What advice do you have for someone who wants to start meditating now?  

Meditation refers to the many ancient and modern practices designed to settle your nervous system, release stress, and help you become more aware. There are many types of meditation, mindfulness, visualization, breath awareness, gratitude, loving-kindness, walking meditation, and mantra, among them.

Everyone can meditate. It is natural and it is your birthright to source peace and calmness from inside yourself.

Here’s all you need:

Most focused attention meditations are these three ingredients:

1. Your willingness to give it a try – this is usually accompanied by a desire for a certain result;

2. Your gentle, non-judgmental attention – there’s no need for Jedi powers, though it could create some in the future!

3. A point of focus* – whether it is sound-based (such as a mantra, prayer, or nature’s sounds), sight-based (imagined scenes, lights, or external points, like a horizon line, or a tree, or a candle flame), or sensation-based – whether you are moving or still (this could be cultivating a feeling like gratitude or kindness, or a focus on a sensation, “feeling” your body’s sensations, such as breathing, lightness, heaviness, movement, coolness, warmth – all without a big story) That is it!

*Open awareness practices don’t need only one point of focus. Instead, you end up welcoming any sensory object or thought that arrives at the mind, without judgment or distraction.

To accompany the ingredients, I find these Five Essentials essential! I wish I had known about them before I embarked on my practice, it makes meditation easy!

Beware of the many misconceptions of meditation. Find them here.

Who can teach you?

We at the McLean Meditation Institute recommend that you find a meditation and mindfulness teacher with a dedicated personal practice, who has gone through rigorous training and has teaching experience: ideally, one who walks their walk and adheres to the ethics outlined here.

There are online meditation classes offered regularly through the McLean Meditation Institute. Find out more about the meditation course here. There’s also an 8-week mindful lifestyle course here.

In meditation, one size doesn’t fit all. Ask for recommendations from your meditating friends and check out a variety of teachers. You can also explore the many types of meditation on YouTube or online apps such as Wellness Coach, Insight Timer, or Calm.

Beware of people who are touting particular brand names of meditation, who tell you “This is the only way”, or, “This is the best way”, or ask you to pay more money to get the more advanced technique or to become enlightened. Instead, find a practice you like and a teacher who seems genuine and grounded.

Why should you learn?

Going analog and sitting in stillness every day can create greater vitality, better health, more focus, and a more rested nervous system. It is said to increase IQ and reduce stress and enhance immunity, too. It also makes you kinder, more thankful, and more present.

You don’t have to start out as an expert meditator right away. After all, meditation is considered a practice – one that you can begin at any age. Also, it’s important to know that anyone can meditate –including you! It is everyone’s birthright and it is a natural experience. Go for it. It just might light up your entire life. It did mine!