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Learn The One Minute Meditation!

by lemortedeben

Some masters meditate for hours.  They just sit still in one
spot, holding their focus for hours on end.  In some rare cases,
they sit in the same place for days!  It is amazing to consider
the things we can do with some practice.

But what about those us who have other things to do than just
sit and meditate?  Some of us have jobs, a spouse, kids, car
payments, etc.  Do we try to retire early so there is still time
for enlightenment, or do we swear off all 'worldly' things and
find a cave to sit in?

I would suggest that neither of these is an ideal solution.  In
fact, I doubt anyone would listen to me if I recommended either
of those choices, anyway.  Ideally, we want to find some way to
begin to integrate meditation into our daily life.  The best way
to do this is to begin very simply.  Setting aside several hours
is difficult, extreme, and likely to fail.  Setting aside a few
minutes is easy, relaxing, and will help you begin to create
momentum in your practice.

All you need to begin meditation is one minute of silence.  Find
a place where you can close your eyes, relax, and enjoy the
silence for just sixty seconds. 
 
You will also want to select a single focus for your session of
meditation.  It can be virtually anything.  It could be the
feeling of your feet against the floor.  It can be whatever
internal sounds come up (or the internal silence).  The most
common focus is the breath.  If you like, pick one element of the
breath to focus on:  the feeling of the air passing through the
nostrils, the movement of the chest as you breathe, or the
expansion and contraction of the belly as you breathe.

Sit silently for 1 minute and hold your focus.  When your
attention drifts, bring it back.  It is perfectly normal and
acceptable for your attention to drift during meditation.  This
is part of the meditation!  If it happens, just continue to
relax, and gently return your awareness to the object of
meditation.  If you find drifting awareness to be particularly
frustrating, you can also add in a smile anytime you notice your
focus beginning to wander:  relax, smile, and gently return.

You can use this mindfulness as the beginning of any meditation
practice, or you can choose to make this your entire practice of
meditation.  It is very handy to have a watch or some unobtrusive
alarm that will alert you when 1 minute has elapsed.  At first a
minute might seem to last forever, but after practice, you might
be surprised at how fast a minute can go.

When your focus begins to build and you feel good about your 1
minute meditation, you can extend it to 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 30
minutes, etc.  Keep in mind that an hour is just 60 individual 1
minute periods.  On the other hand, you may choose to do several
1 minute meditations during the day.  No matter how you begin to
evolve your practice after mastering the 1 minute meditation, you
will find more and more surprising insight and peace can be found
in the space of 60 seconds!

Benjamin Langley has been studying and training in meditation,
yoga, and other sciences of the mind for over 10 years.  He
regularly writes and shares powerful insights on his own blog. 
Come take a look: http://peacefulprosperity.com/blog

Syndicated by Top Gazebos - www.topgazebos.net

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