A few general suggestions for how to best get a good solid, manageable start with your meditation practice or jump-starting one that has fallen by the wayside.

• Remember that it is simple, not easy
• Practice daily
• Turn off your TV for the first 30 days
• Limit your computer time to just the necessary things-email, weather, etc.
• Breathe: be conscious of your breath throughout the day
• Join a meditation group or find a friend who would like to meditate together once a week
• View it as fun and exciting (because it is)



Any day, Anywhere, Anytime

The next time your mind is chattering away and you want to meditate, try telling to your mind “I am going to meditate”.  This may seem silly at first and you may feel silly doing it. But, trust me on this one…IT WORKS. This is a tool that you can use anywhere. Well, unless you talk out loud and then you may get carted off. Seriously though, try breathing deeply and telling your mind to “STOP IT!” “Please stop chattering.” You can also repeat the directive NO, over and over to ‘drown out’ the chatter. “NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.” This breaks the cycle.

15 minutes breathing, counting backwards. Twice Daily

Purpose: To bring you into the now, get your mind to step aside and enter a more meditative state.

      In addition to sitting quietly, eyes closed, breathing deeply with minimal movement in your chest, you will count backwards from 300. On your first inhale count “3” and on the exhale “hundred’. Then on the next inhale “2” and on the exhale “99”. Then ‘2”, “98”. Continuing to count backwards until your timer goes off. Several things are happening with this deceptively simple tool.

*  First, closing your eyes enables you to focus inward (which is where you want to go).

* Second, being aware of your breathing always brings you more into the now---the feel and sensation of it filling and exiting your body.

* Third, counting backward in rhythm with your breath gives your mind a task—enabling it to be “kept busy” rather than chattering.

The result of all three components combined is you enter a deeper meditative state. 

I Spy

It is just what it sounds like….the game you played as a child. All you have to do is start noticing everything that is within range of your senses. As you notice something say to yourself,  “I see the green leaves on the plant in the corner.” “I see the cuticle on my index finger.”  “I hear the air conditioner and the conversations in the room.” “I feel the warmth of the sun.” Consciously acknowledge everything. Do this until your mind begins to quiet and you feel calm. This one usually takes a few minutes but is very powerful. Once the benefit kicks in you can then start to breathe and move more into a meditative state. 

The purpose of 'I Spy' is to bring your attention into the now. Especially helpful in busy, noisy, distracting environments. When you can’t get quiet enough to even think about meditating.