Ever wonder why people meditate? Why take the time to sit still for 20 minutes a day when you have 1,001 things to do? The following article is a brief introduction to the discipline we call meditation. It will cover a few health benefits as well as practical tips to help find you find your Zen.
Meditation 101: Clearing your ‘Mental CACHE’
Have you ever had that scatterbrain feeling? It’s like you have a hundred pop-up windows open on your computer desktop and you’re not sure which ones to ignore, which ones to respond to and which one’s are just spam? Ever feel like you’re trying to figure out a Rubik’s cube in your head all day? Well, you’re not alone. We’ve successfully made our lives a hundred times more complicated than they should be. If only there were a firewall in your brain to filter out the mental clutter? How about a way defrag your system and clear your mental cache so the system doesn’t overload? Well, there is. It’s a software program compatible with all human operating systems. It’s called meditation.
Meditation has gotten a lot of press lately, but it isn’t just a New Age trend. In fact, there’s nothing ’new’ about it. It’s been around for literally thousands of years. Practiced by Yogis, Zen monks, martial artists and sages from around the globe, it is a timeless discipline that is needed now more than ever. The problem with most traditional meditation techniques is that they don’t speak to everyone. Modern people who live the busy, hectic, cyber-lifestyle don’t want to hear about “calming your mind” or “finding your center”. Fortunately, there are a few no-nonsense things we can do to bring this practice into the 21st century (and beyond).
Time & Place
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TIME
When should I meditate? You can meditate whenever you wish, but sunrise and sunset seem to be the optimum times.
How long should I meditate? The most common recommendation for secular practitioners is 20 minutes a day. That’s it. No more, no less. As you get better at it, you’ll notice the very concept of ’time’ going right out the window. To keep yourself from floating off into transcendental la-la land, it’s useful to have an MP3 player. Your Ipod is a great way to help block out distractions as well as monitor your time. Have a special ‘meditation’ playlist full of relaxing music like Mozart, Enya, Celtic flutes, African drums, Tibetan chants or soft trance beats. Keep this playlist short. After the last song is over (20 minutes or so), you’re done for the day.
TIP: Avoid loud, angry or overly fast music. This will only agitate you and is counterproductive to what you’re trying to accomplish with your meditation practice. Save your heavy metal playlist for the gym!
RECHARGING YOUR BATTERIES…
Place
You don’t have to stand under a waterfall (traditional Ninja mental defragging practice) but you do need to find a place that’s distraction free, relatively quiet and above all comfortable. At home, designate a place in the den or out on the deck to do your routine ‘plug in’. Try to use the same spot daily if at all possible. Of course, some places are more conducive to enlightenment than others. If you have access to an outdoor park with lots of trees, mountains and water, you’ll find it’s very hard NOT to be peaceful. Mother nature has her own energy signature that helps entrain the cells of your body and purify any toxic energy fields you have stored in your mind. If you live in the city, you might have to turn the volume up a bit on the Ipod.
TIP: Use a pillow to help prop yourself into an upright sitting position.
Techniques (3 easy steps)
1. RELAX. Your first objective is to release any physical tension you may have stored in your body. Do a few neck, back and finger stretches even before you get into your sitting position. Once sitting, be sure your posture is straight, but not tense. The most popular position is cross legged with your hands cupped in your lap (like you do when you’re playing video games). Feel free to move around until your body settles. If you have a scratch, itch it! Don’t worry so much about becoming a ‘statue’. Listen to your body’s subtle signals and adjust accordingly. It’s far better to shift positions than to give up because you were uncomfortable.
TIP: You can also alternate tensing and relaxing all of your muscles to improve circulation.
2. BREATHE. Your second task is to slowly let go of all of your mental worries. The fastest way to put your daily ‘1,001 TO DO’ list on hold is to count your breaths. Begin by slowly counting from 1 to 10 on the IN BREATH and again (from 1 to 10) on the OUT BREATH. This 20 second breath will slow your breathing rate to about 3 breathes per minute. If you can’t do it right away, count to 5, 7 or 8. (Eventually, you’ll get the 10) You can also count in English, German, Chinese or Japanese if you wish. The idea is to give your conscious mind a bone to chew on while your body learns how to be still.
TIP: One of the biggest reasons why beginners give up on meditation is because their minds jump around from idea to idea like a rabid monkey in heat. If you get visual static while meditating, this is normal. Don’t try to judge, label or interpret what flashes across your mind. Just let these ideas go. Imagine them like bubbles floating to the top of a glass of wine. At the surface, they usually pop and are gone.
If you’re still worried about the “TO DO” list, just write all your chores down beforehand and agree to forget about them for the next 20 minutes. Don’t worry, your emails, faxes and TPS reports will still be waiting for you when you get back!
3. VISUALIZE the OCEAN. Eventually, your mind will begin to quiet. Your breath count should start to quiet as well and all you’re left with is the sound of the ocean. Your IN and OUT breathes should remind you of Darth Vader or gentle waves crashing on the shore. At this stage, your brain pattern should be resonating in what’s known as ALPHA STATE. It is a mental state (8-12 Hz) of relaxed alertness common among Yoga practitioners, musicians and athletes who are “in the zone”.
TIP: If this calm feeling doesn’t happen right away, don’t force it. You can always try again tomorrow.
Welcome Back!
After the last song is over on your Ipod, slowly bring yourself back to a waking state. Maybe do a few neck stretches, massage your fingers, hit a
few reflexology points on your feet and gently pound the muscles in those legs. Welcome back!
RESULTS
The most significant results of mediation are mental clarity, energy recharge and focus. Mediation is designed to help clear the fog associated with ‘ordinary’ living. It’s a lot like putting your computer on “STANDBY” mode for a while. Imagine closing down all those extra windows on your desktop, shaking that Etch-a-Sketch clean or being the calm eye of that violent hurricane we call our lives. Some would call this “Inner peace”…I would call it a good start. This feeling of relaxed energy isn’t something you can buy on Ebay. (Although a Yoga mat, a Bonsai tree and a Gong might be useful tools if you must buy things.)
Hopefully, you’ll find it easier and easier to arrive at the proper state the more you practice. Avoid being discouraged if you don’t feel ‘at peace’ right away. With proper conditioning, your daily meditation will translate clarity, calm and focus into the rest of your day. With your mental batteries fully recharged, you’d be surprised how much more you can accomplish without those rabid monkeys jumping around in your skull!
Oh, and if you get caught meditating at work, just tell the boss that scheduling 20 minutes a day to do “nothing” is good for productivity!
“Ohm…..”
Photos
Solitude: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jhoc/2665726862/
