The purpose of this writing is to teach you a meditation skill as quickly as possible, so that you can experience it today! Some people consider meditation the key to balancing the mind, body and soul, and the benefits of meditation are many including anxiety and stress reduction, gaining sharper mental focus, clearing mental chatter, or becoming a more creative thinker, just to name a few or so.
Let's get started: It is possible for you to begin meditation as soon as you are done reading this, but the first step is to find a place where outside annoyances won't disturb you.
You should also plan on spending a minimum amount of time for your meditation experience.
Twenty minutes should be the least time you spend meditating and an hour would be the most that I would recommend.
I would consider an hour more than enough time to get most of the benefits meditation has to offer, and there really aren't many reasons to "over indulge".
For this exercise I recommend sitting in a recliner or laying in your bed, but anywhere that you can lay or sit in a relaxed position with your hands at your side and unbent legs will do.
Close your eyes and begin breathing in from your nose and out from your mouth with a short pause between inhaling and exhaling.
Your breath should be comfortably deep.
Counting backwards from ten or twenty, relax your body a little more with each exhale (each exhale being a count).
You should now be in a state of deep relaxation and ready to begin the mental portion of the meditation.
If you have problems relaxing your body then do this exercise first: During each inhale begin tensing portions of your body, (but not excessively) stiffen your arms then relax them during your exhale and notice and remember the sensation of your arms being relaxed.
Do this several times for different parts of your body.
This exercise should train most people in being able to relax properly, and physical relaxation will become easier for you.
Continuing with the meditation: Continue breathing as earlier described, discontinue counting.
Begin clearing your mind of random thoughts.
Imagine yourself in front of a large tree.
As you observe the tree it should become more vivid.
Allow your thoughts to produce A gentle wind blowing through the branches of the tree.
If your mind wanders away from the tree, or begins producing other images besides the tree, then force your attention back to the tree.
Imagining a simple but pleasant surrounding for your observation of this tree is perfectly fine.
If you find a tree scene not to your liking you may replace it with any scene that makes you feel safe, comfortable, and at peace, so long as you maintain a central focus point to anchor yourself with so that your mind is not rumbling randomly through your subconscious.
That's it for your fist meditation experience.
With ongoing practice It should become easier and easier for you to vividly imagine a scenery of your choice.
If you find that you spent more time meditating than had expected then adding an hour egg timer (the kind that ticks when set) will help you distinguish the passing of time and the ding or buzz will remind you when your pre-determined time allotment is finished.