This is basic mind-calming meditation, and it comes in the short 10-count and the harder 100-count. Once you have mastered this you can move on to the other meditations on the left.
10-Count Meditation
This
meditation is very easy and can be done almost any where, any time. Get
into a comfortable position that won't take any conscious effort to
stay in (this will probably involve laying down or leaning back onto
something). Start becoming more aware of your breath. Take slower,
deeper breaths. Once you have slow, steady breathing you are ready to
begin
Breath in, and don't exactly hold it, but let your body
gently shift from inhale to exhale at it's own pace. As you breathe
out, count "10" in your mind. How you count is up to you, though it's
usually distracting to see it in your mind. I prefer to hear a voice
say it sweetly, like a mother talking to her child she's tucking into
bed. Remember, the point is to relax. Do this again; breathe in, and as
you breath out count "9" and continue this until you reach "0."
Once you reach 0 you should meditate upon calmness. Again, how you do this is up to you. Some good ways are:
-- Imagine you're asleep in a very shallow stream, feeling the water flow around you and on your back.
-- Hear a voice say words that you find soothing such as "everything is alright" or "go to sleep."
-- Mentally feel yourself getting a massage.
When
you're ready to stop meditating (and how long that will take is
entirely up to you) start counting back up from 0 to 10 like before.
You will probably have started breathing very shallow - and that's
okay! You're body breathes shallow like that when it's asleep and most
meditations will put you in a state very similar to sleep, so this is
expected. So to as you count back up to ten, make each breath be a
little deeper than the last.
When you get up I'm sure you'll
notice the difference. It will be almost like the world is going a
little slower because you can do so much more thinking in response to
things and you can notice so much more so it's as if you're being given
extra time to do all this. No, this is just the result of calming your
mind and letting it work more fully.
This is the basic meditation and it is multi-purpose. I suggest doing it at least once a day, preferably in the morning.
100-Count Meditation
This is a much more advanced meditation, and it is more of a mind-training exercise than regular meditation.
Get
into a comfortable position, preferably not laying down or else you
will probably fall asleep. Reclining works best. Count slowly from 1 to
100. You should wait around three whole seconds between numbers (try
counting from 1 to 10 a few times while watching a clock that shows
seconds). For this meditation you must count from 1 to 100 without
thinking of anything else. On the first few tries very few people make
it past 6. Every time you think of something you have to start over.
Being able to count to 100 will take months, possibly over an entire
year.