How to Meditate

The 17th Stress Management Technique

in Your Relaxed-and-At-Ease
Guide to Stress Management Techniques

You can learn how to meditate. There are many types of meditation. The instructions for each are slightly different.

However all meditation is based on some simple concepts.

To help you make sense of these concepts, after you've read about them here, try a free guided meditation.

To learn how to meditate focus your attention on something... like your breath... or a mantra (which is usually a word).

Imagine that your attention - or what you're focusing WITH - is a flashlight. And what you're focusing ON is what the beam of light is shining on.

That is "monkey mind."

It's sort of like if you were outside at night with a flashlight and swinging it all over the place... and turning it on and off very quickly - without a perceptual pause. Just a lot of blinking lights all over the place.

When we meditate, in essence, we hold the beam of the flashlight steady - in one place... or if it does move... if moves smoothly and gently.

When our attention stays focused, our "monkey mind" chatter decreases or ceases and our brain waves shift.

Meditation is a Stress Management Technique... because when you learn how to meditate you can do two things...

1. Decrease your stress by shifting your attention away from thoughts that are stressful
2. Relax by changing your brain waves

To understand what's happening with your "brain on meditation"...

• Check out this article. It's a good introduction about brain waves and meditation.


• And look at this for an image of brain waves that demonstrates their varying frequencies.


• And for a special treat check out this YouTube video...

  Watch an experienced meditator (Ken Wilbur) change his brain waves.

To discover more about how to meditate, check out different meditation techniques. What works for me, might not work for you and vice verse.

I offer a brief free guided mindfulness meditation as well as a short mindful movement practice. Try them out and see what you think.

There are many Benefits of Meditation.

I played around with meditation for at least twenty years before I decided to commit to a regular practice...

When I committed to doing some sort of spiritual practice every day for 30 or more minutes, my life changed in ways that completely surprised me.

I experienced for the first time a sort of inner strength that feels related to two things...

One is being able to trust myself. By being disciplined enough to practice every day - no matter what - I developed a sense of count-on-ability within myself that feels solid and good.

The other benefit I experience is an almost constant connection with the Divine... that doesn't seem to waiver. I KNOW and FEEL the connection with Source almost constantly - like a stream of love and joy that is flowing to me.

Go from How to Meditate to BenefIts of Meditation