How to do Meditation – the Techniques

This “How to do mediation” section is set up to offer you, a number of different beginning meditation techniques.

Meditation techniques are not all the same, and as meditation has become increasingly popular there’s been a movement to develop an understanding of how the different techniques work and what their benefits are.

How do we approach Meditation?

Meditation practices differ in how we approach them, for example, do we approach them with feeling or awareness of the body. Maybe we approach meditation with our attention, or by using visualization, or possibly, it’s by using the memory of an event.

In the same way our approach to meditation is different; our emotional relationship to our meditation or the way we practice differs from one meditation technique to another. One tradition will use passive stillness and another activity; one practice will use forced concentration while still another uses effortlessness.

Another difference is the focus of the meditation. The focus of mantra meditation is sound, silently repeated or repeated out loud. Some meditation traditions focus on objects, images or art. Concepts or emotions, such as God and love, also become ‘objects’ of focus in meditation.

The Differences in How to do Meditation

Because there are differences in how to do meditation as well as in the benefits, the different beginning meditations techniques are organized into one of three categories.

1. Mindfulness, present moment awareness or open monitoring which is defined as clear awareness of the present moment or being in the “NOW”. It is being mindful of your thoughts and/or your breath.

2. Concentration or Focused Attention is a meditation on an object or emotion; examples would be the Tibetan Buddhist loving kindness meditation and the candle concentration practice.

3. Inner Self-Awareness is a technique that transcends the activity of the mind; a Vedic mantra based transcendental meditation. Some modern examples of these traditional self-awareness practices are Primordial Sound Meditation and Transcendental Meditation.

Even, though, there are significant differences in meditation techniques, and mixing them all together would be a mistake if you are trying to discover their clinical or scientific affects; nonetheless, there exists much common ground in these diverse meditative traditions.

As a beginner looking to design a practice of your own, you may feel challenged or confused by the choices. As an example, mindfulness may seem appealing, while the idea of concentration practice might be stressful, and of course, for someone else it could be the other way around.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide, what you are drawn to and what your desires are.

We’ve approached how do to meditation, so where do we start?

To start with keep it comfortable, you don’t need to ‘mix and match’, simply choose a meditation technique that you feel drawn to and ‘try it on’ for awhile. I would define “awhile” to mean a few months or longer, unless, for some reason, you find yourself growing uncomfortable with a particular practice.

Within each of the categories, there are a number of different techniques, chose one and use it as the foundation of your practice, this is the one that you will want to integrate in to your daily routine.

In choosing a technique to begin with, it’s helpful to ask the question, “What benefits am I looking for?” The benefits will differ depending on whether your desire is to become enlightened or you’re simply looking for a little more joy or a little less stress in your life.

Once you become confident and comfortable with that one technique, then you may want to consider adding one of the other practices. Here I would suggest, choosing one within the same category, to add to your practice.

Remember, all meditation techniques are not the same, but as a beginning meditator how your meditation practice evolves is ultimately up to you, follow your intuition and do what feels right.

There are beginning techniques that are designed to be built upon, techniques like counting the breath or following your breath. Learning these two foundational meditation techniques will help you discover which path you are drawn to.

So the next step in the “how to do meditation,” is pick one, try it and have fun.