So today I had a friend ask me,
How do I meditate?
Should I use an app?
Should I use guided meditations?
Should I get an instructor?
Should I pay you to teach me sort of thing?
And my answer was this,
It's like anything,
You need to find the approach that works best for you.
And given that this person was just coming to the practice of meditation,
Just thinking about it,
I offered a few different suggestions.
Try a meditation app,
Try some instructors in person,
Sit in silence,
Find what works for you and move towards it.
Then I got thinking and really,
How do you know where to start or what even to try?
What style?
There's millions of different types and approaches and ways to start meditating.
So then it depends on what your goals are.
What are you looking for?
Is it a self-care activity,
A focus activity,
A mental health activity?
Are you approaching it to gain deeper insights and wisdom?
Are you looking for enlightenment?
What is the goal?
Because that will help you to work out the sort of style or type of meditation.
And we were talking back and forwards on this and he asked me,
Well,
What do you do?
What do you recommend?
How did you start and how should I start?
So that leads me to the crux of this talk,
Which is a how to mindfully meditate instructional for absolute beginners.
And by definition,
It is very simple.
It has four parts.
So four parts of how to mindfully meditate for absolute beginners.
Number one,
Sit comfortably,
Sit alone and quiet is best.
So if you can do this in a quiet space and alone,
That is ideal.
Nature sounds are OK,
But any sort of human discussion or talking or music or anything like that is going to be a bit distracting.
Once again,
For more advanced or even intermediate meditators,
That may not be such a big deal.
But starting out,
Find a comfortable position alone and in silence or at least with nature present.
When I say sit comfortably,
Any posture,
Any seated position will do,
Provided you are not in pain and not going to fall asleep.
I choose a cross-legged position or a kneeling position with my eyes open.
That's my preference.
And I encourage you to find a preference that works for you.
So step one is sit comfortably.
Step two is set a five minute timer.
I say five minutes because that's a good starting point to begin your practice.
Five minutes is a good place to start.
Anywhere from one to 10 minutes is good for a beginner.
Any more than that,
It can become overwhelming.
It's like a gym exercise session.
You wouldn't just start running a marathon.
You wouldn't just start lifting super heavy weights.
You'd build yourselves up.
So I just picked the arbitrary time of five minutes.
So you're sitting comfortably.
You've set a five minute timer and then you pick a meditation object.
Traditionally,
This is the breath.
The sensation is the breath entering and leaving the nose.
But it could be the breath felt at the belly or the chest or anywhere.
It could be sounds.
It could be images.
Pick an object and bring your mind to focus upon it.
So you're sitting comfortably.
You set the timer.
You've chosen a meditation object and you're focusing on it.
Step four is final step.
When you notice your mind wandering,
Gently and lovingly bring it back to focus.
And that's it.
So your mind wanders,
You bring it back.
Your mind wanders,
You bring it back.
So then it's like,
Well,
How do we define success?
What makes a good meditation session?
Well,
Success is finishing the session.
It's getting through that five minutes without stopping.
Your mind will play tricks on you.
It will say to stop.
It will tell you that you're busy.
It will suggest things that you could be doing,
Better ways to use your time.
It will send pain signals,
All of these different things.
All of that is a distraction.
Acknowledge it and bring it back to the focus on the meditation object.
Success equals finishing the session.
And I suppose a bit more than that,
Repeating this practice daily.
Do it in the morning as a part of your morning time routine,
Or more specifically any time that works best for your life.
If that's in transition between work and home or the gym and home,
Et cetera,
Figure it out what works best for you and do it religiously for lack of a better expression,
Then make it a habit.
And remember the goal is that we're not aiming for a blank or empty mind,
But we're just trying to notice the mind's wandering and gently bring it back to focus.
That is success.
So to recap,
One,
Sit comfortably.
Two,
Set a five minute timer.
Three,
Pick a meditation object like the breath,
Sight,
Sound,
Or anything like that.
And four,
When you notice your mind wandering,
Gently bring it back to the object of your meditation.
Success comes at the end of the five minutes,
Regardless of how busy or quiet or focused or not focused your mind was.
If you have any questions,
Please reach out.
And yeah,
I encourage you after this session to give it a try.
Set that five minute timer,
Pick a meditation object,
Get comfortable and just return your focus back to it for the duration.
Do it daily and your mental state,
Your wisdom,
Your life will improve.
Catch up.
