I think the most valuable thing I have done for myself in the last 50 years is learning and practicing meditation. I suspect that some people get the benefit of meditation without realizing it. The sort of meditation I mean leads to the development of increased mindfulness, that is, awareness of what comes to mind, including feelings and impulses. There are plenty of books about meditation for children but it seems that it is an activity that is easier for adults.
Many people of the West, roughly Europeans and Americans, associate being still with praying. I think most people think of praying as sending a message, a request or gratitude TO someone or something. So, when, decades ago, my friend gave a talk explaining Buddhism as a religious practice without God, the idea got my attention. Some writers have said that Westerners like me may find it easier and more comfortable to think of Buddishim as a kind of psychology or counseling. I think humans all over have an impulse to ask for help at times from some power greater than themselves.
The book by Christmas Humphries (look him up, a British barrister, that is, lawyer and at one time, famous in Britain as a practitioner of Buddha's advice) called "Concentration and Meditation" in may be helpful in thinking about what a person can do with her or his mind. The book "Buddhist Practice on Western Ground" by Harvey Aronson may be helpful in separating some basic Buddhist ideas from Eastern practices and worldviews.
Some thinkers have come from Japan and India or Korea or Thailand and other South Asian countries to explain helpful practices to Americans. The names of Jack Kornfield, Elisha Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg are a well-known trio of "Ju-Bu"s (Jewish Buddhists) who traveled to South Asian countries as young people and related to Buddhism for the rest of their lives.
For me, it all boils down to sitting comfortably in a chair or on the floor in the famous "lotus" position and fixing my attention on a single spot. When my ever-active mind brings up bills to pay or doctors' appointments, dismiss that thought until the timer rings. Five or ten minutes a day is enough to make a difference but try to do that daily for a couple of weeks. It is very common to decide after two or three days, that you are "doing it wrong." You aren't. Just wait calmly and watch over yourself. You and your body are complex equipment and you need to confer with it all a little bit.
