Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting completely still.  Simple, comfortable repetitive motion can provide the right dynamic as well. Just like breathing, giving your brain something to concentrate on without actually thinking will help move you into a quieter space.

How to meditate using repetitive motion

If you’re a pet owner try sitting comfortably while rhythmically petting your dog or cat.  Slowly and easily repeat the same motion over and over. Let your mind follow the physical movement and the sensation of touching fur. If the pet is done before you are, let him go and simply relax back into the comfortable space you were just in.

As long as you don’t have to watch for curbs or traffic; cycling, walking or running can also get you there.  Just be sure the motion is easy, not highly aerobic, and that it’s comfortable. You want your mind to reach for the physical sensations, not avoid them. Count paces or repetitions if that’s easier.

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Here is a brief (approximately 10 minutes) video introduction to meditation using breathing and a simple mantra. Some people find a mantra helps them to stay focused while for others it’s an even bigger distraction. Try it and see what works best for you.

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There are a lot of different styles, techniques, and how-to articles out there on meditation.  Google’s keyword tool says there are more than a million queries a month on “meditation” and over 27,000 on “how to meditate“. That’s a lot of people  seeking something more than what they have.  The goal of most meditation is to quiet the conscious mind so it shouldn’t come as a shock that no one size fits all.  There are so many ways of thinking and learning that you may have to try out a few different methods before you find what works best for you.  The one thing I’m sure about is that if you are stopping every two minutes to ask if you’re doing it right, you’re not!

This is the technique that works best for me; I’ll be posting others periodically so that there’s a variety of things to try.

Preliminaries – know your physical emotional center; this is the part of your body that has a physical reaction to emotions, good or bad.  Mine is my stomach, but I have friends that feel things in their throats and some in their hearts.  If you’re not sure,  visualize a really happy event and observe your physical reactions.  Repeat the exercise a few times over the course of a few days and see what body parts are consistently speaking up.

Also, have a quiet place to meditate; it doesn’t have to be fancy, have crystals or incense, or even be devoid of people. Just a place where you won’t be interrupted and you can tune out any distractions.

How to meditate using conscious awareness

Step 1: Sit comfortably and close your eyes.  Find your sense of “me”ness in your body. For me, I find myself in my head, but then it’s universally acknowledged that I think too much.  Sit with that sense of consciousness for a moment.

Step 2: Let your sense of consciousness move to your emotional center.  For me that means letting that sense of ‘me’ drop from my head to my stomach.  I can feel my attention and my sense of self all coalescing in that location.  Sit with that sense of consciousness for a moment.

Step 3:  When you feel relaxed and centered here, gently push your awareness to a point just outside your body; a few inches from where it was last.  If you find your attention breaking then gently bring yourself back to the point where you are fully centered and try again.

Step 4: Once you have your attention focused on that outside point, relax into it until you feel ready to stop.  This is the point to ask any questions where you want clarity or guidance, but don’t assume you’ll get the answer right then and there. It may come then or sometime during the day or week as you go about your normal business. Often I just get a sense of reassurance which I take to mean “stop worrying!”

Some basic meditation tips:

• Pick a time when you can be in the moment and give meditation your full concentration rather than keeping one eye on the clock to get to work or pick someone up.
• If you find meditation intimidating or have a had a very stressful day ease into it with a short audio guided meditation, one that lasts about ten or fifteen minutes.  This will help break your thought loop and create a more relaxed starting point.
• Don’t stress if you don’t immediately have some awe-inspiring experience. It may not be the right technique for you or you may just need some practice.  OR… having a quiet reflective moment to yourself is the awe-inspiring experience that you need right now.

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