With the chaotic pace and burdens of modern life, many people feel frazzled and overworked.  Often it feels that there is just not enough time in the day to get everything done.  Our stress can make us unhappy, frustrated and impatient, but even worse it can affect our health.  Meditation can create more time for you by making your mind calmer and more able to focus.  A simple fifteen minute breathing exercise can help you overcome your stress and find some inner peace and balance. 

Meditation is a state in which your mind rids itself of the clutter and confusion of thoughts and is able to clear predetermined notions and beliefs.  "Ego" disappears and you are able to see the world in larger perspective.  In some religions, it is believed that with proper practice of meditation one could be able to "see" God; one could attain Nirvana. 

It has been established that physiologically through meditation the body does attain a more restful state than is even attained through sleep.  Stress and anxiety is reduced because during meditation the body produces less stress-inducing hormones.  This is because the mind is clear of thoughts and worries.  Meditation also helps to regulate blood pressure and control many common diseases related to blood pressure and the heart.  Stress as we know causes aging, therefore meditation also is known to increases your longevity. 

The following are two short and simple exercises for meditation beginners.  Lets get started.

Tranquility Practice

1. Turn off your phone and find a peaceful location.
2. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed.
3. Breathe at a normal pace through you nose.  Concentrate on the air passing in and out of your nostrils.
4. Continue breathing, and concentrating on the air passing in and out of your nostrils. 

This exercise causes you to stop your thoughts and observe the rhythmic pattern of your breathe or life force, causing you to become tuned with the present, and resulting in the calming of your mind, body and spirit. 

Life on Hold

1. Turn off your phone and find a peaceful location.  (A location in which there are sounds, but not noise.)
2. Sit comfortable with your eyes closed.
3. Take a few deep breathes and try to free your mind of all thoughts.  (Don't worry if you cannot clear your mind at first, it is not easy.  This exercise will help you to be able to clear your mind over time.)
4. Keep breathing normally and try to keep your mind free, be prepared to let your mind wander, consciously divert you mind to the sounds that you hear.
5. Continue diverting your mind from one sound to another, but do not let your mind stay on one sound long enough to find the meaning behind those sounds.  The idea is to keep the mind clear of the chaos of life, and instead concentrating on various sounds.

Beginners to meditation might find that the mind still reverts back to everyday thoughts after just a few minutes.  However, this should be no cause for concern.  The amount of time in which the mind is free from all of the day to day thoughts improves with regular practice. 

As these exercises indicate, often in order to clear the mind from everyday thoughts, you must divert your attention to something else.  This is the principle behind the practice of meditation with tools and props such as listening to soft music and looking into a burning a candle.  The stated examples utilize this same principle; however, they do not require the use of any other prop or tool other than your own will to meditate.  Practice these exercises at home, at work, on a bus or train; but please never practice meditation while driving a car or operating heavy machinery.

Happy Meditating!

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