{"id":1497,"date":"2011-08-14T13:58:28","date_gmt":"2011-08-14T17:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=1497"},"modified":"2011-08-14T13:58:28","modified_gmt":"2011-08-14T17:58:28","slug":"meditation-made-simple-seven-considerations-to-get-you-going-part-six-you-have-everything-you-need-to-start-right-now-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2011\/08\/meditation-made-simple-seven-considerations-to-get-you-going-part-six-you-have-everything-you-need-to-start-right-now-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Meditation Made Simple: Seven Considerations to Get You Going :: Part Six: You Have Everything You Need To Start Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>You can meditate anytime anywhere. You don\u2019t need any special conditions. Wherever you are right now is just fine. You can be in a crowded train, or waiting for a bus, or in a quiet cloister. All of these geographies are equally compatible with practice. And meditation can occur in any moment. You don\u2019t have to wait until your mind is clearer or things are calmer (as if that might ever happen). You don\u2019t need any props. While it can be helpful to have a setting and some accouterments for practice, these are not required.<\/p>\n

–Make a space for practice. It can be helpful to have a dedicated place for meditation. If you don\u2019t have an entire room, a part of a room where your meditation cushion can go can suffice. To devote some of your home\u2019s real estate to meditation announces your commitment to this practice and facilitates it at the same time.<\/p>\n

–You can also set up an altar, if you are inclined. On the alter can go objects that hold personal meaning for you; things that will have a favorable association with meditation practice.<\/p>\n

–A proper cushion (usually called a zafu) can help you to get into a comfortable posture with your hips above your knees. You can put your zafu on a padded mat called a zabuton.<\/p>\n

–As mentioned earlier, some meditation is better than no meditation. Try to sit for at least a few minutes every day. Start with ten minutes and build from there to twenty minutes, forty-five minutes or even an hour.<\/p>\n

–A timer can help to provide some structure to your practice and relieves you worrying about how long to sit. Just set the timer beforehand for the desired number of minutes. You can also use guided meditation recordings that are a specific length.<\/p>\n

–Sit upright in a dignified posture without being slumped or rigid so that you can breathe without restriction. Your eyes can be open our closed. Closed eyes tends to limit the mind wandering. If you practice with your eyes open, keep your gaze soft about a foot or two in front of your body.<\/p>\n

–Place your hands palms down or up on your thighs or fold one hand on top of the other. Or, if you prefer, clasp your hands and place them in your lap.<\/p>\n

Now that you have been set straight on what meditation is and is not, here\u2019s how to do it:<\/p>\n

    \n
      \n
    1. Start by noticing<\/li>\n
    2. Don\u2019t try to change anything<\/li>\n
    3. Notice where you attention goes. It can be in any one of nine different places according to time frame and pleasantness.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      <\/td>\nPast<\/strong><\/td>\nPresent <\/strong><\/td>\nFuture<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Pleasant<\/strong><\/td>\nReverie<\/td>\n\u201cI like\u201d<\/td>\nAnticipation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Neutral<\/strong><\/td>\nRandom<\/td>\nRandom<\/td>\nRandom<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Unpleasant<\/strong><\/td>\nRegret<\/td>\n\u201cI don\u2019t like\u201d<\/td>\nWorry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      When you notice your attention in any one of these nine places, gently return your attention to something that is happening now. What is happening now?<\/p>\n

      –The activity of the moment
      \n–What we see
      \n–What we hear
      \n–What we smell
      \n–What we taste
      \n–What we feel as sensations in the body including breathing.<\/p>\n

      So, for example, focus your attention on breathing and when your mind wanders to one of the nine places mentioned above (and it will!), gently bring it back to the sensations of breathing noticeable now.<\/p>\n

      Repeat as necessary. If you have a lot of repeats, that\u2019s OK. Remember, there is NO way to do this practice wrong. In fact, the more you have to return attention, the more mindfulness you are developing. This is an important paradox and can be touchstone for encouraging yourself to persist.<\/p>\n

      I invite you to give yourself permission to do this practice and permission to do it imperfectly. That\u2019s the human way. Don\u2019t get hung up on things needing to be quiet or any particular way. The way things are is just fine so long as you can bring interest to whatever is happening now, and if you can bring fascination, even better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      You can meditate anytime anywhere. You don\u2019t need any special conditions. Wherever you are right now is just fine. You can be in a crowded train, or waiting for a bus, or in a quiet cloister. All of these geographies are equally compatible with practice. And meditation can occur in any moment. You don\u2019t have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12,8,9],"tags":[54,122,212,211,210],"class_list":["post-1497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-shelf","category-buddha-101","category-mindful-living","category-mindfulnesss","tag-attention","tag-meditation","tag-sitting-meditation","tag-zabuton","tag-zafu"],"yoast_head":"\nMeditation Made Simple: Seven Considerations to Get You Going :: Part Six: You Have Everything You Need To Start Right Now - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2011\/08\/meditation-made-simple-seven-considerations-to-get-you-going-part-six-you-have-everything-you-need-to-start-right-now-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meditation Made Simple: Seven Considerations to Get You Going :: Part Six: You Have Everything You Need To Start Right Now - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You can meditate anytime anywhere. You don\u2019t need any special conditions. Wherever you are right now is just fine. You can be in a crowded train, or waiting for a bus, or in a quiet cloister. All of these geographies are equally compatible with practice. And meditation can occur in any moment. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1497"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1511,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1497\/revisions\/1511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}