When I teach Meditation classes, new students often ask: “What can meditation do for me?” To answer that question as genuinely as possible I draw upon my own twenty-something years of meditating experience.
One of the core meditation benefits I enjoy is a continual feeling of inner peace. This is a true blessing compared to how things were many years ago. Enslaved by my own mind I was constantly pulled this way and that. My inner voice chattered ceaselessly: “Let’s go here. Let’s go there. Let’s do this. Let’s do something else.” My mind seemed to operate from somewhere on the surface of ego consciousness: a place of conflicts, dissatisfaction, restlessness and fantasy.

Now those aberrations have dissolved, leaving behind pools of perfect peace. And within these oases of peace there is a clarity of mind; a greater understanding of myself, of humanity and of the world in which I live. This in turn contributes to a general state of happiness and, sometimes, periods of pure joy.

But I am not unique. Anyone who practices meditation regularly can tell you that they too experience the core benefits of meditation - namely:

• Inner peace
• Clearer thinking
• Greater understanding
• Constant happiness
• Being in joy

For those who wish to (re-)establish these natural ways of being, the easiest meditation technique to begin with is “witnessing.” A “witnessing” meditation is a means of being in the present moment; it is a way of giving your fullest attention to what is going on in your body and mind “now.”

Meditation For Beginners

1. Sit upright, spine straight, feet flat on the floor. Keeping your spine erect let your shoulders relax downwards. Place your hands openly on your lap, passive hand resting in the active. Focus on letting your body relax. Try to be aware of your entire body from head to foot.
2. While maintaining a steady awareness of your body, bring your attention to your breathing as you inhale. Focus on your breath as it enters your nostrils. Follow the course of your breath as it passes down your throat and into your lungs.
3. Watch the passage of your breath as the inhalation reaches its maximum, pauses, and then becomes an exhalation. Continue watching the outflow of breath to the point where it pauses briefly before becoming an inhalation once again.
4. As you breathe in and out, pay attention to the expansion and contraction of your rib cage, and the rise and fall of your stomach. Notice how your breathing becomes longer and smoother. Watch your breathing cycles and each time you breathe out imagine all the muscles in your body relaxing more and more.
5. Now bring your attention to your mind. Observe the thoughts passing through your mind. After a time you will notice how your thoughts slow down and become easier to watch.
6. In time and with practice you will reach the stage where thoughts cease to enter your mind. It is then that your mind becomes like a cloudless sky.
7. Once you arrive at this state of what Buddhists call “no mind” you will quickly become familiar with “The Witness” — that eternal part of us that exists beyond everyday mind.