Every week I see another article touting the benefits of meditation. Wanting a little mental peace for myself, I’ve decided to try it. Where to start? There are religious methods, for example the Buddhist methods of vipassana (insight) and samatha (calming) (and seemingly endless subtypes, variations, and combinations thereof). There are secular methods of meditation as explained by Rick Heller of the Humanist Contemplative Group. Feeling satisfied with my own religion and spirituality, I’m looking at meditation as more of a way to relieve stress and/or get myself focused during the day. However you want to approach it, since the foundation of most meditation methods is breathing, I’m going to start there.
Ideally this would be my view during my 5 minute meditation.
I like small steps, so everyday before lunch, I’m going to close my laptop, turn off the lights and phone and sit in peace for 5 minutes, contemplating nothing but my own breath. Wish me luck!
Instead, this is my view and I'll just imagine I'm in the mountain scene above. Ahh, the power of the mind.
Do you meditate? Is there some practice (perhaps prayer) that you do and consider a form of “meditation”?
~R
