My Meditation Plan

My meditation plan is simple, but effective. In this article I will show you how I meditate and suggest ways you can learn to meditate or enhance your current meditative practice. Anyone can learn to build a rewarding meditation practice by following these basic strategies -- strategies I've honed for more than 45 years of meditation experience.

Stress got you down? No need to keep feeling tense or fear you can't escape. Meditation is a powerful anecdote for stress, and can lengthen your fuse while enhancing patience and tolerance. 

A Path to Bliss

Meditation is truly a blissful endeavor which can lower your blood pressure and help you to manage a hectic life. It is such an important and beautiful part of my life I could not do without it. I've been meditating for almost fifty years, and I can honestly say nothing gives me greater pleasure or benefit. 

Benefits of Meditation

• Shortens your fuse
• Provides an ally in healing 
• Helps you to manage stress in a powerful way
• Helps to control anxiety, reduce depression
• Instills self-awareness
• Deepens spirituality 
• Enhances gratitude and kindness
• Improves brain function
• Engenders increased sense of self worth
• Connects you with other people, creatures and the universe
• Clarifies and expands your life purpose 
  

My Meditation Schedule

I try to meditate every day, or at least every other day. Regular practice is critical to success and will allow your mind and body to experience the greatest benefit. My meditation plan is something I've worked out, over the years, having borrowed tips and techniques from various schools of meditation. It's eclectic and practical, and it is a wonderful boon to my personal health and well being.

My meditation plan involves taking time to sit in the silence on a regular basis, wherever I may be

My meditation plan is based upon the ancient art of entering the silence -- a joyful experience, no matter where you may find a little privacy. I prefer to meditate in the mountains or on the water, or in a wilderness area, but I meditate at home most of the time. I have designated a special area of my home, a corner in my study, for my meditation practice. 

Meditation Is the Eighth Wonder of the World 

People seek to retire to mountains, seashore or a quiet cabin in the country to escape their stress and find a little peace of mind. Meditation makes it possible to retire into the deepest, calmest parts of the self anywhere one desires. A storage room, a study or a closet will work nicely -- anywhere one can spend a few minutes in the precious silence -- the silence of meditation, the Eighth Wonder of the World. 

Several times each week I enter my study and close the door. I ask not to be bothered and I turn off all my electronic devices. My mind knows that when I enter this special place I am going to relax in a deep, profound way, and float above all my problems. There I will put my meditation plan into action. 

There is nothing I look forward to more than meditating. Usually, I sit on a large, fluffy pillow or a well-cushioned yoga mat, burn a stick of incense and play beautiful, serene music softly in the background.  But, I may meditate anywhere, at any time, without any meditation aids. I tend to practice a type of insight meditation, which I've worked out for myself over the years. 

The important thing is to just get started meditating. You don't need any special skills or training to get started. Let me give you a running commentary of my meditation plan or the procedure I use. You can use any or all of these tips to build your own path to meditation.

Also,  I recommend you find a good meditation teacher or someone who is an experienced in meditation to help you learn more quickly than you could learn alone. Feel free to contact me if you'd like my help in learning how to meditate or you'd like more information on my meditation plan. I would be happy to offer tips and problem solving strategies, and to guide you toward a healthy and effective practice.

My Meditation Plan: An Outline 

Many of my psychotherapy clients have asked me to outline my meditation plan for them. So, here it is, my personal meditation approach, in a nutshell. I hope you will find it useful or inspirational in some way. 

I begin by taking off my shoes and loosening my clothes, then I take three deep, slow breaths, holding each one a few seconds before exhaling. I listen to the quiet, but sonorous sound of my breath, coming in and going out, as I get in touch with the stillness within. Visualizing myself standing on a beach and listening to melodic ocean waves coming in and going out, I let my eyes close.

Every meditation is unique and beautiful in its own way

Next, I recite the Lord's Prayer, or a passage from one of my favorite psalms, a verse from the Bhagavad Gita or another sacred scripture. Then I may meditate upon unconditional love, the power of kindness or forgiveness, or the spiritual foundation of gratitude, opening myself to any inspirational ideas that may come. Savoring the perfect silence, as it unfolds from the river of my breath, I allow my body to relax so deeply and fully it may become heavy or numb, and  aches and pains may fade away. 

