Absolutely Foolproof Meditation for Busy People

There are thousands of meditation techniques in the world. However, there is really only a few. If you strip away just a few small differences, then the number of meditation techniques drops considerably.

There are four ways in which meditation techniques vary:
1. Language and cultural emphasis
2. Point of focus
3. Integration strategy
4. Warm up Strategy
Each meditation technique has  a point of focus such as the breath, for instance. You are focusing on the point of focus. When the mind wanders, you allow your wandering thoughts the space to process themselves, then you gently bring your attention back to the point of focus.
A point of focus can be the breath, a body sensation, thoughts, a prayer, a song, a nonsense word, a candle, a concept such as love or infinity, the “inner light and sound”, a guru, etc.

An integration strategy consists of a set of short “interweave” practices, interwoven throughout the day, that creates a powerful meditative momentum in your daily life. It is the act of taking at least a couple minutes out of each hour for consciousness raising activities. Examples include “Office Yoga”, stretching for short intervals, conscious breathing, chanting, giving thanks and prayer for your food, etc.

If you have ever taken a yoga or Qigong class, you can probably come up with a few exercises to interweave into your day.  Otherwise, try to think about what really turns you on. Do you have a favorite inspirational poem or song? A favorite workout routine that centers you in your body after a long day spent stuck inside your head? Use these as interweaves.

Interweaves create profound results that you may not even notice at first. You may only be aware of 10% of what is actually going on. However, after a few days, you will notice that your meditation or Yoga practice routine will become so much easier. Your practice will be more effortless and you will be able to spend less time just “getting in the mood”. Therefore, you will have more time to meditate no matter how hectic your schedule is.

Islam requires its adherents to stop what they’re doing five times per day for prayer. Was this institutionalized practice designed as a demand of piety from a jealous creator god? It was actually designed as an integration strategy to provoke a momentum of deep inner communion on a massive scale. 

A meditation warm up strategy consists of a set of exercises that prepare the mind and the body for meditation. If you have taken Yoga classes, you may have heard the term “moving into stillness”. That is a pretty good description of a solid warm up routine. 

A rock solid meditation warm up routine begins with gross physical energy and progresses toward finer and finer levels of being until one reaches a place of stillness and spaciousness. For example, you may begin with Yoga asanas and practices for limbering the spine. Next, you continue with self massage, energy work, a few verses of scripture, compassion visualization exercises, and finally Yoga Pranayama breathing. Now, you’re ready for deep meditation.

In this hypothetical workout, you covered muscles, energy, intellect, emotions, imagination and breath. The best warm up strategies cover all these things. However, do not feel guilty if you do not have time for a complete holistic workout before meditation. Make sure your integration strategy is solid and you will not need to warm up as much during your regular routine.

The next time you try to tell yourself that you don’t have time (or the ability) to meditate, tell yourself “hogwash!” All you need to do is figure out what “turns you on” on a deep level and set aside a couple minutes out of every hour or two to do it. Then, find a regular time for your practice routine. You do not need to spend a lot of time doing your routine, as long as the routine is “routine” for the most part.  Keep the principles of warm up, integration and momentum and your meditation will become very natural.

Tom Von Deck is the Author of Oceanic Mind – The Deeper Meditation Training Course. He is a meditation/Yoga trainer, healer and public speaker in Prescott, AZ. His website is at http://www.deepermeditation.net (local training site) and http://www.deepermeditation.net/oceanicmind (book site). Thank you Tom for sharing your article.