How to Meditate for the First Time

For the first timer who would like to try meditation, here are a few things you need to do before, during, and after meditation:

Before this activity, it is important that the environment you are in is conducive to meditating. Make sure that there is zero to just a little bit of noise interference where you are. What is this “just a little bit of noise”? It is say, the sound of the electric fan or air-conditioning. Does it really have to be that way? Yes, it has to be really quiet during meditation so that you can train your mind to focus on a single object. Later on when you progress in this activity, you can transfer the skill of peacefully controlling your mind’s attention even to the noisiest place on earth. For now we would like you to look for that quiet sanctuary to practice the skill.

During meditation, make sure your body is ready for it. You must not be hungry or thirsty during this practice. Also make sure you have bathe or at the very least be clean over-all. Why do we have to do this? It is because we want you to have the least interference during meditation. We don’t want your stomach growling or see you scratching an itch because you’ve bathe a long time ago. Also sit on lotus position on the floor or sit on a chair making sure your spine is erect but rested against the back of the chair.

Moving forward to meditation itself, you would have to find an object to focus on. This could be a pumice rock, a flower, or anything really which is immediately available to you. The goal is to empty the mind by staring at the object. When we say “empty the mind”, we mean the mind cease to create thoughts. For example I am staring on a pumice rock, and then I suddenly remember the t.v. show I’m about to watch after the meditation... what I would do is to return my focus on the pumice rock. When a subconscious song starts playing behind my ear, I would once again return my focus on the pumice rock. Repeat this process until such time that your mind is actual devoid of thoughts.

After meditating for 15-30 minutes, try to transfer the skill you learned by focusing on that which is good at every given moment (even during meals.) If you have successfully transferred this skill to your everyday life, then you have learned portions of Buddhism’s 8 Fold Path – Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.

Namaste,

Meg Si