Meditation seems like a confusing topic based on what I find on the internet these days. After a few Google searches, I noticed that some of the top-ranking meditation guides were unintentionally littered with misinterpretations and confusing or otherwise incorrect instructions that had hindered me early on in my practice. Other guides were not as thorough as I would have liked. Others still had left out some techniques entirely. It didn’t help that some guides led users more deeply into the webs of their own misleading content, which gave me a bit of an uneasy feeling. 🙂 It was then that I set out writing this post, to clarify my understanding of what meditation is and how to get started.

Before we begin, a bit about me. I am still very much a student of meditation. I first learned to meditate in February 2016 by attending a 10-day silent meditation retreat in the Vipassana tradition. After experiencing its benefits, I immediately returned to the center to volunteer for another course. Since that time, I continue to return to the center for about three courses each year while maintaining a two-hour-a-day regime. Even though meditation has become the centerpiece and foundation of my life, I still feel as if I’m quite new to the practice and still constantly learning.

Therefore, this is a guide written for students by students. It’s for my own personal benefit and for the benefit of those who stumble across it.

This guide is a collection of the best techniques, tools, tips, and resources I’ve found while walking this path. I’ll continue to update it with your feedback, as new resources enter into my experience, and as my own understanding of meditation grows. I hope the information below helps you as much as it has me. After you read it, I would love to hear your feedback to improve it from its current state.

Let’s begin.

A Guide to Formal Meditation & Getting Started

Welcome to the three-part beginners guide to meditation. We’ll walk through everything you might need to know about meditation, step by step. The on-ramp toward training the mind is surprisingly accessible.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the guide:

• Part Zero: The Impatient Meditator (Begin Here and Now)
  • Environment
  • Length of Time
  • Frequency
  • Posture
  • Technique
• Part One: What is Meditation? Clarifying Our Understanding
  • What is Meditation?
  • Every Moment is a Meditation.
  • The Importance of Maintaining a Formal Meditation Practice.
  • The Impatient Person’s Guide to Meditation.
• Part Two: How Do I Practice? Choosing a Meditation Technique.
  • Making Up Techniques
  • Vipassana
  • Secular Mindfulness
  • MBSR
  • TM (Transcendental Meditation)
• Part Three: How Do I Get Started? Maintaining a Meditation Practice.
  • Misconceptions
  • Tips
  • Resources
  • Final Conclusion
  • Signing Up for Meditation Retreats

PART ZERO: The Impatient Meditator

“I’m impatient! What’s the fastest way to begin?”

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V-SGOg1nLQ[/embedyt]

Did you know you can start meditating right now? Here’s what I recommend:

• Environment — Find a quiet place to sit. A couple cushions or the edge of a chair will do. I find it helps me concetrate if the space is dark or dimly lit.
• Length of Time — I recommend starting out with 5 minutes a day. It’s a time duration that everyone can carve out into their schedule. As you become more comfortable, you can increase the time duration of your sits. There’s a great app called Insight Timer, which will alert you when your desired meditation time has ended with a lovely sound. It will also help you keep track your meditations.
• Frequency — It’s great to try fitting in morning and evening sits. One prepares you for the day and one settles you down to rest at night.
• Posture — To begin, sit up straight comfortably and sustainably. Close your eyes and mouth. Begin by becoming aware of your breath. Focus your attention on your breath as it comes in and out of your nostrils. If the mind wanders, no big deal, simply come back to the breath. This will happen over and over again. There is no destination. You can’t meditate “well” or “poorly” and there is no reason to compare yourself to others. You can practice this whenever you need to.
• Technique — There are many and I will cover this more in depth in the next section. It’s worth noting that the mind will ruminate easily and for this reason, listening to a guided meditation can be a huge help for those just getting started with meditation. Here are a few apps and youtube videos I’d recommend for guided meditations:
  • Headspace — a meditation app for the iPhone. Haven’t used it before, but I’ve heard good things and trust the founder, Andy Puddicombe, who has a wonderful podcast episode with Russel Brand. People seem to enjoy it.
  • Insight Timer — a meditation app for the iPhone. I use the ‘timer’ and tracking functionalities, but there are also free guided meditations.
  • 10% Happier — a meditation app for the iPhone made by Dan Harriss. I’m a big fan of Dan’s work and after listening to a few of the guided meditations can vouch that this is a great resource for those looking to get involved. On the app, he enlists some of the most popular and highly-regarded meditation teachers.
  • Waking Up — this is my new favorite meditation app, and I wrote a blog post about how this app has led me to some deep realizations. The app features daily meditations, mediations for kids, social capabilities for group meditations, and lessons taught by Sam Harris himself. Highly recommend.

PART ONE: Understanding Meditation

What is meditation?

