Western culture tends to place great value on individual wealth and the outward signs of “success” without recognizing the value of a rich inner, spiritual life. It has created a frenzied, goal-driven environment in which it is increasingly difficult to find the opportunity to focus on individual thoughts, feelings and actions or to contemplate our relationship with the world around us.

Eastern traditional meditation offers a radical alternative to the materialism of the modern age and has much to teach us about the nature of “being”. When subtly adapted to suit our modern lives, Eastern meditation philosophy can help us to rediscover the spiritual values sadly lacking in our modern Western lifestyles.

The full awareness of our movements and sensations, our actions, emotions and thoughts is referred to in Zen Buddhism as “mindfulness” meditation. It is the process of placing the mind firmly in the present and keeping it totally absorbed in the task that is being performed.

Meditation, in which the mind becomes fully alert, is itself a mindful activity. As adults, one of the skills we tend to lose is that of giving our experiences our full attention. As we walk along, wrapped up in our thoughts, our senses seem often to be only half awake to our surroundings, to the sights, sounds and smells that bombard us from all directions.

We also tend to forget the ways our breath and our body feel to us, and we may not even be fully aware of our thoughts or our emotions. To be wholly engaged in every aspect of our physical, mental and emotional existence is to be mindful.

The concept of mindfulness meditation takes on an even greater relevance when we learn, perhaps contrary to the traditional approach to meditation, not to vanquish the contents of our minds, but to observe them, to shine the light of awareness on them and illuminate their significance.

A major stumbling block for many people who try to follow the teachings of traditional meditation is that they find it impossible top empty their minds. But to empty the mind is to deny its reality, only when we encounter it fully and take heed of its contents, can we begin to experience the richness of life to the full. Mindfulness meditation, therefore, does not ask for you to empty your mind but to experience every single thought and to be “mindful”.

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When talking about the practice of sitting still during meditation, one of the great meditation teachers, the Zen master Shunryu Suzuki, used to say that the best way to show a snake its true nature is to put it in a hollow stick of bamboo. Take a moment and give this unusual metaphor some thought. What could he have possibly meant by it? What does it have to do with meditation?

Well, imagine that you’re a snake in bamboo. What does it feel like? Every time you try to slither, which is after all what snakes like to do, you bump against the walls of your straight as-an-arrow home. If you pay attention, you start to notice how slippery you actually are.

In the same way during meditation, sitting in a certain posture and keeping your body relatively still provides a stick of bamboo that mirrors back to you every impulse and distraction. You get to see how fidgety your body can be – and how hyperactive your mind, which is actually the source of your body’s restlessness. “Maybe I should scratch that itch or answer that phone or run that errand.” For every plan or intention, there’s a corresponding impulse in your muscles and skin. But you’ll never notice all this activity unless you sit still.

The funny thing is, you can sit in the same position for hours without noticing it when you’re happily engrossed in some favorite activity like watching a movie or surfing the Net or working on a hobby. But try to do something you find boring or unpleasant – especially an activity as strange and unfamiliar as turning your attention back on yourself and following your own breath or paying attention to your own sensations – and suddenly every minute can seem like an hour, every ache can seem like an ailment of life threatening proportions, and every item on your to-do list can take on irresistible urgency.

When you’re constantly acting and reacting in response to thoughts and outside stimulation, you don’t have a chance to get to know how your mind works. By sitting still in meditation like the snake in bamboo, you have a mirror that shows you just how slippery and elusive your mind can be.

Keeping still also gives you a tremendous edge when you’re working on developing your concentration. Imagine a heart surgeon or a concert pianist who can’t quiet her body while plying her craft. The fewer physical distractions you have, the easier it becomes to follow your breath, practice your mantra — or whatever your meditation happens to be.

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One technique which could offer this is called Zen meditation.

Zen meditation is often referred to as the study of the self. It involves sitting in various postures so it is feasible to bring the body and mind to a peaceful and stable condition. Normally as you focus on images and thoughts that arise your heartbeat slows until you reach a reflective state of meditation.

One of the best seating positions to achieve this is known as the Burmese position. There is also the full lotus, half lotus, kneeling or sitting upon a chair.

The key here is to keep your back straight to ensure that your deep breathing will happen naturally. This permits you to intake more oxygen that will assist cleanse and energize the entire body.

The buttocks should be thrust out and also the chin tucked in. The hands should be placed near to you with the left hand resting over the right with palms open and facing up. The joint of the middle fingers are resting on top of the other with the thumbs slightly touching.

Your eyes ought to be half closed whilst your head should be positioned to a 45 degree angle towards the body. Given that it is not easy to keep the eyes like this the whole time, you can try closing them first and then opening them afterwards. Should you get sleepy, just open them wide.

The challenging part is remaining in a stationary position for 15-20 minutes. Once you have developed a breathing pattern, you slowly relax the muscles from your face all the way down to your feet. While breathing slowly, you should focus on positive thoughts and reject the ones that are negative.

By concentrating, it’s possible to unite the entire body, mind and soul to ensure that your mind is in the present moment, and is no longer thinking of yesteryear or the unforeseeable future.

Aside from the right posture, it is recommended to wear loose clothing. It’s not a good idea to practice this after a heavy meal because a full stomach usually creates discomfort which unfortunately is often a distraction.

If you’d like to learn Zen Meditation, you can read about it or better yet join a group. Once you get the hang of things, you can even purchase a few accessories to make the experience a fruitful one like incense sticks, a bell or perhaps a ringing bowl to mark the start and end of the session.

Short incense sticks burn for approximately 45 minutes while the longer ones are double the time. You can even make use of the kitchen timer since no one is going to be there to ring the bell to pronounce time is up.

Zen meditation experts recommend that beginners should try for 10 minutes first until you get accustomed to it before you decide to extend this for 20 or 30 minutes. Should your mind wander off, concentrate a little harder to focus once again on your breathing and your thoughts will settle down naturally.

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