Basics of Meditation

Today we'll talk about the mental mastery. There are many ways to improve yourself mentally. Meditation is arguably the most important of them all.

The benefits are many. You become more socially confident because your mind calms down. Your attention span increases exponentially. It reduces anxiety and improves general well-being. Blood pressure lowers. Digestion, sleep, and learning ability get increased. Not only that, more and more research is done about meditation with every passing day. We find many benefits that were previously unknown. Meditation is one of the most important activities that you can do for yourself. It improves the basis of all human endeavors.

We can compare meditation to physical fitness. It requires the same dedication to get started and stick to it. Anyone who was formerly obese can see the difference in the quality of life. Meditation is like no longer being psychically obese. Habitual thought patterns and emotional reactivity are no longer weighed down on you.

Since meditation is a skill, you must train it like one. Start with the basics and slowly work your way up. Below is the list of three stages of meditative practices that you can start doing today. Keep in mind that most exercises are meant to be completed daily.

Stage 1 - The Basics

• To keep your mind healthy, you also must keep your body healthy. Try to get at least 20 minutes of vigorous physical exercise daily. You can read more about the basics of physical mastery here. Eat healthily and lose weight if necessary.
• Start a journal. Write a paragraph each day about your mental state and anything else that's worth noting. After completing every exercise, write how much time you spent on it. It is also helpful to write your emotional state after the exercises. This will provide something that you can look back on and analyze. Alongside this journal, start a dream journal and keep it by your bed. Write every detail of your dream after you wake up. Instead of writing dreams down, you can use a voice recorder if it's easier.
• Try to sleep no longer than it is necessary. Get no more than 8 hours of sleep and wake up no later than 8 am.
• Read for at least 20 minutes a day. Read anything that you enjoy or want to learn about. The books themselves aren't too important. The reading itself is an exercise of the mind.
• Stay socially active. Don't isolate yourself from other people and rot your brain away on video games.
• Be conscious when you eat food and drink water. Be mindful of the taste, smell, and feel of what you're eating and drinking. Eat like it's the last meal that you will ever have. Try not to overeat. Always stop just before you are full.
• List every negative thing that you believe is a part of you. For example mean spirited, lazy, greedy, etc. Give yourself a couple of days to think if you're having a hard time. When you have exhausted all your negative aspects do the same but with positive traits. Example: funny, kind, caring, etc. Scrub your mind clean. Complete this exercise every two months of when you believe that you have grown.

Stage 2 - Pranayama

Pranayama is the practice of breath control in yoga. There are many objects of meditation, all associated with different styles and teachings. As a beginner, focusing on the breath as the main object is the simplest and the most useful. At first, these exercises will be completed under 15 minutes. For beginners, it's more important to practice consistency than. You can even start with 2 minutes daily and work your way up. When you think that you have made progress move up to 30 minutes. An hour is for the truly determined.

• Sit completely still. Do not move a muscle. If an itch arises do not scratch it. Let it take its course. The itch will cease in a minute. This is hard but necessary to train self-control. Once success has been found, and no earlier then a month into the apprenticeship, you can move to the next step. (The way you sit is not important. Body posture is always secondary to inner intent. As a general rule, as long as your back is straight without strain and your abdomen is relaxed, your posture is good.)
• Let the attention fall on to the breath. Breathe in slowly for 5 seconds and breathe out slowly for 10 seconds. Fully expand the belly while breathing in. Completely compress it when breathing out. When you can complete an hour without the breath faltering, move on to the next step.
• Increase periods to 10 seconds in and 20 seconds out.
• Increase periods to 15 seconds in and 30 seconds out.
• Lastly, breathe in for 15 seconds, hold the breath for 15 seconds, and breathe out for 15 seconds.

Stage 3 - Control of Thought

These exercises are more advanced and should be attempted after you mastered pranayama.

• Constrain the mind to concentrate upon a single simple object imagined. The five tattvas are useful for this purpose. They are a black (or violet) oval; a blue disk; a silver crescent; a yellow square; a red triangle.
• Proceed to combinations of simple objects; I.e. a black oval within a yellow square, and so on.

• Proceed to simple moving objects. Examples include a pendulum swinging, a wheel revolving, etc. Avoid living objects.
• Proceed to combinations of moving objects. I.e. a piston rising and falling while a pendulum is swinging. The relation between the two movements should be varied in different experiments. During these practices, the mind must be confined to the object determined upon. No other thought must be allowed to intrude the consciousness. The moving systems must be regular and harmonious. Note the duration of the experiments, the number, and nature of the intruding thoughts. The tendency of the object itself to depart from the course laid out for it. Also, note any other phenomena which may present itself. Avoid overstrain; this is very important.
• Proceed to imagine living objects; You may try to imagine the objects of other senses as well. For example, try to imagine the taste of chocolate, the smell of roses, the feeling of velvet.
• Have great knowledge of your physical limitations. How much can you lift over your head? How much can you drink without blacking out? How long can you run and swim before collapsing from exhaustion? How many hours can you go without food or water or sleep? How long can you be silent?

If you mastered all three stages, you no longer are an apprentice. What you do next is up to you.

Recommendations

Books

• Mindfulness in Plain English
• Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment