Meditation Made Very Simple: A Beginner’s Guide

So meditation is a big umbrella,

And under that umbrella,

We've got mindfulness,

We've got transcendental meditation,

We've got mantras,

We've got visualizations,

And the list goes on and on.

But ultimately,

Meditation is about focusing attention on purpose and coming back with gentle persistence.

If you like,

I like to use this,

The mindfulness triangle,

Focusing attention on purpose at the top of the triangle,

And then what happens?

We get distracted.

When we're distracted,

We're no longer at that point of focus.

And then we notice that we're distracted.

So focus,

Get distracted,

Notice.

When we notice that we're distracted,

It's not a moment of failure.

This is so empowering,

Especially when we first start in meditation.

Focus,

Get distracted,

Notice.

When we notice that we're distracted,

It's not a moment of failure,

It's a win because you've been distracted.

Stopped and noticed.

It's a moment of mindfulness.

You have noticed and the crux here is that when we notice that we're distracted,

See it as a win and gently come back again.

Focus,

Get distracted,

Notice.

Focus,

Get distracted,

Notice.

It's like going around a triangle.

Finally,

I just want to say that if we buy into the thoughts in our mind about our practice,

Right?

So we get distracted and then the mind goes,

Oh,

You're too distracted.

That's the mind tripping you up.

And you're bouncing around at the bottom of the triangle.

Notice,

Get distracted,

Notice,

Get distracted,

Notice,

Get distracted.

So the idea here is to recognize distraction is a win.

And can I gently come back to focus again?

The other thing to mention,

Finally,

Is that When we are introduced to meditation,

I know when I was a kid,

It was introduced in a way where we clear our mind of thoughts.

What we're doing in meditation is being with ourselves,

Being with the present moment and having some kind of anchor to focus on and gently come back to or a visualization or a mantra,

Whatever it is,

Whatever aspect of meditation it is,

Then that's what we do.

And if the triangle helps you focus,

Get distracted,

Notice,

Focus,

Get distracted,

Notice.

Every time you come back to focus and you do that gently,

The brain.

Associated with this.

So I hope that's helpful.