***Learning Meditation Where You Live

It is easier than ever to get meditation instruction where you live.

You can find meditation classes in almost any American city. I’ve seen YMCA's in the middle of nowhere offer free meditation instruction. At one time, you could have listed all of America’s spiritual and meditation retreat centers in a book you could put in your back pocket. You can now find meditation centers and meditation teachers in every state in the Union, often no more than a few hours away.

Back in 1970, when I started meditating, there weren’t very many books on meditation. Learning how to meditate meant you needed to do some research and also probably some travel, since the only way to learn mediation was by going on a retreat.

Now, though, my local bookstore carries over fifty books on meditation instruction. The hospital near me teaches mindfulness meditation. And meditation is even taught for college credit at a local university!

These days, you can also find dozens of mediation courses for sale online. Gaiam and Sounds True offer hundreds of meditation tapes, CDs and home study courses.

One of the things that’s particularly helpful about studying meditation using materials like books and CDs is that you can take your time with them and refer back to them whenever you have any questions.

But ideally, it’s best to find either group or private meditation instruction, whether in person, on the phone or on the Internet. There is a simple reason. You will have questions, and even if there is an answer in a book somewhere, it’s often much more helpful to hear that answer in person from someone who has experience with what you are asking and who has been practicing for a while.

Now that I offer meditation instruction, I have noticed that when someone has what seems like a big problem with meditation practice, the answer is usually found in some small pointer or tiny suggestion.