A Healthy Practical Meditation

Countless people through fifty centuries have practiced meditation for peace of mind and health of body. Google lists 55 million results for "meditation." How can an ordinary person learn anything useful about such a vast subject?

Well, there are 206 bones in a human body, with countless muscles, ligaments, tissues, brain cells, and all the other parts scientists study. But every ordinary person knows enough about his or her body to stay conscious and walk around in the world.

We know about our bodies by living in them.

So here is a simple, practical way to learn about meditation by living with it for a few months. Most people find that practical daily meditation like this helps make them more calm, rested, energized, and alert, so they can work and play more happily.

It is not a ticket to Nirvana or Enlightenment (whatever those words mean), nor self-hypnosis. On the other hand, it is more than self-talk or reading inspiring literature.

What is it? To find out, practice the instructions below.

Before you begin, choose a "word" of your own -- a pleasant two-or-three syllable sound that has no literal meaning to you. (You can call it a mantra if you like.) Use this same word each time you do this meditation.

You can make the word up by yourself, or combine random index syllables in a phone book -- for example Ani, Granal, Ohana, Renkah, Simonu -- or you can ask a meditation teacher you trust.

When you've chosen your word, do this:

1.Sit in a comfortable position.
2.Close your eyes.
3.Gently think your word to yourself in your mind. Repeat it. (Take your time.) Repeat it. Keep repeating it.
4.Soon you will notice that you are thinking about something else, not about your word. Gently, without scolding yourself, start thinking your word again.
5.After 20 minutes, stop thinking your word, open your eyes, and congratulate yourself on a perfect meditation.

Do this practice once or twice a day for 100 days (but if you miss a day be kind to yourself and keep practicing).

Then, on Day 100, ask yourself how you feel. Have your mental clarity and emotional stamina improved? Wouldn't you like to continue your practice?