Meditation, Draft #1

Objective:  To replace anxieties with confidence and creativity.

Note:  The idea of meditation is simply PRESENCE which means you would want to FOCUS your attention in the present moment and not the PAST or FUTURE.  There are an infinite ways to do this but in this exercise, we’ll concentrate our attention on our physical body  


step 0)  Set an alarm for a duration that you’re most comfortable to start with.  It’s okay to start around 5-10 minutes and work your way up the next time.  Setting alarm helps you concentrate so you don’t get distracted as to how long you’re meditating while meditating.

step 1)  Find a place to sit upright comfortably, close your eyes (use a blindfold if accessible), lock your fingers & cross your legs  (no need for the full or half lotus positions).  This is not necessary but for me, it does provide balance to keep your body upright. Laying down can also work but I would reserve that for a later step when you become more experienced. Otherwise, it’s very easy to simply fall asleep which would still be beneficial as naps are healthy but it won’t be nearly as beneficial as actual meditation.

step 2)  When sitting comfortably, breathe out slowly through your mouth for 3 seconds and inhale slowly through your mouth deep into your belly button region.  Repeat 3 times and then let go.  The idea here is simply to slow down your mind.  The body and mind are connected in a cool way so when we slow down in anything we do consciously, the mind also slows down.  This can be done by breathing slower, eating slower, walking slower, tai chi, etc.  When the mind slows down, it’ll be less tense and naturally processes things faster, remembers more, and you’ll accomplish more and experience less anxieties as well.

Step 3)  Now that you’ve slowed down a bit, concentrate your attention on the top tip of your head.  Do this for about 5 seconds.  Feel the 5 seconds without needing to count so your attention doesn’t go towards counting or miscounting.  It doesn’t have to be exactly 5 seconds.  

Step 4)  Even if you can’t really feel anything in that region yet, go ahead and shift your 5 second attention to the rest of your body (your eyes, then mouth, then neck, shoulders, arms, stomach, thighs, calves, & feet).  Top to bottom or bottom up.  There’s no particular order really.  The idea here is to get you to continually stay in the present moment by having your attention focused on what’s HERE and NOW.

Step 5)  Repeat this process until your scheduled alarm time expires.  After you’re done, just take a deep breath and resume life.


Note)  Even if you don’t feel anything significant yet, trust that this process will make your next session a stronger in terms of concentration and sensitivity.  As you get more focused, you’ll become more sensitive to your body’s activities like the strength of your heart beat, the tingling sensation on your skin, the feeling of extreme weightlessness, etc.  Also, despite not paying much attention to your surroundings, you’ll also naturally become more aware of the sounds around you.  Overall, you’ll just become more aware of everything.

Session after session, you’ll become more and more sensitive to the present moment and become more and more relaxed and naturally, as you become more relaxed, your overall energy level goes up (see it as a gas tank) and you’ll feel less anxious & insecure about the future (and/or past).  Since you’ll feel more comfortable with yourself and doubt yourself less through this process, you’ll also become more creative because you’ll 2nd guess yourself and decisions less.   

If you’re like me, you should feel so stoked about this process because the above is just a small fraction of the benefits I’m sharing.  I got chills as I said that and I hope you’ll develop this meditation skill so that you will reach that level of chills I’m experiencing over time.