Meditation tips

Yesterday, I found a little review of a book called The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. The writer gives us this advice for our meditation:

The other big factor that seems to intimidate people about meditation is they believe that they must learn to stop all thoughts to have a completely clear mind. This is a myth! I enjoyed Rinpoche’s explanation that we can no more stop the brain from thinking than we can stop the heart from beating. By nature, the brain thinks. Let me say this again… meditation is NOT about stopping your thoughts! Know that you will have thoughts while you meditate. Rather than getting upset or thinking that you have failed, simply bring your awareness back to the present moment. The key to meditating is being aware of your thoughts and gently bringing your awareness back to the present moment. Rather than getting carried away by the random flow of thoughts, you want to become the observer of those thoughts while you stay present in the moment. Eventually, with practice you can learn to rest your mind in the gaps between thoughts.

Bottom line tips: start meditating for a minute or two each day... even the busiest among us can manage to find that time. Remember that having thoughts while you meditate is normal! Simply bring your mind gently back to the present moment.

This is good stuff. Couldn't have said it better myself!