My Intent is to learn to meditate
What Does It Mean to Learn to Meditate?
Meditation is a practice that aims to still the mind, stopping the endless flow of thoughts to find the quiet and stillness that lies at the center of who we are. You can meditate sitting up or lying down; with eyes closed or open; indoors or out; and you can use any number of objects (or none at all) to focus your attention as you let go to find inner peace and quiet. Some meditators use their breath to come into a relaxed state, while others focus on sound (mantra), music, or something visual, such as a mandala.How Can I Achieve My Intent?An exclusive round-up of the best thinking from leading experts“Practicing meditation is challenging in part because it brings us face to face with our tendency to judge ourselves a lot: ‘I’m not doing it right, I can’t do it, everyone else gets instant bliss and I am sitting here awash in thought.’ None of those judgments is relevant in the practice of meditating. Progress isn’t measured by states like bliss, or absence of thoughts, or particular experiences. Instead, progress is known by our awakening greater compassion towards ourselves, by more awareness of the whole range of what we feel and think, by humor, by patience, and by the ability to return gracefully from a long flight of fantasy or having fallen asleep and being able to simply begin again.” – Sharon Salzberg, author The Kindness Handbook: A Practical Handbook and co-author of The Insight Meditation Kit“The key to developing and sustaining a regular meditation practice is to let go of your ideas and expectations about how meditation should look and feel. Meditation is not about doing anything special or achieving some particular state of mind, despite what your goal-oriented mind might tell you. Rather, it’s about shifting your focus from doing to being, from controlling to letting go, from trying to get life to be a certain way to just letting life be as it is, and simply opening yourself to the simplicity of the moment — the sound of the birds, the rumbling of your stomach, the coming and going of your breath. Only here, in this ineffable Now, lies the possibility of experiencing the mystery and wonder of what is.” – Stephan Bodian, spiritual teacher, psychotherapist, and author of of Meditation for Dummies and Wake Up Now: A Guide to the Journey of Spiritual Awakening.“The most important part of meditating is being clear about your intention. Whatever draws you to meditate is a clue to your intention. You might sit down each morning before you leave home, or start to work at home, and say to yourself, ‘May these minutes of contentment make it easier for me to fulfill my intention to maintain a joyful mood throughout this day,’ or ‘May these moments of ease prepare me to be patient through all challenges today.’ Make up your personal statement of hope based on what you most want. Then sit for 10, or 15, or 20 minutes – whatever you can set aside for yourself and feel contentment or ease or whatever else you wished for yourself. Think of it as a rehearsal for the day. Then, notice moments in the day when your intentions are manifest, enjoy your success, and let it build your determination to continue daily practice.” — Sylvia Boorstein, Ph.D., author of Pay Attention, for Goodness’ Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness and Happiness is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life“What’s the secret to a successful meditation practice? Consistency. Make a daily date with meditation — and keep it! Try to meditate ever day at the same time (first thing when you wake up is meditation prime time); in the same place (wherever you feel safe and can minimize distractions); and for the same number of minutes (try eight minutes, or the time between two TV commercials). Create a training schedule that leads to longer meditation periods. And be kind; don’t push yourself.” — Victor Davich, author of 8 Minute Meditation: Quiet Your Mind. Change Your Life, The Promise: Make Your Life Rich by Discovering Your Best Self, and the “8 Minute Guided Meditation” CD.“Take a moment RIGHT NOW to stop and look at what’s around you. Notice everything: the colors, textures, fabrics, and materials. Understand that your brain is processing millions of bits of information right now, which is causing the mind to spin off into stories about what this all means. NOW, take a moment to close your eyes and notice the relief you feel when your sense of sight is temporarily closed. While I could spend the next seven days telling you about all of the life benefits of meditation, start with the understanding that when your eyes are open, there’s a lot to process and that can make you crazy. When your eyes are closed, the mind gets an opportunity to take a break and unwind. Just the act of closing your eyes for a few minutes can create a world of calm.” – Max Simon, founder, getselfcentered.com“Experiment with your practice. It’s absolutely true that when you’re creating the habit of meditation, it’s helpful to have a core set of practices and a routine that you follow at each session. This is why most teachers will give beginning students a simple focus practice, like following the breath, concentrating on a mantra, a visual form, or a set of meditative thoughts that can train the mind to turn back to its source. But as you get more accustomed to practice, you may find that you need to experiment. So during at least one of your meditation sessions each week, break away from routine. Try a different technique, and give yourself enough time to feel your way into it. Sit at a different time than usual — you may find that it’s easier to turn inside at the end of the day than it is in the early morning. Or take 3- to 5-minute meditation breaks, when you sample a practice that you’ve read or heard about.” – Sally Kempton (Swami Durgananda), author of The Heart of Meditation: Pathways to a Deeper Experience and “Awakened Heart Meditation” CDWhere Do I Start?Beginning a regular practice of meditation involves just a few basic steps:
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