Meditation is the act of cultivating qualities of mind like attention, equanimity, and compassion in order to reduce unnecessary self-imposed suffering.

Why do people meditate?

Meditation attracts practitioners for a host of different reasons. Some come for the spiritual aspects, others for the scientific benefits. Stress, in particular, remains an epidemic in the Western world, the result of which has spiked meditation’s popularity while others believe that meditation is much more than a glorified band-aid for stress with a long tradition with goals of enlightenment.

No matter the reasons why someone might choose to meditate, the research regarding the differences between physiological pain and psychological suffering is well established. Most meditation practices won’t place much emphasis on the prospects of reducing physical sensations of pain, although an effective practice may change the way one relates to pain. The more commonly advertised benefits of meditation are rooted in alleviating the mind from psychological rumination, layering and the creation of false narratives. This is achieved through concentration, insight, and observation.

Additionally, other techniques can cultivate gratitude, compassion and love for oneself and others. These qualities of mind are skills or muscles that can be exercised and strengthened. Practicing meditation is strengthening these muscles that improve our lives by amplifying our targeted qualities of mind while at the same time reducing unnecessary self-imposed suffering.

EVERY MOMENT IS A MEDITATION

In the most general sense, meditation is what’s on your mind. It’s where and how you place your attention. It’s how you are choosing to condition your mind. In this sense, broadly defined, meditation can technically always be happening in the moment-to-moment unfolding of life. One can be practicing meditation as often as possible, training the mind whenever and wherever one desires whether it’s during cooking, eating, walking and working.

That being said, be aware of the myth of multi-tasking. If one is cooking, this now becomes the meditation. Give 100% effort to it. If one is taking care of a child, make that the meditation and place 100% attention on the child. In this manner, it’s not recommended that one try to be meditating while there are important tasks at hand such as driving and child care. To meditate in these instances is to take your attention away from what the moment demands of you. Splitting attention 50/50 on two tasks does no good for anyone, as both tasks are now being poorly executed.

Also, attention and mediation are closely linked. Attention defined is nothing more than psychic energy. This energy can be placed

Since meditation can be so broadly defined, it’s common for people to claim their favorite hobby or activity as their meditation: “Running/hiking/writing/swimming… is my meditation.” Just as stated above, in the broad sense of the word, this is very much the truth. But there’s a subtle yet gross distinction between meditation and maintaining a formal meditation practice.

FORMAL MEDITATION PRACTICE

A formal meditation practice is a designated time where you sit in silence and do nothing but work with a meditation technique. The technique is a task given to the mind and the outcome is to cultivate certain qualities of the mind.

The reason to have a formal meditation practice is that the mind is easiest to work with during stillness. Sitting with eyes-closed allows for a controlled, simplified environment and a deeper training. Removing variables such as movement, balance, and sight isolates the mind and allows you to focus on cultivating the desired qualities.

PART TWO: Choosing Your Meditation Technique 

If you’re slightly more patient and want to learn more about various meditation techniques before diving in, then read on for further philosophy, techniques, tips and resources on how to keep a meditation practice.

When choosing a meditation technique, it is best to sample, experience it directly, and find out which technique works best for you personally. There’s no reason to feel as if you have to commit to any technique right out of the gate before trying it yourself.

Why do I have to choose an established technique? Can I make up my own technique?

I’ve heard people tell me that they have no need for established meditation techniques because they have created some meditation technique of their own (imaginging things, colors, shapes, images, etc.). This is fine, but I think there are some benefits to choosing a traditional meditation technique that should be considered.

I like to think of meditation in the same way I would hiking. If a person is new to hiking, I would be slow to recommend they begin their hiking career leaping into the wilderness with a map and compass, having to orienteer and find their own routes. Similarly with meditation, there are benefits to systematizing your practice, first doing your research (sampling using smart phone apps), going to weekend camping retreats and hiking trips (visiting local halls and signing up for 10-day meditation retreats), before finally diving into orienteering (remain open-minded and find your way).

Here are some benefits to choosing an established technique, especially at first:

• Established techniques are like established trails. They have defined beginnings and endings. You know where you’re starting from and where you’re going, so it becomes more difficult to get lost.
• You can ask questions and seek counsel from established practitioners. There’s no need to create new routes in the wilderness when starting out.
• If you’re rational-minded, there is a growing body of scientific literature supporting the benefits of popular techniques. There can be some peace of mind in knowing these techniques cultivate certain qualities of the mind and are not just supported by anecdotal evidence or hopeful wishes.
• In short, choosing an existing technique has its advantages over making up your own, but even riskier perhaps is not having a mental discipline at all.

MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

All meditation is good meditation.

