7 Different Ways to Meditate

Often when I talk to people about meditation, I get answers like:

“Yes, I tried that before, but it didn’t work out for me” or:
“I just can’t manage to think of nothing at all. It just doesn’t work.”

It seems that meditation is often equated with an absolute mental emptiness. But for me behind this practice, there is rather a focus. A 100% focus on the now, myself, or my thoughts.

http://www.janfence.com/box/abm-v-abn-x1.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/abm-v-abn-x2.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/abm-v-abn-x3.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/abm-v-abn-x4.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/abm-v-abn-x5.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/cl-v-pb-x1.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/cl-v-pb-x2.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/cl-v-pb-x3.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/cl-v-pb-x4.html
http://www.janfence.com/box/cl-v-pb-x5.html

https://note.com/dfghjertysdfgh/n/n13f13dbe22cd
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/abm-v-abn-x1.html
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/abm-v-abn-x2.html
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/abm-v-abn-x3.html
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/abm-v-abn-x4.html
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/abm-v-abn-x5.html
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/cl-v-pb-x1.html

https://b.hatena.ne.jp/entry?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnote.com%2Fdfghjertysdfgh%2Fn%2Fn13f13dbe22cd
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/cl-v-pb-x2.html
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/cl-v-pb-x3.html
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/cl-v-pb-x4.html
https://myschedule.shapeamerica.org/mike/cl-v-pb-x5.html

The now simply represents the moment that is happening right now. One could also call it a complete focus on the moment or the present.

For this purpose, I want to present a few methods here with which I have found my way to meditation. Maybe they can offer you a new entry on this topic. Let’s go!

Note: The approaches described here are by far not a complete collection. It is only a selection of approaches that I consider the simplest.

1 Respiratory Meditation

The classic attempt to think of nothing. Some fail here. The approach is to focus on the moment by being less distracted by what is going on in and around you.

But this does not happen overnight. For gaining control over my thoughts a lot of training was necessary. The brain can also be strengthened like a muscle by regular workouts.

For this method I proceed as follows:

• I set a certain period (e.g. 10 minutes) in which I want to meditate
• Optional: Set a timer
• Making myself comfortable. It is not necessary to begin with the lotus position to meditate. An upright posture on a chair, cross-legged or just lying comfortably fulfills the same purpose.
• Close my eyes
• Start to let go of all thoughts
• Focus entirely on my breathing. Feel how the air slowly glides through my mouth and nose and further into my lungs to flow back from there.
• Keep doing this until I reach my set time (approximately)

It will happen quite often that thoughts arise which distract me from my meditation. So how do I deal with this?

One way is to simply refocus on my breathing as soon as I notice that a thought has carried my focus away. I think of it as if I have just done another sit up to advance my mental training.

Another option I use is to allow the thoughts to arise and observe them without judging. I just look at what is going on inside my head from a distance.

Without judging means that I do not connect any emotional movements with my thoughts.

For example, let’s say my thought included how much my colleagues got on my nerves today. My reaction to this thought would simply be: “Oh, interesting that this is bothering me.”

The basics in this section also apply to the following approaches. Only regular training leads to success. Meditation does not have to be uncomfortable. And don’t worry if it doesn’t work right away!

2 Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation is about paying as much attention as possible to my senses and perceiving my surroundings as completely as possible.

The process is relatively simple. Depending on which sense I want to pay more attention to and how I generally prefer it at the very moment, I leave my eyes open or closed. Then I pay attention to my senses:

What do I hear? A few people who are in the middle of a conversation? A train rolling over the tracks? A few birds chirping in the trees and the wind blowing slowly through the leaves?

What do I feel? The same wind as it now gently caresses your skin? The fluffy jacket on your upper body? The sun rays that gently transfer their energy to you?

What do I smell? The scent of freshly blossoming flowers? The soot from the fireplaces around you? The earthy ground under your feet?

What do I taste? The gum in your mouth? The last aromatic remnants of the previous meal?

What do I see? Children playing together? People walking down the street? A deer jumping through the forest?

What I like the most about this kind of meditation is that I can do it anywhere and anytime without difficulty. No matter if I’m taking a walk through nature or the city. Whether I’m waiting for the bus or I’m already at home. There are stimuli everywhere that just wait to be explored.

Again I find it important not to judge these sensory impressions. I consider everything I perceive completely neutral and without ulterior motives. Otherwise, it would disturb my focus.

3 Gratitude Meditation

The name says it all. I search for 3 to 5 things I am really thankful for. I close my eyes and visualize these things and why I am thankful for them. Then I just feel the gratitude.

Sometimes these are very small things like the fact that I just had a delicious meal or that I slept well the last night. But sometimes it is also something bigger, like my last successful Job interview, a huge trip through a foreign country, or a special person who is very important to me.

Just this last point, people who are important to me, is very well suited for a morning gratitude meditation. I imagine this person as he/she is happy and cheerful. I hold this visualization for a few seconds or as long as I feel like it.

This changes my mood considerably not only in the morning but throughout the whole day. I learned to appreciate things in my life a lot more after regularly practicing gratefulness.

For a while, I even went so far that I did a gratitude meditation every time I went to the toilet. You have nothing better to do there anyway. And damn if I don’t appreciate what I have since then!

4 Body Meditation

In my body meditations, I make my physical perception as conscious as possible.

For this purpose, I perform something I call body scans. This means that I first focus on one part of my body, then on the next and the next until I have gone through all parts at least once.

I usually proceed from top to bottom. I close my eyes first. Afterward, I start by focusing my attention on my head. How does it feel? Are my ears warm or cold? Are my lips tingling a little? I feel the blood pulsing through my veins.

