two minutes a day until the process of meditation becomes a habit. The more meditation becomes a habit, the more comfortable you will become with both increasing the time you do it and in using the form that best fits you. Most importantly, the more you practice meditation, the more you will reap the many benefits it provides.