The Host’s Optimum-Minimum Meditation Method

Well, everyone has probably had time to determine that they would be better off if they were actually controlling their minds, instead of the other way around, so here is the basic meditation method that provides the basis for all of the more directed forms of meditation.

If you practice this method religiously for fifteen minutes a day when you get out of bed, you will receive, in some measure, every benefit derivable from meditation. How diligently you practice will determine how quickly you will derive the benefits, but you will be able to stop the thought process (which is extremely enjoyable when you get to where it lasts for more than about two minutes) within about three months.

Sit in a cross-legged position or in a straight-backed chair that allows your thighs to be approximately horizontal with your feet flat on the floor.

In either position, sit on your tailbone with your back straight and vertical, and your head gently extended upward as though you have a puppet-string attached to the top of your head and it is gently being pulled upward.

Close your eyelids, but continue to look at the inside of your eyelids as though you were staring at something a little above the level of your eyes and about one hundred yards away. This will be weird for a while but once you get the hang of it, it is quite relaxing. The point is to keep the visual signals coming in, but with nothing being seen.

Now, concentrate on the sensation of breathing and the blank visual signals your receiving. Any time you catch yourself thinking about anything, gently return your concentration to your sensation of breathing and seeing-but-not-seeing.

At first, you will continually find that you have been daydreaming since you sat down. Don’t be discouraged. Just lead your attention back to where it is supposed to be.

After about four weeks, you will probably find that you can maintain concentration for two or three breaths but then lose it at the top or bottom of a breathing cycle. This is good progress, and you just have to keep going until you find the balance of attention that allows you to increase the time that you are properly focused.

At about six-weeks of continuous daily practice, most people will have a no-thought experience that will last for several minutes. Once you hit that point you will not have to make yourself do the fifteen minutes-a-day anymore, because you will find yourself spending time you used to devote to watching TV and other things you thought were fun in meditation.