5 Simple Steps to Meditation

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Meditation is a great tool to practice on a daily routine. It often reconnects us to the flow of life and to see what is truly important. What is meditation? Why is it beneficial? The answers to these questions and more are discussed in the article “The Benefits of Meditation” featured on PickTheBrain.com. 

In this article, I will show you how to meditate in the most basic of forms. Simply put, meditation allows us to be free from that constant chatter of inner talk and criticism. Once you are able to identify that voice, you shall see that majority of that inner dialogue does not serve you. Most of the time, it cripples you, your life, and your happiness.

Those who try to meditate often give up in time because of the difficulty in “connecting.” As they try to be still and find peace of mind, frustrations usually arise when meditation is forced.

Of course meditation does not work in this fashion. When you are connecting to the flow of the universe or God, it is similar to falling asleep. You must be focused but yet allow yourself to “just be.” How often have you had restless nights knowing you had to go to sleep, but yet could not force yourself to do so? The same is with meditation.

The following steps are guidelines for meditation. There is no need to sit in a quiet place or room and pretend you are Buddha. However if that works for you, great! I guarantee that you have reached this meditative state already in your life. Have you ever zoned out while driving home late at night, surprised to arrive at your destination in a blink of an eye? Have you ever washed the dishes and started to move automatically? Have you ever day dreamed, lost in a moment, thinking of nothing? That is mediation. It provides a moment of peace and clarity. These states are calming to the mind and have brought great wisdom and scientific discoveries. These steps will help you manufacture the same connection at your will.

Do what works for you. Find an activity that allows you to free your mind from the constant chatter. I personally meditate in various forms. I am often out in nature and take that opportunity to clear my mind with nature as a tool. Sometimes I play the guitar, sometimes I walk my dog, other times I listen to guided meditations. I find that I must switch up the routines so that mediation is always fresh and new. If not, I would be easily bored and no longer want to meditate.

Once you have mastered meditation, you will be able to connect to the Universe in all sorts of chaos and noises. However for beginners, a quiet place away from everyone will create an easier modality for success.

These steps can be adapted to whatever form of meditation you desire. Take some time to see what activities feed your soul and allow you to get away from this humdrum reality of life.

Step 1: Look

What do you see? What can you see? With your eyes, visually appreciate all the beauty around you. It is a very simple secret to life. Admire all the beauty that is around us constantly. Wherever you are, take the time to visually study the grandeur that is presented to you. How do the children look while playing on the swings? Find the beautiful patterns in the dirt. Enjoy the concrete jungle that is before you. Admire all the different tones and colors that blend with the shadows. Take it all in and find the beauty in all. Exhaust all forms of visual sight.

In time as you continue to practice, you will start to become aware of the auras and energy that color the environment around us. It has been scientifically proven that auras exist. We just have to train our eyes to see them.  A great way to practice is to stare at the trees in front of the bright blue sky. Allow your eyes to drift in focus in and out, and soon you will perfect this sight.

If there is something that you’re incapable of finding beauty, remember this. It is humans that place judgment on what is beautiful or not. In truth, all is beautiful. But if that’s too far a leap for you, allow yourself to then… understand. If you cannot appreciate the marbled texture and color of bird droppings, understand that these droppings exist because of the beautiful, singing, soaring birds. Understand that the rude lady is equally fearful and insecure. See things beyond the surface and appreciate what is hidden.   

The eyes are the gateway to this world and reality as most know it. It allows us to function in the outer world. However our eyes force us to focus on everything external of us. Meditation allows us to find ourselves and connect with the spirit that resides in our soul.

Step 2: Taste and smell

Take a moment to acknowledge all taste and smells. There are many various subtleties of taste and smell one can access. If you are near the ocean, take the time to appreciate the salty air. If you are in the woods, take a moment to acknowledge the smell of oak and sap.

At this stage, it is important to remind yourself to maintain a constant cleansing breath. You want to be able to take deep breaths that penetrate every single inch of your lungs and belly. Breathe this way until you find your natural rhythm.

Some choose to envision thoughts of breathing in peaceful, light air. They choose to exhale their fears, insecurities and sadness away. Some breathe in strength. Others breathe out weakness. The mind, body, and soul are not three different entities. Working as parts to a whole, what you envision can turn to reality.

Step 3: Listen

What can you hear? What echoes around you? As you sit in your own silence, acknowledge all the sounds that surround you. Access all the different volumes and vibrations and single them out. Allow your ears to distinguish and differentiate the tones around you. Are their birds chirping? What does the ocean sound like? Does the wind rustle through the tree? Do the bees buzz?

Allow yourself to key into one frequency and one sound. Allow your mind to filter out all the other sounds to focus on one single sound. Go from sound to sound so that you become familiar with your surroundings. See the world with your ears. Allow yourself to find the peace in the chaos.

Go deeper and deeper.  In time you may hear the sound of the Universe… Om. 

Allow your own breath to take you into this self hypnotic mode.

We are capable of hearing our own heart beats and breaths. These are part of the automatic biological functions that are needed in order to survive. If we are consciously aware of these functions, we could be overwhelmed with data. Meditation helps us be more aware of these functions so that we could further use them to our benefits. In time as you train your mind and ears to hear your own breathing and beats in meditation, we could understand our bodies and minds with greater ease.

