10 Steps to Start a Meditation Practice That Lasts By Morgan Dix l Prayer and Peace l Faith l Ways to Meditate l How to Meditate

Meditation Practices That Lasts

Do you want to meditate but don’t know how to start? There are so many techniques and approaches to meditation, it can be overwhelming. Where should you begin? Personally, I remember starting by staring a candle every morning at 4am. I was in college and I tried to hone my powers of concentration by keeping my attention focused on that flickering flame. It was hard going, but eventually I found my groove and settled into a rich and rewarding meditation practice that’s still going 20 years later. Maybe you’ve started a meditation practice before and then gave up? It’s more common than you might think.

There are lots of reasons why people quit, but to be honest, a lot them could be avoided with a little guidance. First, it’s important for you to have a sense of structure, purpose, and direction when you’re starting your new meditation practice. And because you are trying to create a new meditation habit, it’s important that you understand the science behind habit building. Research from a 2009 study out of University College London found that the average time it takes to build a new habit like running or meditating is 66 days. And although missing a day here and there won’t ruin your chances of creating a bona fide habit, it’s important for you to be consistent, especially in the beginning. So how do you create the structure, purpose, and direction that will ensure your success? How are you going to create a habit that delivers lasting benefits? Here are 10 simple but crucial steps you can take to build a meditation practice that lasts.

Don’t Make Any Problems for Yourself

When you start this simple focused meditation on your breath, you’ll notice that your mind wanders. That’s totally fine. Just bring your attention back to counting your breath. Your mind is going to wander a lot. Just keep bringing it back to your breath. And no matter what, don’t make an issue out of your wandering mind. It’s as natural as the rising sun. Meditation is the process of training your attention. The act of bringing your attention back to your breath is the very heart of that training. You are building the muscle of meditation, which is your focused awareness. If your mind didn’t wander, there would be no practice to the meditation. So I’m going to say it one more time. Don’t make a problem out of the fact that your mind is undisciplined, unruly, and reluctant to follow your lead. It won’t just wander…it will at times try and cut loose like a bucking bronco. Don’t worry about it and don’t punish yourself. It’s natural. Just come back to counting each breath.

Do One More Month

I strongly recommend that you repeat this process for an additional month in order to log the number of days that it takes to create a real habit. Doing a second month will get you close to the magic number of 66 days we talked about at the beginning of this article. When your meditation becomes a real habit, it will be automatic. The amount of effort required to get yourself on to the cushion will plummet and that’s what you’re shooting for. If this ten-step process feels daunting, remember you are doing this to support your emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being. You’re doing this to thrive. You are going to learn a lot about yourself in the process. For many people, it’s astounding when they first realize one of the most basic tenets of meditation. What is that exactly? It’s the realization that you are not what you think. In fact, you are infinitely more than that. But until you start meditating with regularity, and gain some objectivity on your own mind and how it works, it’s natural to think that your thoughts are who you are.

I love the way that Deepak Chopra describes the nature of the mind: "Think of your mind as being like a flowing river. On the surface a river flows the fastest and is broken up by waves and currents. But if you dive deeper, the waves disappear and the current is slower. Finally, at the bottom, where the water meets the riverbed, the current may be nearly motionless. The mind is like that, yet we identify only with its active, fast-moving surface. What lies deeper can’t be accessed by thought. You must allow your mind to seek its own quiet, to return to its own source." I’m excited for you. You’re about to go a big adventure. You’re actually going to return to the source of who and what you are. If you’re at all like me, after you find it, nothing will be the same.