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When most of us think about meditation, we envision a Tibetan
monk wearing little more than a tattered orange robe, sitting at
the top of a desolate mountain, pondering the sound of one hand
clapping (which by the way is "Ohm"). I don't know about you,
but I don't have that kind of spare time.
The good news is that this is only one of more than a thousand
ways to meditate. You don't need to swear off humanity to reap
the countless benefits of meditation. So, what do you need?
Well, for starters, you need to learn some of the various
methods of meditation out there. It also helps to be able to
dedicate at least 5 minutes to meditation each day.
If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that the minute hand on
my watch is moving much faster today than it did years ago. It
seems harder to make time for self-improvement and some of the
loftier goals we once enjoyed. With all of the advancements in
technology and society as a whole, we've effectively quadrupled
the level of complexity in our lives. We are faced with far more
decisions and far more frustration. Now, this isn't true about
everything, but you get the point.
How do we regain control of our lives? How do we effectively
deal with anger, anxiety, frustration, and negativity?
Meditation comes to the rescue! If you were to spend just 5-10
minutes a day on meditation, I could almost guarantee you a
happier, more fulfilling life. How can I be so sure? Well, I am
just one of millions of people in the world who meditate
everyday with amazing results. I can attest to the numerous
benefits meditation brings, not only through my own experiences,
but also through the research I have done on the topic.
You are in the driver's seat when it comes to meditation. You
choose the type of meditation you want to do, when you want to
do it, and for how long. In a way, you choose the results you
get from meditation as well. It's pretty simple: the more time
you can spend on meditation, the more likely you are to have
greater results. Now, I want to point out that meditation is not
a results oriented endeavor, by its nature. I doubt that you'll
come out of your first meditation, feeling like an enlightened
master, but you will start to see results over time. The effects
of meditation are cumulative. The results are also dependant on
each individual. Everyone is on a different path, and so, will
respond differently to meditation.
So, how do you start meditating anyway? Well, in the olden days,
an interested student would seek out a master, and if the master
accepted, would be that master's apprentice. For years, they
would train together, until one day, the student would be ready
to go out into the world as a master. If this is the way you'd
like to learn, I wish you the best of luck. This type of
training still goes on in much of the world, but is not the best
way to learn in my opinion, unless you are willing to dedicate
your entire life to meditation.
I'm of the belief that meditation should work for you, and not
the other way around. It's real easy to start meditating
immediately. You can learn meditation in many ways. You can take
a class, read a book, and/or learn from articles like this one.
Which method you choose depends entirely on your learning style
and the teacher.
Still think it's too hard to learn? Well, here's a quick and
easy meditation you can do virtually anywhere. Find a
comfortable spot to sit or lie down. Try to pick a spot where
you won't be interrupted for a few minutes, if possible. When
you're comfortable, close your eyes and begin to breathe deeply.
Try to breath in through your nose, making sure your stomach
rises as you inhale (most people's chests rise as they inhale),
and then breath out through your mouth, allowing your stomach to
return to its natural state. Do this three to five times. And
then you can continue to breath normally. The goal of this
particular meditation is to focus all of your attention on your
breathing. This means that whenever a thought pops into your
head, and it will, simply observe the thought and let it go. How
do you do this? By refocusing your attention on your breathing.
Every time you have a thought, just observe it without giving it
any extra thought, and refocus on your breathing. Do this for as
long as you comfortably can. For some, this will be less than a
minute, while others may be able to do this for hours. As you
practice this meditation more often, you too will be able to do
it for much longer.
It's that easy! There are thousands of different meditations out
there and as you start to meditate, you'll find some work better
for you than others. If you stick to it though, these are the
benefits you might expect to see: improved memory and
concentration, increased self-healing potential, a general sense
of well-being, and much more.
About this Author -- Ali Sharifi has been teaching meditation,
stress relief, and relaxation techniques since 1995. He is the
President of The Sage Within, a company dedicated to helping
people live happier lives through the use of simple, effective
tools and products.
Visit http://sagewithin.com for FREE audio guided meditations,
FREE articles, and their FREE monthly newsletter.
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