Meditation Explained for Beginners

Meditation made simple.

First of all, yes, it is a practice, which means you keep at it. You do a little each day and each day a little more, just up to your comfort zone. Maybe each week, do a little beyond your comfort zone. Build up slowly. The Sanskrit name for meditation is "bhavana" and the Tibetan word for it is "gom", both mean, "to get used to something". As with anything you "get used to", the more you do it, the better you get at it.

Let's say, as a child you had tendencies to be shy. Each time you had the opportunity to converse or make friends with someone, most of the time you didn't. This gets easier and easier for you to do. Then you started telling yourself and others "Oh, I am shy.", "Oh, that is not me". This is what you rehearsed. This became a "bhavana". By the time you are 60 years old you are now this shy old man or lady. Or perhaps you had a quick temper. Unchecked, it became easier and easier and you felt validated. Sooner or later, you become a grumpy old person. Or perhaps you practiced kindness and loving-thoughts. Each time you received good news about someone, you tried to conjure up happy feelings for this person instead of feeling jealous. Each time someone asked for help, you did not get irritated but thought about what a great opportunity this was to help someone else. It will become easier and easier for you to do this. This is becomes your "bhavana". This becomes your meditation.

We are not inherently one thing or another. We are not absolutely one way or another. The potential of the mind is vast. Your inner potential is limitless.

How to Develop Your Meditation Practice.

Don't expect to transform magically into a peaceful Buddha-like god or goddess in one sitting. And above all, don't give up.

If someone said to you "Oh, you know, running one mile a day is really good for your heart and lungs." And you decide to run a mile the next day. Let's say you don't do any regular exercise and you don't really go to the gym. You would probably be so put-off running. You could even probably say "Running doesn't work", "It doesn't do you any good", "It's impossible to do". You would dismiss what this person said to you and move on.

Most people I meet who come to learn meditation with me tell me they have tried meditation before or they have tried it years ago. Meditation is not a one-shot deal.

Perfection of Effort

Many have read or learned enough about meditation to begin a meditation practice. Then they say to me. They have no time. Well, you have time to brush your teeth in the morning before you go to work. And you have time to eat lunch. Nothing stops you from taking a shower each evening. You view these as essential. You were trained from nursery school that these things you must do. But you were not trained to take time for yourself to relax your mind and release your thoughts, nor were you taught that it is essential. So begin, or end each meditation session by going through all the benefits of meditation in your mind both those benefits that you understand and already experience and those that are still not within the scope of your practice. Rehearse them, again and again, in your mind.

Begin the Meditation.

After learning, reading, best of all receiving the guidance of a qualified guru, begin your practice. Sit at ease and watch the thoughts in your mind. Relax and release the thoughts one by one. As a thought comes, do not give it any judgement, analysis or any energy. As thoughts come, simply watch them and allow them to dissolve back from which they arose. Know that you don't have to be involved with these thoughts right now.

Slowly your thoughts will lose their tight grip over you. You achieve a loosening and relaxing but with a very aware and alert mind. Peacefulness ensues. Remain in this platform of peacefulness as long as you can.

Once you achieve stability in the meditation you are able to hold this place of calm, then you can use this as a platform from which to analyze the thoughts. The only analysis you need is whether a thought is harmful or beneficial.

Meditation Continues After Sitting.

From this awareness of thoughts, you are now in a better position to act on the world around you and the people around you. You no longer simply react mindlessly, habitually, to what is happening inside you and around you. You no longer need to be pushed and pulled by thoughts and emotions. You live with much more control and awareness, shaping your future by how you act with full mindfulness.

When Things Go Crazy.

Then again you will get caught up with things and busyness. Put due diligence into your meditation practice. Use the session the center yourself again. Slowly meditation sessions and life in between will feel less fragmented. It might feel more fragmented before it feels more in harmony. Keep learning and keep practicing and keep at it until you reach your highest potential.

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