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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Far from being isolated, disparate entities, our minds and bodies work together in a relationship of mutual dependency, each drawing support from the other. Only when both are fully nourished can we live balanced and harmonious lives. Meditation can help us to achieve this balance.

The way we think and feel about ourselves has a direct influence on our bodies, and vice versa: a healthy body will help to create a healthy mind. For example, when athletes reach peak physical fitness, their performance can be further enhanced if the right mental conditions are present to enable them to do so.

From a less positive perspective, if you believe in your mind that you are unable to achieve something, then this can have a strong negative influence on your physical ability to do so. Such negative self-images can prevent us from attaining our true potential in life.

Learning to recognize this binding relationship between mind and body can help to change the quality of our lives. Through a process of inner exploration and interpretation, meditation can help you to understand the interconnectedness of the mind and body, and your unconscious thoughts and motivations.

The images that come to us in meditation are like dreams: they are born out of the unconscious and correspond with unconscious energies. They can be understood in the same way as dream images, they have symbolic significance and should not be taken literally.

In meditation, unlike dreams, you can delve into and explore these images, letting them change and grow in your mind’s eye. Meditation then becomes a creative process in which you allow the symbols that arise from your unconscious into your conscious mind to evolve and reveal their true meaning.

During meditation everything becomes imbued with significance: “coincidences” seem to have purpose and to have occurred for particular personal reasons. For example, “chance” meetings may be more intimately connected with your unconscious than you had previously thought possible. So, in your meditation practice, take careful note not only of what happens inside yourself, but also of what happens to you.

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To be healthy human beings and to function at the peak of our potential, we need to achieve a balance of mind and body.

If we serve our outer needs without allowing ourselves time for the person within, and especially if we ignore the inner voice that tells us to slow down or take a break, then at some point our health will begin to suffer. At the very least, our ability to withstand stress or pressure will be weakened.

Meditation is an effective way to ensure that we are not neglecting an important aspect of our well-being, the state of our mind, and its optimum relation with our body.

To achieve this goal, there is no need to spend hours in strict contemplation. A few minutes of meditation each day can be enough. Gradually, we will begin to understand the mind, body relationship and in the process discover a new dimension in our lives.

By learning to practise meditation we can even, in due course, tap into a source of healing and rejuvenation deep within ourselves. It is not the amount of time we spend in meditation that counts, but the development of our understanding during that time.

We will be learning about some of the traditions of meditation, as well as what meditation is and how it is helpful to us; the basic techniques such as correct breathing and posture that will enable us to set off confidently on our meditation journey.

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The mind constantly plays tricks on us and has many strategies for distracting our attention, setting us on the wrong path, deceiving us and leading us astray especially when we try to practise meditation. This trickster may appear in the form of negative thoughts that try to prevent us from achieving a goal, the harder we try to succeed, the more obstructive our thoughts might become.

Take note of the tactics your mind adopts to pull you away from your chosen path of meditation. Your mind may intervene during meditation to tell you that you are wasting your time or that the practice is not working, it could do anything to divert you from your mental goal.

Obstructive thoughts stem from the unconscious mind, that part of ourselves which determines much of what motivates us: our desires, impulses and instincts.

If we fail to engage with our unconscious, then we are ignoring a fundamental part of our inner most being. The unconscious contains both negative and positive aspects: but while these remain unconscious, they can be neither encouraged nor discouraged.

The conscious mind is like a light, which can be shone into the unconscious to reveal the mind’s hidden contents. Meditation teaches us how gradually to become better acquainted with the mechanisms of our unconscious mind and how to make our unconscious thoughts conscious, for our own eventual benefit. It is through this marriage of opposites, a communion of the conscious and unconscious minds, that we are able to enhance our self-knowledge and self-awareness.

One of the first things to take into account when encountering your mind is that the people are all different. Although we all have similar needs (such as the need for food, warmth and shelter) and experience similar emotions (for example, love, hate, fear and desire) our individual histories and psychological make-up diverge and widely and define our characters in different ways.

In meditation, this means that what may be effective for one person may not work for another. Bear this in mind when choosing and practising your meditation exercises, experiment to find out what works best for you and what you feel most comfortable with.

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Having familiarised ourselves with the basic principles and techniques of meditation, we are now equipped to delve more deeply into the mental and spiritual resources that we will need to draw upon as we set off on our meditation journey.

At this stage, we should recognize that meditation can become a way of life, sitting down and focusing your mind is just a small part of the experience. You may discover that change arises naturally in all areas of your life when you introduce meditation. And although you do not necessarily need to alter your lifestyle dramatically to benefit from meditation, a certain level of commitment is desirable. The extent of this commitment is entirely up to you.

Now we are going to discover, among other things, the concept of “mindfulness”, that is, of giving our full attention and awareness to the thoughts and feelings that take place in our minds and bodies.

For example, we can become “mindful” of the instinctive drives that control our eating habits, our attitude to exercise, or our abuse of our bodies through smoking and drinking.

By fully encountering these drives and impulses and becoming more conscious of them, we take a step toward improving the quality of our lives.

Begin your meditation journey with an open mind and try to have no expectations. Be patient and welcome any positive changes that come into your life through your meditation practice.

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In this exercise a box is used as a focus for your meditation. As you visualize the box, let your imagination take over. Allow items in the box to “appear”, these represent your thoughts and feelings.

1) It may help to place an empty box in front of you and observe it for a few moments. When you are ready, close your eyes and picture the box in your mind’s eye.

2) Imagine that the box represents your mind, and you open it to discover that it contains certain objects. What do you see inside the box? Are there items that represent your life, your personality or mood? Perhaps there are random objects that don’t seem to make sense – they could be messages from your unconscious.