As for which technique to choose, a teacher can only suggest. Based on my experience, my suggestions are biased, so I recommend you test them out for yourself to see what works best for you. Overall, the key to choosing a technique is either by knowing your intention or sampling and finding what most benefits you.

Vipassana Meditation

Vipassana is a Pali word which means “to see things as they really are”. Students of vipassana learn mastery of the mind, wisdom, and morality. Vipassana goes beyond a meditation technique by providing a moral code, hence its moniker: “the art of living.”

New students learn vipassana in 10-day silent retreats. The admission for a 10-day course is entirely donation-based and the centers run completely on volunteer work from past students. One can only donate and volunteer after experiencing a 10-day course. When a business is able to thrive on donations and volunteers alone, it’s remarkable, but not surprising. Rather, it’s a testament to the technique.

The fundamental teaching of vipassana is awareness of bodily sensations and non-reactivity to those sensations. The technique is a body scan meditation; meditators move their attention within the framework of the body, scanning sensations from head to toe, all the while cultivating insight into the nature of reality. If the mind wanders into thought, no big deal. Simply bring your attention back to the body’s sensations.

The goal of the technique aims at enlightenment, i.e. total liberation of the mind; an uprooting of the mind’s habit pattern, which is to react with craving towards pleasant sensations and aversion towards unpleasant sensations.

Enlightenment is a tricky subject. Personally, whether or not I’ll reach such a stage isn’t important. In fact, if you start wanting to attain this goal, you are moving farther away from what the technique is trying to teach you, which is to rid yourself of attachment and aversion. However attainable, my logic is that if one chooses the highest goal, that person will inevitably experience all the other benefits along the way.

The course emphasizes non-sectarianism and the universal appeal of the technique. There is no need to believe anything mystical, spiritual or pseudo-scientific in order to attend a course or benefit from the technique.

Two additional techniques taught at vipassana retreats are anapana and metta. Anapana is an awareness of breath meditation, to cultivate concentration and attention. Metta meditation (loving-kindness) is a wishing well for others which cultivates compassion.

Summary:

Vipassana is both a meditation technique and an “art of living” addressing the root of human suffering, to re-condition the mind’s habit pattern of reacting with attachment and aversion. Attending a vipassana course costs only what you’re willing to give but requires 10 days of your life (six vacation days) to learn it properly. Admittedly, the courses are also quite intense. Considering that some may not feel like they’re able to give 10 days or pursue such rigorous training, there are always other options.

Secular Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation is essentially the westernized version of vipassana. The technique itself, the body scan, remains the same, but the teaching has no mentions of the Pali language, increasing the universality of the teaching.

The goal of mindfulness is awareness, attentiveness and an observational, objective, non-judgmental attitude to the moment-to-moment unfolding of reality. In short, it can be fined as cultivating presence. This means accepting reality as it is, not as you’d like it to be. What’s helped me best understand presence is giving importance to one’s senses (sight, taste, hearing, smell, touch) over thoughts that arise in the mind. In her book Mindfulness, Elen Langer also defined the concept as “finding new ways to categorize things” and “seeing things in new ways.”

During formal meditation practice, one usually begins by paying close attention to the breath in order to cultivate the skill of concentration. Eventually, once a steady level of concentration is reached, the practice moves inward and your attention is placed on bodily sensations.

In informal meditation, you also observe your mind’s behavior, it’s thoughts and even an opening up of awareness to the entire spectrum of external phenomena such as sights, sounds, tastes, etc.

Mindfulness meditation is an insight meditation meant to confront reality “as it is”, meaning there’s no artifice being imposed on your experience (no mantras, no imagination, no verbalization). Rather than a drowning out of reality, you are facing your experience head-on.

Mindfulness meditation retreats also teach Metta (loving-kindness) meditation, with the goal of cultivating a compassionate mind.

Summary:

Mindfulness will be the most realistic option for people to experience meditation due to it’s accessibility, ease of implementation, and universality. The technique is readily available online, on iPhone apps and in public classes. Compared to vipassana, barriers to entry are low.

OTHER NOTABLE TECHNIQUES

Mindfulness techniques are not for everyone. Confronting the nature of reality “as it is” can be quite painful. While sitting for hours, it’s not uncommon for memories of unpleasant experiences to arise. Mindfulness techniques force meditators to face those experiences head-on. For those with a history of trauma or veterans with PTSD, it may be wise to move towards safety and not the sharp edges of mindfulness.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is one of those options. MBSR is an umbrella of techniques aimed more specifically at reducing stress. Techniques include awareness of breath, choice-less awareness (the non-judgmental observation of thoughts and sensations), body scanning and yoga. Stress is self-inflicted and a wise-person would do their best to have techniques to battle this enemy. Teachings and retreats incorporate both meditation and yoga exercises plus group sessions and homework tasks.