Your breath and heartbeat will be with you wherever you go. In chaotic moments in your life, allow your breath to lull you into a state of peace. You have a choice. You can allow all the car horns and chatter to disturb your meditation. However that would be taking the victim role. Take a more powerful role in your life, by allowing every voice, beep, or yell to assist you in getting deeper and more hypnotic.

Step 4: Feel

Access all physical sensations in your body. Work through every inch of your body from the bottom of your feet to the top of your crown. What does your baby toe feel like? Go behind your eyes into your skull. What does your tongue feel like? The hair in your nose? Is your back curved over and stretched tall? Access and acknowledge it all. Exhaust all forms of feeling.

Feel your breath go in and out. Feel your chest rise and falls. Feel the thumping of your heartbeat. If you have pain in your body, don’t ignore it. Acknowledge the pain and ask your mind to let it go. Breathe and send oxygen to that pain. Visualize and imagine your mind and body connecting to the pain and letting the pain go. That is a basic premise in yoga. Yoga is designed to put you in precarious and uncomfortable positions so that your body stretches in new ways to open up bodily pathways to the universe. Often times there are moments of pain as a muscle you never use is tested.  The trick is not to ignore the pain, but to acknowledge the pain for what it is and then ask your body and mind to alleviate the symptoms.

Know your body in a state of peace. Understand how every thing affects your body in the internal world. Every behavior you have starts internally. If you are aware of these shifts in energy and chemistry, you can be able to process and make the best choice, versus reacting in fear, anger, or insecurity. This will prevent negative behavior such as drug/alcohol relapses, needy relationships and temper tantrums. It will also give you a greater understanding of your physical, spiritual and mental health as you are aware of your innerworkings.

Step 5: Clear your mind

This is the most difficult step for most. For some this is the easiest. After you have exhausted all forms of sensation, your last step is to clear your mind and think of nothing. For beginners, you may want to visualize and create an empty space in your mind and hold it for as long as possible.

You may want to imagine an empty canvas or chalkboard. You may want to create a room of empty space. Some envision a cave, river bed, or even basketball court. Use whatever image that serves you best to create the feeling of emptiness.

Your conscious mind will counteract this process by throwing all sorts of thoughts and ideas into your mind. All your fears, hesitations, joys, successes… anything and everything will pop into your mind to distract you. What did I have for breakfast? What’s for lunch? Did I pay those bills? My car needs an oil change. My mother ruined my life. I need more drugs…

Your mind is designed to distract you from connecting to the flow. Your task at this stage of meditation is to simply let it go. When any thoughts arise in your cleared mind, tell  yourself, ”not right now” and just let it go. Do this as soon as you are aware that your mind is processing these thoughts.

Your mind will wander. It is only natural as we have been socialized to be this way. There is no need to criticize yourself and meditative skills. It happens. Once you become aware that you have drifted off in thoughts, acknowledge them and let them go. There is no need to dwell and be hard on yourself. To do so will make it more difficult to find inner peace. Just say “Oops! Did it again. I’ll get better.”

When these thoughts pop into your mind, erase them from your canvass. Let the thoughts drift away in the wind or river. Again use whatever imagery that would allow you to let go of these thoughts. Imagination and inner peace are closely connected.

There will be thoughts that will demand your attention. Give it the attention it needs and let it go as soon as you can. Again you are not forcing this connection. It will come naturally when you are truly able to clear your mind for moments in time.

As you continue to practice and all yourself and mind to just be, you WILL connect. This moment may be brief, it may be long lasting. Regardless you will have this profound sense of beauty, truth, and wisdom. Once you have achieved this level, the next stage is to access this connection again for a longer period. In time, you will be able to increase your effectiveness and connect within seconds and be connected to the flow for days and lives.

Keep in mind, even the most dutiful and powerful beings who meditate have difficulty connecting. Often times, the real world will hammer you with unnecessary information. Working through the steps above will simplify the process to reestablish your connection.

Once you are able to hold this connection to the Universe with a clear mind, you can then use meditation as a tool for continued peace, happiness, and wisdom. You will have an open line of communication. The next level of meditation can be found here… “Using Meditation in a Practical World.”

Though at first the body may react in physically pushed manners, if the activity was constant one could achieve a similar calmness in mind, body, and spirit while hiking.

written by praylove, 02.07.10

I getting into this while I am playing a show. On stage, I seem to click into this mode and I just rock it out. My mind is clear and my senses are in overdrive.

Thank you for helping me see I already meditate. Now that I am conscious about it, i can totally use it to help chill me out.

written by buddhaskip, 02.08.10

I get into this zone in the gym. Sometimes in the morning or late night after the team is gone, I have time to just be by myself. I love to hear the echoing sound of the ball onthe hard wooden floor. The swish of the net is pure and the bricks ring.

It's a good time for me to let go of the thoughts of the day and see them clearly for what they are. What have I learned? What was challenging? What are my intentions?

I love the feel of the ball and the smell of the gym. This is my meditation place.

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