Meditation

Most of you do not meditate and never will. Many of you already meditate without realizing it. There is really only one reason to practice conscious meditation: to practice getting control of your thoughts whenever you want.

I want to stress that meditation can not replace proper medical treatment. For example, if you require beta blockers for high blood pressure, no amount of dieting or exercise or meditating will keep your blood pressure at a safe level.

Meditation is nothing more or less than getting control of your thoughts. Ironically, the only way to get control is to let go. Allow that paradox to sink in for a minute. The only way to get control is to let go. It makes sense if you think about it. Someone gives you a dirty look. How do you react? How do you want to react? Yes, we all want to be a cool customer. Once you consider all the possible displays you could make, all the snappy comebacks, nothing is cooler than simply saying nothing. Nothing is cooler than ignoring it.

So How Does One Meditate?

I already told you. Let go.

You do not have to tie your legs in a knot and hold your fingers in lotus position. No. No. No. You can meditate while you are walking. As I said above, many of you meditate without realizing it.

The proper posture for meditating is any comfortable posture. Some martial artists meditate in seiza posture. Some in anza. Some standing. Your informal meditation does not matter.

Meditation is not resting. It is not praying. It is simply waking up inside the present moment– instead of the past or the future. The best way to wake up inside a moment is to focus on something very basic. Most practitioners recommend becoming aware of your breathing. You can also focus on your heartbeat. I know practitioners who focus on the peristaltic action of their guts. Breathing is much easier.

I recommend starting by counting breaths. You can count breaths up to fifty. You can count them to ten. You can count them to five. After years of meditating, I count up to one. Then I start over. After all, each moment is new.

If you find yourself distracted by thinking about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, do not scold yourself. Simply return to the breath. That’s what it’s there for. Return to the moment and wake up.

That’s really all there is to it. Beyond the basics, meditation will teach you about itself. There is nothing more I can say.

It’s really up to you whether you practice it.

I have composed some audio files of my own meditations that I will make available as a free download.