A 5 Step Guide to Meditation: Zazen, Mantras, and Brain States

Meditation can be a deeply relaxing, personal, and even spiritual experience. The core purpose of meditation is total awareness and exploration of the Now, your present realization of Being, so that you can truly experience a sense of existential clarity and unity. Often our experience of self can become anchored to the past or tied to anxieties of the future. Ultimately, this clogs our minds with useless clutter. During meditation we can deconstruct those links to the past and future and focus our awareness on our present experience.

Sitting Meditation

Sitting meditation is known as zazen. This is the traditional meditation that most people recognize in which the practitioner sits in the full lotus position. However, it is not necessary to sit in full lotus if it is painful, causes discomfort, or distracts from the purpose of the meditation.

Sit comfortably in a quiet room with no distractions. You can light candles, burn incense, play soothing music, or whatever might help you concentrate and relax.

Keep you mind passive, focused, and receptive. Focus on and count your breaths. Breathe deeply from your stomach. Slow down your thought processes until your mind becomes clear. Hold an image in your mind as long as you can.

Do not become discouraged or disappointed if you can't immediately quiet your mind. Simply watch your thoughts pass by as if you were passively watching a train. With each exhalation you can dismiss any intrusive thoughts and watch them fade away.

Walking Meditation

It is common for runners to hit a kind of "high" or "zone" while they exercise. While in this zone, you can reach a meditative mental clarity. You can become simultaneously aware of all your sensory experiences. Often we block out several of our senses so that we can focus on the task or thought process at hand, but, when you are in this zone, all of that sensory input becomes unified with the task. In essence, you can "take it all in," experiencing sensual details that people are too often forced to overlook.