In time, I achieve a deep state of relaxation,  where my head may nod and my chin comes to rest upon my chest. I may no longer feel my body, but feel as though I could float away. My thoughts slow and dissipate, as I enter an unruffled state of mind, free from the usual barrage of ceaseless thoughts, cares and distractions. 

Meditation is a beautiful clairvoyant state that puts one in touch with a deep reserve of inner wisdom. I allow it to deepen, as I sit in the silence, and open my mind to any insights or images which may pop into mind. I make note of any such insights or revelations, or write them down in a notebook, which I keep at my side. Such insights have a quality and tone of their own, and never resemble my usual train of thoughts, but differ from anything I might have thought of or reasoned out on my own. 

Listen to a Brief Guided Meditation Right Now 

Would you like to enjoy a sample of my meditation? I have recorded a five minute meditation for you to try and a ten minute meditation, so you can get a feel for what meditation is like very quickly and easily. Feel free to contact me and let me know how you enjoyed these brief sample meditations, or if you have comments or questions. 

If distracting thoughts or anxieties enter my mind -- thoughts that can take me away from my meditation -- I simply brush them aside with a proverbial broom and clear my mind, then returning my awareness to the sound of my breath. Sooner or later, the distractions will cease. A key part of my meditation plan is to never force anything to happen during meditation, or rush the process, but to strive without striving to retain an open, unhurried mind.

How Much Time Should I Spend?

You can spend a much time as you like meditating, but it can take time and experience to be able to meditate for long periods of time. I would recommend starting slow and adding more time as you go. Thirty minutes might be a good goal for beginners. 

If I have plenty of time, I may meditate for one or two hours. I know that time spent meditating will go by so quickly, and it'll be so enjoyable and restful, it'll be well worth the time. A sense of bliss fills my being, or a quiet sense of ecstasy, as my meditation unfolds, leaving me to bask in profound feelings of peace and contentment. 

I've had some amazing things happen during meditation. Let's take a look at a few:

• Powerful insights and revelations have come to me
• Answers to problems and creative inspirations that I have found simply mind boggling
• A joyful sense of being at one with God (Many people meditate to be at one with their Higher Power)
• Meditation has lifted me out of a rut and gotten me going again like a sudden burst of inspiration blowing in the breeze    
  
• Meditation has helped me to confront my illusions and mistakes, and opened my mind and heart to the possibilities of becoming a better, happier person

As I mentioned, I hold onto the reverie,  and listen to the voice from within, if it chooses to share something with me. I can almost always recognize an insight that comes from within because it never looks like something I would have thought of on my own with my conscious mind. Meditation wisdom, like the logic of the dream world, is representational in nature, or highly symbolic, often requiring interpretation at a later time. 

The wise woman or man within never tells you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear, and urges you to pay attention to those things that are really meaningful or purposeful. Sometimes I meditate without seeking an insight or revelation, but simply to enjoy the blissful moment, immersing myself in therapeutic waves of deep contentment and tranquility. 

When I'm ready to end my meditation, or I'm too tired to continue (my body begins to hurt from sitting for so long), I take a few deep breaths and slowly allow my mind to return to the reality of the room. I open my eyes, feeling energized and refreshed. I always feel as though my place in the world has been confirmed, and I feel at one with the universe, when I have finished. 

You can meditate upon the sound of ocean waves and find peace and tranquility wherever you may be

Read More About Meditation

If you'd like more information on meditation, here are some informative articles I've written. Read and enjoy! 

Walking meditation

Easy meditation

Learn meditation now

Meditate for your health

Change your life thru insight meditation

In Sum: Just Get Started On Your Inner Journey

I try to keep my meditation plan simple, but there is  much more to meditation than what I've outlined here. I hope you'll find my meditation plan helpful to you in setting up your own meditation practice. Keep it simple and take one step at a time. A journey of a thousand miles really does begin with that all-important first step.  

By learning to meditate, you'll take time to get off the beaten path . . . and you'll enter the lovely silence within -- a silence that can soothe your soul. Nothing will  make you feel better or open more doors. And you'll be rewarded in a thousand ways. 

Try my meditation plan and see how it works for you. Best of luck! 

Join our Newsletter and Get
Two Free Gifts:

1. Assess Your Relationship Quiz
+ 
2. Rate Your Happiness Questionnaire