I rest my attention on my head for a few moments before I move down to focus for another few moments on the next body part.

First I go to my neck, then to my shoulders. Along the arms up to the hands. Return to the shoulders and slowly move down the upper body. I try to feel every inch consciously.

Not always easy but the relaxation is worth the effort!

I go down the lower body, over the hips and along the legs to the feet, and from there I take the same steps back up to my head.

I personally find this kind of meditation very helpful when trying to fall asleep, because the body relaxes a lot more.

5 Focus Meditation

I close my eyes once again and imagine an object. I’ll take a cube as a simple entry. I Imagine this object very precisely in all its details.

What color is it? What is it made of? Does it have signs of wear?

Once I have this cube in front of my inner eye with all its details, I move it one step up. How about a statue? A flower? A house?

The advantage of this kind of meditation is that I can bring my head to rest very precisely. I have a concrete task and I’m therefore less easily distracted by random thoughts. Helpful on days when the head is full of concepts, thoughts, and/or worries. From here I often move on to one of the other meditation approaches.

6 Teleportation Meditation

Similar to the focus meditation, I imagine something in every detail. This time, however, this something is a complete fantasy world around me!

I try to address all of my senses so that the world feels as real as possible.

I teleport myself to wherever I want to be. Often that where is a comfortable stone in the middle of a jungle. Once again I sit down, close my eyes, and dream myself away:

In front of me is a rock face and in front of that rock face is a small pond into which a waterfall drops from above. It is raining. The raindrops are quickly pelting through the canopy of leaves. A few of them hit my skin. However, most of it is kept away by the leaves of the banana tree I am sitting under.

It is warm. Almost a bit stuffy and very humid. Behind me, a tiger creeps slowly and almost silently through the thicket. He sees me, I see him, but he has no interest in adding me to his daily menu.

I continue listening to the sounds of the jungle and fall into a sense of deep inner peace.

7 Visualization Meditation

This one actually refers less to the now but helps me to gain a deep focus for upcoming challenges.

Especially big dreams and goals can be a bit overwhelming at times. Particularly if I only have my final goal in mind.

In a visualization meditation, I imagine this goal in all details. How my life will look like when I have reached the goal. What I will feel. Where I will be. What my daily routine will look like.

In the same way, however, I also imagine the path I have taken to reach this goal. I do not leave out a single hurdle that gets in my way. There will be a lot.

If I only keep the big goal in mind, but never the path to it, I’ll most likely have a much harder time overcoming problems that arise along the way. They then appear unexpectedly and might throw me off track. Or even worse: they could completely distract me from your goal.

For this reason, I don’t just imagine how awesome it will be once I have built my tech companies and turned the world into an even more exciting place. Or once I can travel the world freely, and enjoy my life to the fullest while having achieved financial independence.

I imagine as well how often I have to throw my plans overboard and start all over again. I visualize the steps I have to take to reach this goal. And also I imagine how many people will not grant me this success out of jealousy once I’ve reached it.

All this will hopefully keep me from unpleasant surprises and prepare me for some of the ugly sides of my path.

Additionally, I set myself small milestones that are less exhausting and work them off one by one until I reach my dreams.

Approach Wrap-Up

Each of these paths takes a different approach to reach the same goal: Full focus on one thing. Be it the now or my plan.

The methods described are nothing more than examples that I have discovered for myself or picked up somewhere. There are no limits to creativity when developing new methods.

In the same way, meditation does not always have to aim at achieving as much peace as possible. I sometimes also use it to increase my energy level or to analyze my thoughts. The important thing is that I always keep a neutral attitude towards myself and my environment so I don’t get distracted by my feelings.

I enjoy a guided meditation as well at times. (I simply search for “guided meditation” on YouTube) This makes it often easier to fall into a meditative state. The advantage is that I only have to follow the instructions of a usually very soft and calming voice while being accompanied by pleasant music.

When to Meditate

There is no particular best time to meditate. I just go according to my feeling.

Many people like to meditate right after getting up in the morning or just before going to bed in the evening.

I like to meditate a little bit in the evening and whenever I feel like it or when I have the impression that everything is getting too much and I want to calm down a bit.

In the same way, especially with mindfulness meditation, one can also simply take a short meditation on the go, at work, or at the train station to relax.

Why Meditate?

Apart from the many scientifically proven health benefits, I could gain also a lot of personal benefits from my habit of meditating.

As a person with ADHD, my brain is in the highest gear almost continuously. One thought chases the next. Every sensory impression is intense and distracting. (especially when something is blinking) One rarely has peace.

The most difficult thing, however, is the huge chaos of emotions that flings you from one corner to the next without warning.

Regular meditation could help me to get these feelings and thoughts under control as much as possible. Most of the time other people can hardly notice this condition and I can use the excess energy that ADHD brings with it to my advantage.

And sometimes, when I want to have fun, I just let the madness out completely. Very much to the entertainment and partly to the joyful sorrow of the people present. (50/50 mixture guaranteed :P)

But also for people without psychological conditions, meditation can bring a lot of peace and quite some new insights into their own life.

Not to be despised are also the ecstatic states into which meditation puts me rather often. Pleasant, intense showers of energy that chase through my body. Or the feeling of complete inner peace.

In the End, It’s All About Enjoying the Practice

Depending on the circumstances and my mood I like to pick one of these approaches and just go for it. I also adapt them to my inner and outer situation. After all, the meditation should feel like increasing my well being and not like a habit that stresses me out even more.

Yet, meditation has brought a lot of peace into my life and it’s definitely a habit I’m planning to stick with.