3) Imagine removing each item from the box. What feelings does each item arouse in you? Accept your feelings, whatever they might be. To end the meditation, imagine placing the items back in the box, and closing the lid. Take a few deep breaths and open your eyes.

Living In The Present Meditation encourages us to focus the mind and concentrate our mental energies. If we are constantly dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, we hinder our ability to be fully aware of the present. Meditation encourages us to awaken to the reality of today and, in doing so, offers us freedom not only from all that has been but also from all that will be.

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The underlying key to meditation is learning how to “centre” ourselves, how to still our bodies and focus our minds so that we are able to enter a state of total absorption and concentration.

Try putting your personal preoccupations on hold and direct your awareness to whatever item you may want to let your attention rest on. You may wish to focus on a specific part of your body by channelling all your mental energy there. Or you may want to place a particular object or image, perhaps a flower, vase or painting, in front of you and allow your eyes gently to rest on it as a point of focus.

Initially, you may find that your concentration lies solely on the chosen object; in time, your thoughts and your object of thought will become as one.

The ability to concentrate for long periods during meditation is an enriching experience, but don’t worry if at first you are distracted and your thoughts dart in all directions, try to bring them back into focus and, with practice, your powers of concentration will increase.

As well as developing your focus and awareness, you must centre yourself to achieve a sense of mental and physical balance.

In Zen Buddhism, the area from the abdomen down to the groin is known as the hara. Within this area, about two inches below the navel, is the tanden, a point said to be the exact centre of gravity and the point of balance for the entire body. Focussing your thoughts on the tanden during meditation should help you to develop a greater sense of physical and mental equilibrium.

Meditation should not be regarded as something you do for a few minutes each day; it is an attitude that can be carried through into your everyday life.

Practise centring your mind and body, and you will find it will have a profound effect on the way you live your daily life, enabling you to stay focused on whatever task you set yourself, and allowing you to absorb yourself totally in every aspect of your physical, mental and emotional existence. When we clear our minds and still our bodies during our meditation practice, even if only for a short while, we attract rich and subtle blessings into our lives.

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This exercise shows you how to develop a still, quiet mind and a firm, steady body, both of which are important prerequisites for effective meditation.

1) Start your meditation by sitting  in a comfortable position with your back straight but not tense. Roll your shoulders back to broaden your chest. Place your hands, palms down, on your knees or thighs. Close your eyes during meditation. Focus on your body, releasing any muscles that feel tense. Keep your breathing soft and steady.

2) Allow your mind to settle on the innate stability and strength of your inner self. If other thoughts start drifting into your mind during your meditation, gently try to return the focus to your breathing, inhaling for strength, exhaling for stability.

3) Return your awareness to the physical presence of your body: notice the air against your skin, the weight of your body as it touches the floor or your chair, the warmth of your toes, the light touch of your hair against your face. Sit quietly for a few moments, enjoying your meditation and solidating this awareness of yourself before getting up.

Meditating “properly” People are often unsure whether or not they are meditating “properly”. The answer to this is that, strictly speaking, there is no right or wrong way, it depends entirely on what you want to achieve through your meditation practice. If meditation does not appear to be helping you in any way, there may be something you need to change. Sometimes you can find out what you need to change on an inner, spiritual level, by listening to the voice of your unconsciousness.

During your meditation,  try asking yourself what you are aiming to gain from the practice, and observe the thoughts and feelings that arise in response.

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This is a very simple technique which will help to settle your mind and provide a good focus for meditation.

1) Begin by sitting in a comfortable meditation posture with a lighted candle in front of you. Breathe evenly and a little more deeply than normal. Then concentrate your attention on each part of your body in turn, saying silently to yourself, “I relax easily and completely.” Focus your awareness on the flame: imagine that it enters your being and feel that it becomes a part of you.

2) Now close your eyes, but hold the image of the candle and flame in your mind’s eye. Carry the image into the depths of your mind. As you absorb inwardly the mental picture of the candle flame, lose any sense of its separateness, you inter-fuse with the flame as the flame inter-fuses with your being.

3) When you are ready, end the meditation by focusing on your breathing once more, breathe a little more deeply for one or two minutes, and then open your eyes.

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Most of us are not conscious of how our breathing affects our physical and mental states, but in meditation observing the breath and the way in which we breathe are crucial.

On a purely practical level, if we absorb oxygen and expel waste gases freely, our metabolic system functions efficiently, this, in turn, enables our body to relax. Just taking a few moments to fill our lungs and steady our breathing can calm us greatly in times of stress and tension.

Meditation teaches us that, by learning to understand and regulate our breathing, we can develop the ability to control our bodies, focus our minds and control our emotions and thereby improve the overall quality of our lives.

Correct breathing is fundamentally linked with correct posture, this not only makes us look good but, far more importantly, helps us to feel good too. When sitting, make sure that your back is straight, but not tense. If you meditate in a cramped position, your lungs and diaphragm will not be able to move or expand freely and easily. Effective breathing comes from deep in the diaphragm, not from the upper chest.

Try to establish a routine in your meditation sessions: when you first close your eyes and prepare to meditate, make it a habit that the next thing you do is focus your attention on your breathing.

For a minute or two, try to breathe slowly, evenly and a little more deeply than normal. This will automatically help you to relax and to still your mind. Contemplate the process of breathing and how your very existence depends upon it, and you will alert yourself to the importance it plays in your health and well-being. When we breathe we are taking in the surrounding air and making it a part of ourselves.

Contemplation of this process makes us aware of the close and binding relationship we have with our environment. In fact, focusing on our breathing is a meditation in itself.

End each meditation in the same way that you begin it: just before opening your eyes and finishing your meditation, spend a minute or two concentrating on every inhalation and every exhalation as they occur.

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