Bill Riddell

No BS Meditation part 2

There are so many different techniques and forms of meditation. Most believe it to be just sitting cross legged in a quiet room and saying ‘ohmmmm’ repeatedly. While that is one example there are many others and more importantly there is bound to be one out there that will suit you.

Meditation is primarily linked to several eastern religions; it is typically an integral part of their practice, like prayer and confession.

Each religion has their own different form of meditation, from Zen Buddhists practice of Zazen, Taoists practice of Tai Chi and even Sikhism’s practice of Satnam.

Just like belifs in religion or philosophy, experimentation is vital to finding what meditation works for you along, with some persistence.

Some methods will not suit you at all while others will produce some good sensations. Keep trying different methods and implementing your own modifications. Find what works for you. It took me quite a bit of experimentation to find what truly works best for me. I read a few things initially and then modified them to suit. For those who missed part 1 of this topic, be sure to check it out.

The most common method I use is just to sit or even lay in a comfortable position, nothing special, and just to focus on my breathing. Slowing it down, feeling my chest gently rise to maximum capacity as I breathe in through my nose, pause and then gently exhale out of my mouth feeling my chest fall completely. I slow it down to about a 20-30 second cycle, thinking about nothing else. I generally do this for at least 5 minutes to 20 minutes at least once a day - till I feel totally at ease.

If I’m feeling particularly stressed or frustrated I sometimes have difficulty in calming my mind and focusing on my breathing. This would happen often to me a few years ago when I was travelling by train a lot. After a long day of studying a noisy two hour train journey home 5 days a week became a major annoyance and I was struggling to get any study done, wasting two hours.

I learnt to visualise that I was in a much more enjoyable place. Often I would visualise that I was sitting on a rocky hill in the forest behind my parent’s house. It was a relaxing place I really enjoyed as a child and I quickly felt at ease picturing myself back there. I’d play some calming music that I really enjoyed and spend 5 minutes picturing myself sitting on the rock. I could then focus on my study, as soon I felt my focus slipping I would close my eyes and picture myself back on the rock looking out at forest in front of me and hear the birds calling out, before returning to study.

Sometimes I will use meditation to ease pain. I do this using a variety of techniques; the most common is to calm myself and then focus on the area that is giving me trouble. If I have a pain in my leg I might imagine someone is giving me a massage, visualising the strokes and feeling the pressure on my muscles.

If I’m feeling a lot of pain over my body or generally fatigued I will lie-down and one by one visualise a healing energy working its way through my body, from my toes (to my feet, up to my ankle, etc) up to my fingers and then to the hair on my head.

These things and others work for me. I would advise you to keep an open mind and try different types of meditation.

If something doesn’t work for you, move on. Also don’t think you have to do it by the book, or follow some gurus’ instructions. If you feel uncomfortable sitting cross legged, don’t do it, find a comfortable chair, couch, pillows or a hammock. If you do not like chanting a particular mantra, don’t do it, find or create a mantra that works for you or just find a different method.

As I mentioned in a previous post for me car racing is even a form of meditation. For you it could be something like painting or knitting.

Listening to music can be fantastic, though some forms lend themself to calming your mind more than others. I prefer some chillout or classical generally. However some rock and pop as well as anything acoustic can be good as well.

Yoga is a form of meditation that has become wildly popular in the west and Tai Chi is another alternative, a slowed down form of martial arts.

Anything enjoyable that requires you to focus your mind on a single task and allows you to forget about other concerns I believe can be a form of meditation.

So get out there, try a few different methods and find what works for you. The benefits are too great to ignore. I’d recommend the first exercise I mention, focusing on your breathing. But really you should chose whichever appeals to you the most.