Last week I wrote about my desire to learn more about meditation. I finished week one of meditation following the method used in “Eight Minute Meditation”. So far I am impressed with the results.

The book is well written and is totally focused on helping you start a habit of meditation quickly and easily. The premise is that if you are at all serious about meditation, you can make progress and develop a lifelong habit by meditating for eight minutes a day. The book is divided up into an eight week program with each week focusing on a different type of meditation. Week one is based on meditating on your breath. This is done by focusing on your breathing. The in/out repetition of your breath is the “Anchor Point” for the meditation. After 1 week, here are some of the things I have learned.

  1. I can actually sit still for eight minutes- I find it hard to sit still so I thought 8 minutes would be forever. Well, I actually learned to like it and by the fourth night or so the 8 minutes actually went by fairly quickly.
  2. Focusing on my breath actually works- It seemed strange to me that focusing on your breathing could accomplish anything but I was willing to give it a try. It turns out that it works!, at least some of the time. By following the instructions in the book I was able to use my breathing as a focal point and actually follow my breathing to the exclusion of everything else. Kind of neat.
  3. My brain is full of it- Thoughts, that is. The author warns about your brain filling up with lots of thoughts during meditation. Boy was he right! It seemed to me that there were a million different things going through my head but I was able to shut those thoughts off for a little bit during meditation. It was as if, for a few seconds, I was totally calm and relaxed, with nothing at all on my mind except for my breathing. I found that I was able to shut down my brain’s random thoughts by focusing on breathing. I can see this as a possible HUGE benefit of meditation.

So, after one week I am happy with the results I have achieved. Meditation is definitely something I could see working for me. I am looking forward to week two which is based on “Naked Sound” meditation….Stay tuned to hear next week’s update.