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Buddhists use meditation to transform themselves and to move beyond the distractions of the world to see the true nature of things. And it works. Clinical evidence shows that mindfulness meditation – in which the practitioner focuses on his or her breathing – improves cognition and emotional control, and can also reduce blood pressure, decrease stress, anxiety, and depression, help with insomnia, and even slow the aging of the brain. Loving-kindness meditation – in which the practitioner focuses on developing unconditional kindness and love – is useful for dealing with anger control issues, marital conflict, and the challenge of providing long-term care to a relative or friend. To get the benefits of meditation, you'll need to prepare get in the right frame of mind, find a quiet place, and practice regularly.
Many people find it helps to meditate first thing in the morning in order to start the day fresh and with a clear mind. Others like to meditate in the evening to help them relax and clear their mind before bed, or to meditate in the middle of the day in order to manage work stress. Any time is a good time to mediate. Pick the time that works for you.
Meditating requires concentration and focus. If you're tired, it will be much more difficult. This is another reason why many people prefer to meditate in the morning.
The goal of meditation is to calm your mind and to transcend negative emotions. Loose, comfortable clothing will help to ensure you are distracted as little as possible by physical discomfort.
You will want to find a room where no loud noises or sudden interruptions will disturb your meditation.
Turn off your cell phone or pager. If you have a landline, turn off the ringer. Ask your family not to interrupt you during your session.
The classic mediation pose is with the legs crossed before you, hands folded in your lap, but it does not matter you sit does not matter so long as you are comfortable and your back is straight to allow you breathe deeply and fully.
Adopting the proper pose can help you to remain comfortable and relaxed as you meditate. Keep your head slightly bent forward, your teeth slightly apart, and your shoulders relaxed. It is best to keep your eyes half-closed, but if that is too distracting, you may close them.
Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and swallow. This will create a slight vacuum that will reduce saliva and the need to swallow.
Start with 15 minutes. Use a timer; you don't want to be glancing at the clock repeatedly. Try to last the entire time you have allotted, but if you get tired or too distracted, it's ok to stop.
You may have particular reasons you are meditating: to help you move past negative actions – e.g. fighting with your wife – or to deal with stress. Meditation can help by calming your mind and helping you to set aside negative emotions, particularly if you focus on one emotion at a time. In addition to considering your own reasons for meditation, you might consider starting your session with one of prayers that Buddhists use to remind them why they are meditating.
Breathe through your nose. Concentrate on each inhalation and exhalation. Feel the rise and fall of your abdomen. Do not control your breath, simply be mindful of it. Clear your mind of everything but this focus on your breathing. The goal is to achieve peace and stillness of mind.
Thoughts will inevitably pop into your head, particularly when you are new to meditation. Don't be upset if they do. "Do not try to stop thoughts, allow them to arise, but recognize their arising and do not pursue them. The goal is not to have no thoughts but for thoughts to arise and yet be rendered powerless" (Garchen Ripoche). Let them leave your mind of their own accord.
Pain from sitting so long, sleepiness, desire and more can make it hard to meditate. Don't worry. Everyone experiences these things. The more you meditate, the better you will become at moving past distractions.
Begin by meditating for 15 minutes at a time, once a day. 15 minutes might seem long at first, but as you get better at relaxing and clearing your mind, it will get easier. Try to extend the length of your mediation by 5 minutes each week until you are able to mediate for 45 minutes.
The goal of this type of mindfulness meditation is to train your mind in kindness and compassion. You will try to develop feeling of loving kindness towards.
Once you are in a focused, contemplative state, you will work on sending feelings of love and happiness first to yourself, then to each of the other four people in turn.
There are three main techniques to inspire the proper emotions within you:
The emotion is the key, not the device you use to evoke it. When the feeling of loving-kindness arises, concentrate on that feeling. However, if the feeling fades, you may return to the device you used to evoke it.
. Project your feelings of loving-kindness to the four points of the compass. It may help to think of people you know in cities in each direction that you can direct your love towards. The ultimate goal is to not have to direct your love in this way, but rather to simply radiate feelings of unconditional universal love in all directions.