Basics of Meditation

1. Clean your space.

2. Get comfortable.

3. Body Check.

4. Use the alarm clock meditation.

5. Observe the breath.

6. Hold your attention.

7. Wish yourself well.

8. Let it be.

Before we begin meditation proper there are a few preliminaries we need to master.

1. First, relaxing the body whilst keeping the back straight (not a rigid back).

2. Second, slowing the breathing down so it becomes deep, calm and rhythmic.

3. Third, developing one-pointed concentration. This is a gentle focusing on the object of concentration so we can keep our thoughts at bay, allowing us to experience some quietness, ‘enter’ the object of concentration and, with practice, pass beyond the 'noisy' mind.

What is Meditation?

Meditation has a different meaning for different people. Some use it to relax some to help them succeed at sport or in business. Some people meditate to help them deal with emotional upsets, others are looking for mental clarity and to develop concentration. Meditation can, in time, do all this. It brings our potential to the fore, it calms the mind, helps us get our problems in perspective. It teaches us to focus positively on the task at hand.

And still meditation is more than all this. It is a tool to develop and expand our consciousness. In meditation proper we dive deep within to find our inner treasures – peace, love, delight and more.

'When we can make the mind calm and quiet, we will feel that a new creation is dawning inside us. When the mind is vacant and tranquil and our whole existence becomes an empty vessel, our inner being can invoke infinite peace, light and bliss to enter into the vessel and fill it. This is meditation.'

– Sri Chinmoy