Chasing Silence

My little brother sent me an email a few days ago, he asked a number of interesting questions, which I thought I would share with you all.

What Is Meditation?
Meditation is the art of silencing the mind. The art of living in the here and now.

Can I Benefit From Learning Meditation?
I think everyone can benefit from learning to meditate. It can enhance your life by;

• improving your concentration,
• reducing stress,
• alleviating anxiety,
• and helping you to gain a deeper understanding of your inner self.

Personally I love meditating, my inner turmoil floats away. The troubles of the world don't seem to drag me down as much.

Where do I start?
Learning to mediate takes practice, yet benefits can be seen early in the process.
I don't think learning to meditate has an ending, it's a journey, not a destination. Like most things in life you get out what your willing to put in. With meditation I find this to be doubly so.

Before you can mediate you first must learn to concentrate. Our minds are busy places, you need to learn to quiet the chatter. The first step is learning to focus on one thing.

Learning to Concentrate
Concentration Tip 1: Try placing a small dot on the wall, sit comfortably and focus on the dot. Don't get annoyed with yourself if you get distracted. Notice what distracted you, then place your focus back on the dot.

The same thing can be achieved with the flame of a candle or any other object. Practice this until you can easily concentrate on one thing.

Concentration Tip 2: Another method is repeating a word or phrase to yourself. Traditionally these words or phrases are known as mantras. Use of a mantra encourages the mind to focus on just one thought.
When you find your mind wandering, gently try to refocus your attention back to your mantra.
Practice this until you can easily concentrate on just your word or phrase.

Note: I know people who try to focus on their breathing. Personally I don't like this method, because I can control my breathing. Therefore instead of learning to concentrate, I learn to change my breathing patterns.

Conclusion
It may take a couple of weeks to be able to consistently think about one thing, but when you do you'll be amazed with the results.

Once you have learned to concentrate on one thing, you will find a natural progression into silencing your mind. This will take time, so first concentrate on learning concentration!

The following YouTube video has a good explanation on how to meditate.

I hope this helps you begin your journey into meditation. Have fun...