Another solution could be Transcendental Meditation (TM). In transcendental meditation, you are given a mantra (a Sanskrit word, “man” meaning mind and “tra” meaning to cross over) which you repeat over and over silently in your head. If the mind wanders into thought, no big deal, simply bring the mind back to repeating the mantra. This is a much safer technique because instead of confronting reality you are instead drowning out reality. As you repeat this word, the mind becomes easily concentrated. The unfortunate and slightly funny thing about TM is that it’s actually becomes trademarked, so students must pay to receive a “special” mantra, and the cost is upwards of $1.5K. Still, many people benefit from this technique, so it’s worth your consideration.

Summary: Mindfulness is not for everyone. If you have a history of trauma or PTSD, it would be best to lean towards the safety of MBSR or Transcendental Meditation.

PART THREE: Practice that Technique

Once you find a technique that works for you, it’s recommended that you stick to it. If that technique is helping you, then grow and develop in that one technique. The saying goes something like, “if you try to find water by digging a little here, a little there, you will die of thirst. A man who digs deep in one spot will surely find water.” A bit of an extreme example, but the reasoning is sound.

MISCONCEPTIONS

• Meditation is “calming the mind” or “clearing thoughts” — Meditation is less about calming the mind and more about observing it.
• Meditation is experiencing serene peace — On the contrary, meditation is accepting whatever is happening. It is bearing and confronting the suffering of the present moment.
• Try to let your thoughts pass — This advice can be misleading. If one tries not to think, usually this only causes more thinking. Imagine being told, “Don’t think of a blue elephant.” Now what’s the first thing that arises in the mind? A blue elephant. Rather than “letting thoughts pass” simply allow the thoughts to be as they are. Then, slowly move your attention back to the intended area of awareness.

Thoughts will arise and mind will do everything in its power to give attention to these thoughts. I’ve read that some guides teach “try to let thoughts pass”. Maybe a better way of phrasing this advice would instead be to give priority to the object of your meditation, like sensations, breath, etc.

TIPS

• You Get Out What You Put In.
• Continuity of Practice is the Key to Success.
• Be Easy On Yourself.
• Enter with Beginner’s Mind.
• Don’t Take Things Too Seriously
• Your Job is Not to Stop Thinking, But to Be Aware of the Thinking
• Remain Non-Judgemental to All Thoughts, Senstations & Experiences
• Everything that Arises Passes Away
• Everything is Constantly Changing

MEDITATION RESOURCES

Below are additional tools to aid in your meditation.

• Anapana Meditation Video — a 10-minute meditation by SN Goenka of the vipassana tradition.
• Metta (Loving-Kindness) Meditation Video — a 48-minute meditation by Joseph Goldstein from the Insight Meditation Society (IMS).

PODCASTS

If you’re looking to learn more about meditation before you get involved, podcasts are a great way to do so. Below are a couple of my favs.

• 10% Happier with Dan Harris — a self-defined “fidgety skeptic” of meditation, Dan interviews the biggest names in meditation including the Dalai Lama, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, George Mumford & David Gelles. The names go on and on. Practical and in-depth advice from the best.
• Buddhist Society of Western Australia — listen to the ones with a guy named Ajahn Brahm(avasmo). He’s great because he takes serious topics, twisting them into being light and funny.
• On the first episode of my podcast, I interviewed my good friend Bradley Lovell who lived at a vipassana meditation center for three years. He did a great job of explaining why one might start meditating and practical tips for improving your life. If you’d like to check that out, you can listen on iTunes or stream the episode on this page here.

FINAL CONCLUSION

Meditation is not a silver bullet, but if you understand the importance of re-programming the mind and are willing to work hard, then meditation might be what you’re looking for. Like anything in life, you get out what you put in, and investing time and effort into training the mind can yield great benefits extending to all aspects of living. Meditation the most impactful tool that I’ve found in my two years of searching for answers in this wild, wild west. 🙂 I hope it helps you too.

Any other questions out there that I missed? Anything you’re still curious about? Let me know!

If you enjoyed this post please comment, like and share with others via the social networking buttons below. I’m conservatively active on Facebook and Instagram. Looking forward to talking to you.

If you haven’t read it yet, check out this post about re-framing the way we think about happiness.

SIGN UP FOR RETREATS

Meditation retreats are for those looking for an in-depth teaching of the techniques. Full immersion provides an ideal space for learning and practicing. Here you’re able to communicate with long-time practitioners and teachers and receive proper training. Retreats are typically located just far enough away from the big city to be secluded and just close enough to be convenient.

• Sign up for a vipassana retreat.
• Sign up for a mindfulness retreat.
• Sign up for MBSR retreat.
• Sign up for TM retreat.