subject: For Meditation - To People Who Want To Meditate, But Find It Difficult [print this page] For Meditation - To People Who Want To Meditate, But Find It Difficult
As a sales professional, Mike does very well. His job as an insurance agent is exciting and very stressful at the same time. Because of this, his blood pressure climbed to an unhealthy level and requires medication to keep under control. He's overweight, smokes, and drinks way too much. Little does he know, there's a way for him to get his stress under control with very little effort. Meditation would greatly benefit him. There are numerous benefits to meditating. Some of the great advantages for meditation include enhancing your creativity and boosting your immune system. When your body becomes stressed, your brain releases cortical, which takes a heavy toll on your body.
Focus on your breathing.
One of the easiest ways to get into a meditative state is to focus on your breathing. Here's what you do. Put all your awareness into the feeling of your breath's coolness going in and the heat coming out. Feel your lungs expanding. While doing this, your mind cannot think about anything else but what you do at that very moment. You could practically do this everywhere, even while at work or while you drive home from work.
Focus on your hand.
I read about an interesting way to meditate from the author Eckhart Tolle. He's the author that wrote the books, "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth." This method requires sitting in a quiet area with your eyes closed. You then hold out your hand and try to feel the "knowing" that your hand exists, without the benefit of touching anything. The first time I tried this, I became amazed with the result. It could literally feel the aliveness in my hand. Once you get better at doing this, you can move from your hand to different parts of your body. When your skill level gets to the point that you can do this with your entire body, your level of meditation will be incredibly deep and profound.
Focus on the empty space between words or sounds.
Many people find it hard to meditate where sound, but you can use it to your advantage. The easiest sound to start practicing this to would be a slow and steady type of sound. Try using a metronome. A device that musicians use to make sure they're keeping up with a beat. You don't actually need to go out and buy one you can find many websites that include a digital metronome. Once you find one, just set it to a slow and steady pace. Focus on the blank sounds between the ticks. Doing this, puts your mind in a state where you focus on emptiness. It's a great way to meditate!
Focus on everything that his happening in the present moment.
It's as easy to do as the breathing technique. While totally focused on the present moment you align yourself with source energy and in the flow with everything. Start by taking a walk in the park or on the street. Notice all that's happening around you as much as possible. Hear and pay attention to the sounds of the cars, birds, and people talking around you. Feel the ground though your shoes. While in the present moment, all is well. Keep the past in the past and the same with the future.
Take up yoga.
You'd find it surprising to know that body movement can actually induce a hypnotic and meditative state. Yoga works by making you concentrate on your breath in positions that normally lie out of your comfort zone. This type of physical activity keeps your mind focused on what's happening in the present moment. It's very difficult to think about something else without falling out of some of these poses. A byproduct of yoga is that it's a great workout; it will also make you very physically fit over time.
Use guided meditation and hypnosis CDs and MP3s.
Out of the methods for meditation I've shown, this is the only one that will cost you any money. But for those having a hard time with meditation, it's a small investment to make. As guided meditation audios become more and more popular, you can get them at great prices. Some of the audios I've used cost me upwards of $50. Now you can get downloads for less than ten bucks. And since technology gets more and more advanced, these audios can put you in a meditative state with a few minutes, no matter how distracted your mind may get.
Like any other habit, meditation takes time to incorporate routinely. It's best to write up a daily schedule of when you will conduct each meditation session. Don't get hung up on the length of time you need to set out for yourself, around 15 minutes equates to plenty of time to start out. Consistency is the key here, so keep at it. If you can't find the time to squeeze meditation into your life, try cutting something negative out of your life to free it up. You'll find it surprising how much time you can save yourself by cutting out watching the nightly news. Besides, all that negative information you get will just heighten your stress level anyway.
