Wisdom Strategy Research Institute

Meditation is simple, proven by dozens of scientific studies to be effective, and in my opinion essential for anyone who is interested in improving themselves.

In fact, if you aren't meditating for at least 10 minutes everyday then either of a couple of things is the case:

1) You started meditating at some point but dropped it out. If this is true for you what this means is that you ran into some kind of a problem that interferred with your meditation practice and therefore it would benefit you to troubleshoot your meditation practice find the snarl and unravel it.

2) A common reason many people give is that they have trouble fitting it into your schedule. On the surface this seems legit enough, right. However, consider that we are only talking about minimum of 10 minutes per day. 10 MINUTES! to get some nice benefits. Now assuming you are reasonably intelligent, and reasonably empowered as a person you can find 10 minutes a day if you want to. That is the bottom line. So, if you have been giving this as a reason for not meditating, and you already know how to meditate, it means there is an underlying reason you aren't getting enough benefits from your meditation practice to make it worth your while.

It very well may be that you haven't been meditating in so long that whatever snarl that you ran into is no longer there. So, let's assume that that's the case, and get you back to it. If something shows up, then we will just handle whatever shows up.

Thus, my recommendation for you if you fall into this category is to first review a meditation technique that appeals to you. Then, schedule 10 minutes a day (Remember, you had been saying you didn't have time, so lets just have you start with 10 minutes.) Then follow through and do your meditation for 10 minutes a day.

If goes well, that's excellent! Congratulate yourself on getting back to it, and enjoy the benefits.

If it doesn't go so well, then go to the meditation troubleshooting checklist.

3) You just plain haven't learned how to meditate.

In this article we'll focus on this third reason, not knowing how.

First of all, please understand, as with so many things in life there is no single one right way to meditate. There are thousands and thousands of variations. We'll cover a few of the more popular styles.

1) Mantra Meditation. A mantra is a sound, word or phrase you repeat over and over again during your meditation. This is silent, internal repetition. Mantra repetition out loud is called chanting. While chanting is a valuable practice, it is different from meditation.
a) Pick a word or short phrase - some possible examples include Now, Love, Peace, Relax, Let go, One, Ok
b) Close your eyes and relax your body.
c) As you exhale, calmly repeat your word or phrase.
d) Continue for 10 - 20 minutes.

2) Centering Prayer. This is very similar to Mantra Meditation, except that instead of being tied to your breathing, you repeat your word or phrase anytime you notice that you have any thought, or feeling. This process comes from Catholic monks.

3) Zazen. This is from Zen Buddhism. Sit with your eyes slightly open, and with each exhale count from 1 to 10. So - exhale "one", inhale, exhale "two", etc. If you get distracted, or lose count start over at "one".

There are many, many other ways to meditate. Many of them are variations on these 3 basic styles. You can change from one kind of meditation to another with each time you meditate.

Many people find that 2 practice periods, one in the morning and one in the evening of 20 minutes or so each works rather well.

If 2 sessions of 20 minutes each seems like a lot to you, then start with 20 minutes a day, or even 10 minutes if you don't feel like you can spare more than that.

If you meditate less than 10 minutes a day, it's better than nothing, and you will see some benefit, however, I always encourge at least 10 minutes a day.

Bon Voyage, good meditation journeys to you !

Robert Holzhauser