Meditation Is Simpler Than You Think
Begin with what is here: the breath, the body and the world around you.
Meditation is often made more complicated than it needs to be.
We may think we have to stop our thoughts, empty the mind or reach some special state. For a beginner, that can make meditation feel difficult before the practice has even begun.
There is a simpler place to start:
Be aware of what is happening, here and now.
A thought is happening, but what it contains may be a memory of yesterday, an imagined conversation, a worry about tomorrow or an interpretation of what is happening now.
The breath is different. It is happening here.
Feel the breath coming in.
Notice the turn.
Feel the breath going out.
Nothing needs to be imagined. You are simply noticing what is already happening.
Return to the breath
This is why the breath is such a useful place to begin meditation. It is simple, immediate and almost always available.
Sit comfortably and let the breath move naturally. There is no need to make it deeper, slower or different.
Follow one complete breath: incoming, turning, outgoing.
Sooner or later, you will realise that you have become absorbed in thought.
That is not a failure.
Notice it and return to the breath.
Then it happens again. Return again.
The practice is in the returning.
For someone who has never meditated, even five minutes may feel difficult at first. Attention has habits. If we have spent years automatically following whatever appears in the mind, we cannot expect that habit to disappear after one sitting.
With regular practice, returning becomes more familiar.
From sitting to everyday life
Formal sitting is useful, particularly in the beginning. It gives us a simple environment in which to practise.
As the practice becomes familiar, we can begin bringing the same quality of awareness into everyday life.
When walking, feel yourself walking.
When listening to someone, listen.
When washing a cup, notice the movement of your hands, the water and the cup in front of you.
When driving, be present to driving — the road, traffic, pedestrians and movement around you.
The object of awareness changes according to what we are doing.
The practice is to return to what is actually happening.
The more aware we are, the more we can see
Awareness gives us information.
We may notice tension beginning in the body. We may see an emotional reaction forming before we act on it. We may notice that we have stopped listening to the person in front of us. We may recognise that our attention has wandered away from what we are doing.
Whether we are practising yoga, learning an art, playing a sport, working or developing a skill, the ability to notice what is happening gives us more information from which to respond.
Meditation does not need to take us away from ordinary life.
It can help us participate in it more fully.
Before you sit
Sometimes we arrive at meditation restless, agitated or carrying the momentum of the day. Going immediately from activity to sitting still can make settling more difficult.
A simple clearing practice beforehand can help.
Take a cold shower. Dance for a few minutes. Go for a walk in nature. Swim in the sea or bathe in a river where conditions are safe.
I sometimes call this purging. I don’t mean anything supernatural by it. It is simply a way of allowing some of the accumulated restlessness to move before becoming still.
Then sit.
Start with five minutes. Practise regularly and, as it becomes familiar, begin bringing that same awareness into ordinary moments throughout your day.
You don’t need to do it perfectly.
When you notice you have wandered away, return.
Begin with what is here.