How Do You Meditate?

Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet.  It's a way of
entering into the quiet that's already there— buried under
the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day.

Deepak Chopra


When I was growing up, meditation had a bad name in our country.  For many people, it meant something negative--it was something that only people who lived on the fringes of society did, something for the hippies or the religious zealots.  Nowadays, though, the practice is accepted much more broadly among the people that I know--though its practice still is rather uncommon.  To me, meditation is extremely important, but I really don't meditate in the ways that the books tell you to.

My most important form of meditation is running.  It's not something that helps me to completely empty my mind, of course, but it does help me to slow my mind down and clear it of a lot of baggage.  I need to stay focused on my running, on my breathing, on the feelings in my legs, and other thoughts simply don't have room to surface when I run.  That's the main goal of meditation, as far as I've learned--empty the mind of the zillions of thoughts that run around in there constantly in order to calm ourselves down and be able to center ourselves without all the distractions.

I also like to go for long walks.  For many people this doesn't work because they still think those same thoughts during their walks.  I'm lucky, though, because I try to notice everything I can while I'm walking--the leaves on the trees, the flowers, the colors of the houses, the changes that I notice from the last time I walked.  When I'm walking, I'm not thinking of my problems, unless I'm walking specifically to ponder a particular issue, and then my walk is a way to deal with something rather than a meditative exercise.

Sometimes I do a more traditional type of meditation, focusing on my breathing--in. . . out. . . in. . . out--listening to it closely so that other thoughts diminish until all I'm aware of is the breathing.  It's very helpful to me, and when I stop--sometimes after three minutes, sometimes after twenty--I always feel better.  I sit in a way that's comfortable to me--cross-legged on the floor is not comfortable--and I do it sometimes when I have very little time available to me, sometimes when I have plenty of time.  Generally, I know when I need to do it--when my mind is racing and I'm feeling like I'm being pulled in many different directions at once.  This is a way that I get centered and I can look at all the problems in a new light.

Formal meditation obviously isn't necessary in life for everyone--many people have lived long and productive lives without ever having sat down with the specific purpose of meditation.  But we all have those things that get us so focused on one thing that the rest of our minds calm down--for some it's cooking, or working on engines, or cleaning a house, or reading a novel.  Be careful, though, because some activities have huge potential frustrations--if you're working on an engine and a part doesn't fit properly, you may be facing more stress than calmness.  Raking leaves works for me, but that's a fall-only activity!  What are some ways that work for you to clear your mind?  What are some things that you can do to calm yourself down?  It's very important to set aside time to do them regularly--you'll definitely benefit from doing so, and all the people you're involved with will benefit, also.