The basic directions are so simple as to create doubts.
How to meditate - simplified basic directions
Sit comfortably
Don't move
Concentrate on your breath
Do this for a number of minutes according to a timer
The Mayo Clinic physician Amit Sood has written "Mindfulness Redesigned for the 21st Century." He writes helpfully about the benefits of meditation practices but bemoans the small number of practitioners who take up the practice.
As I approached retirement, I realized I had not done much to explain meditation and the resultant mindfulness, despite ever-growing stacks of evidence that high-stress groups such as police and lower-stress groups such as teachers and executives were demonstrating the value of meditation. Meditation increases self-knowledge and self awareness.
What is the point of following the steps listed above?
The basic point is to increase your awareness of what comes into your mind. Sitting for 5 to 10 minutes and concentrating your attention on something is long enough to experience your mind's attempt to supply something for you to think about. A good anchor for your attention can alert you to movement of your mind's featured focus from one subject to another. One traditional anchor is your breathing.
If you concentrate lightly but steadily on your breathing, eventually something will occur to you. Your mind will prompt you to think about what to make for dinner, or how chilly the room is, or the delicious curve of the movie star's chest. Having committed yourself to concentrate on your breathing, you will eventually notice that your attention has slipped off the target. When you do notice, return your attention to the chosen target and repeat until the timer rings.
Anchoring your breath in this way is usually called "single point" meditation. After some weeks or months of practicing, you may be interested in taking a slightly different approach, that of watching your mind. It can be fun, actually funny, and entertaining to watch what comes up. You might get a thought that you really need one of those cupcakes. If you can sit calmly and put the thought aside, you can continue to watch what comes up next. The single point approach can sometimes assist in not being caught up by the thought of cupcakes, or the laundry, or anything else.
When the timer rings, have a cupcake if it won't spoil your dinner.
Additional readings and resources can be found in many places. Over time, you may want to take a look at Prof. Harvey Aronson's "Buddhist Practice on Western Ground", a helpful look at some of the main differences between ideas and culture in India, China and Japan (as well as the many other strongly Buddhist countries) compared to Western countries such as the US.
Or look through my website at https://sites.google.com/site/kirbyvariety/
I found The Inner Game of Tennis by T. Gallwey and The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson helpful, as was QR: The Quieting Reflex by C. Stroebel, MD.
