Meditation: Establishing Your Practice

Just like anything worth doing, meditation is worth doing right.

In order to be effective, meditation should be practiced regularly and although it is simple, it’s not easy. It requires sincere commitment.

Generally, it's advised to sit twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening—for 25 minutes or more. That being said, set aside a manageable amount of time every day and let the practice evolve naturally and effortlessly.

Meditation can be done in any place where you know you won't be disturbed. You should let the people who live with you know when you're about to start, and turn off the phones if necessary.

I like to keep inspirational books nearby to read before or after meditation. Of course, you can also add meaningful objects to your meditation space to make it pleasant and inviting. In the evening, lights should be turned off to eliminate the effect of artificial lighting; try lighting a beeswax candle instead.

It can also be helpful to sit rather than lie down while meditating, because for most people lying down is a clear signal for the body to go to sleep. Sitting can be done in a chair or on a meditation cushion or bench. It’s important to be comfortable and to be in a position to create a straight spine and stable foundation.

There are many approaches to meditation, but it’s most important to find a style that resonates with you.

It’s difficult to have a positive experience with meditation if you're fearful of not knowing what to do or questioning whether you're meditating properly. This is a very normal experience at the beginning and the main reason why a teacher and guided meditation CDs can be helpful.

As you grow and your practice evolves you'll be drawn to new techniques to help us attain deeper experiences. Remember that meditation is our natural state and the techniques are simply pointing us in that direction. With a steady practice you'll have the clarity to know when to learn and incorporate new techniques.

There's no particular way that you're supposed to feel during meditation, although, if a technique is resonating with you properly, you should feel relaxed yet alert, with a genuine interest in your inner world. Often people think they should feel peaceful from the very outset of their meditation efforts. Some people do feel peaceful, calm and relaxed right away, but other times the body can feel very restless. Sometimes the mind will be very busy and you may feel that you're unable to "get it under control." Other times, you may have difficult emotions surface that can feel quite uncomfortable. Sometimes we are drawn to our practice and other times we most definitely resist it!

The underlying theme here is that meditation is fed by a desire for truth, whatever that might look like at this moment. You're developing the ability to allow everything to be as it is without controlling. However we feel is how we feel.

Most important is the willingness to be in the moment, no matter what that looks like, and to be aware. There are no successful or unsuccessful meditation sessions. It’s best to let go of judging your efforts.

Resisting meditation is a good sign that it's needed. Sometimes our readiness to begin a regular practice can be sparked by another person. While it's true that at times people are not ready, many of us are actually fearful because we know that we'll be connecting with emotions that have been suppressed and which need to be released.

Remember that it's easier to connect to and release the emotions now than to be forced to deal later with diseases which often result from blocked emotional energy.

As always, when you want your loved-ones, family and friends to meditate with you, it's best to lead by example; others learn far more from our actions than our words.

Enjoy your practice.

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