Yes the phone's ringing and will not stop. The baby's crying and will not stop. The sounds and stress of our lives come in all shapes, colors and sizes. Our owners manual (if you got one) has no chapters dealing with the glorious abundance of noise and distractions that come with life.

One reason we didn't get a manual on meditation and concentration (read peace and quiet) is that when we are born we already know how to live in the moment and how to concentrate on the here and now. It has been said over and over but I'm going to say it again, as we grow up we learn how to forget what we knew when we were born. Being here in the now may be the biggest and most important thing we have forgotten from our childhood. The skills we need to regain this peaceful way of seeing are easily within our grasp.

To step outside the distractions we need to learn a different way of seeing what goes on in our world and a different way of reacting to the constant sound of our own voice nagging away in our own head. Yes, the phone is ringing but we don't have to answer it. We can instead choose how and when we will act to the never ending noise of our world.

Sometimes a friend will be telling me a story or be sharing their opinion of the world and I'll catch myself thinking of what I'm going to say once they are finished. I am in effect creating my response to what they are saying even before they say what they have to say. Now I could be a mind reader and already know what they are going to say but most likely I am going to jump to a conclusion about what they are saying and spout out my response even if it has little to do with what they are saying. This is monkey mind, our mind so caught up in its own maze of wanderings and delusions it has little time to slow down to listen to others. Our monkey mind runs on and on thinking about everything and nothing all at the same time.

This action of not being aware of the moment of not listening to what others are saying can create stress in our lives. The more our mind chats with itself the more problems we have relating to the present moment. Don't worry if you think your mind is the only one that races 24 hours a day. All of us to one extent or another have a racing or monkey mind. We have a head full of noise that morphs itself into stress, worry and problems that all seem to get bigger with each passing day.

Day by day meditation will help you to realize a deeper concentration in your life. This concentration will aid you in stepping outside of the worlds noise and clamor.The more you are able to observe what is going in inside your head with your thoughts and emotions the less pull they will have on you. And when your thoughts and emotions are pulling less on your life you will find stress takes up less and less space and time in your life.

The result you get from meditation is equal to the effort you put into it. The frequency you give to the practice will help determine where you end up. But I would recommend you don't just jump in and start meditating 2 hours a days, start with 10 to 15 minutes twice a day if you are able. If twice a day is too much then do once a day. The key to all of this is consistency. You will benefit more from 10 minutes a day everyday then you would doing an hour 2 times a week.

Sitting

There are lots of ways to sit when you meditate, the most important thing is a straight back and to be comfortable. A straight back chair with your hands folded in your lap or sitting on a cushion on the floor both will do fine when you are just starting out. I will delve into other ways of sitting latter on this page.

1. Counting Your Breathing
The easiest way to start may be to just count your breath each time you exhale through your nose. Start with 1 and count each breath until you reach 10, then start back at 1 and keep repeating the sequence.Breathe normally through your node if you can, let the air go in and out and just count the breath. If you lose count just start over at 1. Thoughts will come and go and when they do just focus on your breath and the counting. You don't need to cast judgment on your thinking, everyones thoughts come and go. When you first start to meditate you may find you are think more then ever, this is fine just follow your breath and count. Over time you will notice it gets easier to watch your breath and your thoughts will not intrude so much.

2. Watching Your Breath
Once you have become comfortable with counting your breath you can move on to watching your breath. Watching involves feeling the air go in and out through your nostrils. You can also feel it at just the tip of your nose or in the pit of your stomach. Just sit and allow your breath to take on a normal routine and then watch it as it comes in and goes out. If thoughts arise, notice them and then go back to watching the breath.

3. Just Sitting
This way of meditation can be quite hard and I suggest you practice the above techniques till you can do them well be for you work with just sitting.
Just sitting or Shikantaza in Zen is the practice of "just sitting" no counting, no mantra, no following the breath. You just sit and do non thinking.

As I continue to meditate small little insights find there way into my consciousness. No these aren't enlightenment experiences and I can assure you I'm not enlightened nor am I looking to be.

What I am open to and what happens from time to time are these small insights. I think everyone has experienced knowing something in your mind and then one day you know it in your gut or your soul. There is a big difference between knowing something in your mind and knowing it in the very marrow of your being. If you don't understand what I'm saying at this moment I can only suggest you keep meditating and you will experience it one day for yourself.

Sitting a certain way to meditate will be of a benefit to your daily practice. Taking the same posture every time you sit will tell your body and your mind that I am now sitting to meditate. It is like putting on a pair of running shoes and stretching, it sets up the right mindset for the practice or running session.

Having said all that it is possible to sit in a chair or on a cushion doing a full lotus or half lotus posision and if you can't do any of these you can sit in an easy chair. The most important part is to sit still and not move during your meditation and to have a straight back. When we immobilize the body the mind has less distractions to deal with.

Being in a quiet place sitting comfortably and watching our breath or counting our breath will in time become something second nature to us.

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First off all this writing is aimed at making it easy for people to start a meditation practice, it is not medical advice, nor may it be construed to be religious advice. It is not advice at all just thoughts taken from my own experience.

I'm not offering these words as a substitute or a cure for any medical condition. If you need medical help please seek it.

Meditation is practiced around the world by millions of people who belong to all religions in all countries and of all ethnic groups. It has been practiced since before recorded history.

This page is sponsored by The Open Site web design located in Manchester, NH. And please check Reiki Therapy NH for lots of Reiki and Energy Therapy info.