How to Meditate
General Guidelines
Difficulty Meditating
Simple Meditations
Breathing Meditations
Walking Meditation
Meditations in Nature
Meditation in Action
Music as Meditation
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Simple Meditations
learn how to meditate using these easy instructions
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We offer meditations that are simple, natural and easy to do. The goal of these meditations is to help you to relax and flow more easily with life, so that you can live with greater authenticity, spontaneity and ease. We have a brief description of each meditation below and a link to click for full instructions.
Our Meditation Guidelines page contains suggestions which can help support your practice of these meditations. If you are already meditating and finding it difficult, visit our Difficulty Meditating page.
Breath Meditations
Many meditations involve focusing on the breath. We offer two variations of breath meditations.
Breath Awareness Meditation
This is perhaps the easiest way to begin meditating and you may never need to look further. In this meditation, you bring your awareness to the natural flow of the breath, noticing the details of the sensation of breathing. When the attention wanders, it is gently brought back to the breath.
Stillness in the Breath Meditation
This is a variation of the Breath Awareness Meditation which can be done when you find that you are able to follow the breath for periods of time. It develops awareness of inner stillness.
Read instructions for our Breath Meditations.
Nature Meditation
This meditation is done outside in natural surroundings. It helps to enliven the basic intelligence of nature in our awareness and physiology. Our being resonates with the sight of a flower, sound of birds, feeling of the breeze. These experiences wake something up inside of us, and help to set our lives into a more natural rhythm. Nature lovers have discovered this secret without ever studying meditation! (Read instructions.)
Walking Meditation
Walking meditation can be just as profound as sitting meditation, and has the advantage of bringing the meditative experience into our activity. In addition to being relaxing, it allows you to be more present in your body and in the present moment. The simple experience of alternating steps with the left and right foot naturally helps create a meditative state. (Read instructions.)
Meditation-in-Action — Taking it Easy!
Our Meditation-in-Action is a way of meditating while remaining active. It can be a very relaxing experience. It can also bring insights into how we resist the natural flow of life and help you to let go of that resistance to experience activity in a more natural and spontaneous way. This meditation can be for personal growth, or simply to relax. Usually this meditation will be most effective if you can take at least an hour to do it. (Read instructions.)
Comments
12 Responses to “Simple Meditations”
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I really like the meditation instructions on this website. This is definitely one of the better blogs on the subject!
RagsToRich, Thank you for your kind words. Glad you are enjoying the website. You might want to try listening to the free podcast as well – go to our Listen to Our Podcast page.
Thanks!
Outstanding website. Kudos.
I am a teacher of Healing and Meditation for Self Healing, and
I am sending people to your site whenever I can.
The “How To Meditate” section makes Meditation easy and very do-able.
Keep up the good work.
I have enjoyed your guided meditations for several months now. i meditate daily, many times using your guided meditations and music. i’m very obliged to your services. please keep up the good work. i too have been telling others about your meditation classes and hope they too benefit from them. regards. thanks once again
We’re so pleased, Thomas, that you’re enjoying the meditations and the course. You are welcome and we wish you well!
Hi, Mary! Your meditations have been a blessing to me! I am wondering if you can recommend a meditation book. I love to read, and the printed word is so powerful for me. I would love to have a small collection of passages which encourage relaxation —and all of the ideas/philosophies I hear in your meditations. Is there something out there like that? Or perhaps a small collection of phrases on which to meditate? One of my favorites is an old Chinese proverb which says, “Tension is trying to be who you think you should be; Relaxation is being who you are.” I love that—and would love a book filled with ideas of the sort. Would love to hear your recommendations! Thank you, Mary. May you have a peace-filled 2011!
Karen, the only thing that comes to mind is a book called A Grateful Heart: Daily Blessings for the Evening Meal from Buddha to the Beatles. It has all sorts of quotes, some of which I’m sure you’d enjoy. Although it says the collection is for meal blessings, I don’t see why you can’t use it anytime.
I tried walking meditation after reading your post and found it as effective as sitting meditation. Must say, it is an relaxing way of meditating while remaining active.
Hi Mary, Nice to see your good work in publishing Meditation elated info. At a particular instance i found you relating o Eckhart Tolle’s book.. Can you please elaborate.. Thanks.
Mary, One more clarification.. Is it that by having a music background or in a guided meditation, again there is an action on mind level in the form of listening and understanding,, interpreting etc., Will this not effectively deviate the flow rather than helping.. Please Comment.. Thanks.
Venkat, I don’t know enough about Tolle to comment. As for music in the background, it is helpful for some and not others and so you can see what works for you. When there is a musical background, it needs to be one that does not draw a lot of attention to itself.