Self improvement: Learning to Meditate

"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you, and you don't know how or why."

Albert Einstein

Meditation is a mental discipline in which we attempt to get beyond the conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. The main purpose of mediation is to break away from the noisy world and quiet your mind. People who meditate often find that it is easier to tame their minds in any situation and at any time. This is a great ability to achieve, with any circumstance of stress, you would be able to break away and think clearly and calmly.

When I first started meditation is was hard for me to stay focused. I would often let my mind wander or I would fall asleep. I found that the best way for me to mediate was to sit up straight against a wall, close my eyes, and become still. Make sure your comfortable when meditating because if you are not, it will interrupt your meditation, but do not become over comfortable because then you might begin to fall asleep, which I did often.

Many people feel they should meditate with their focus on nothing, I have learned another type of technique in which I like to  visualize my dreams and goals. First I make sure I'm comfortable, sitting straight up, and focusing on nothing for a period. I do this to block out the noise of the world and my thoughts. Once I have accomplished that, I focus on one of my dreams. I do not focus on how to achieve them, but as if I have already obtained them. I picture myself as already having achieved them, and all the emotions that come with them. I believe this imprints an emotional attitude on the subconscious mind. I believe that doing this creates a burning desire deep inside your soul to accomplish your goals and dreams. In times of doubt and stress, this has made me stronger and pushed me to continue to fight.

There are many different views and methods on how to meditate, the best advice I can give you is to just explore, you will find what works for you. You must take action, grab some books or audio tapes if your not sure what to do. Begin to meditate daily, it will open your mind to new ideas and new sense of calmness.