Many people believe that in order to meditate, it’s necessary to have special circumstances, special incense or a special method.

Start where you are.

What that means is that when we start to meditate, we start with the mind that we have, in the circumstances that we’re in, with the method that we have.

The mind that we have is one that is capable of both distraction and meditation. The circumstances that we’re in are whatever life is providing us with at the moment. And, the method that we have…well, that can be whichever one we’ve learned or used.

Too many of us wait for some special time to meditate. Well, that special time is now. Since there’s no guarantee that tomorrow or the next day will be any less hectic, busy, difficult or challenging, what are we waiting for?

Here are five tips to getting started:

1. Find a method. For most of us, that can be as simple as watching the breath. For information on how to do this, check here: Anchoring the Awareness of Emotions in the Breath.
2. Set your alarm clock 10 minutes earlier. Many people feel that they “don’t have the time” to meditate. In fact, when we begin to realize the benefits of mediation, we’ll make time. We’ll “find” time. But, until we get to the point where realize how beneficial meditation is, how vital it is, and how we can’t afford NOT to meditate, then we need to “make” the time. So, set your alarm clock 10 minutes earlier than normal, and as soon as the clock goes off, DON’T go to the bathroom. Sit up in bed, lean your pillow against the wall, and….practice!
3. Use “idle,” “empty,” or “spare” time during the day to meditate. This is time when we’re doing other things where we normally allow our mind to go idle or daydream. (Please see: 17 Ways to Practice Meditation in Everyday Life.)
4. Use a timer or reminder to remember to take even a few moments during the day to practice. In the post, How To Integrate Meditation Into your Life Using Technology, I share a few timers and reminders that can be used with an iPhone, Android, etc. that will help you to remember to take even a few minutes to meditate during the day. Check it out!
5. Be consistent. Well, that seems obvious. However, too often, when we’re getting started with something, we do it inconsistently and never get “up to speed” with it. Create a routine. Set up time every day to practice…even for 5 minutes. Get your “meditation muscle” in the habit of working and it’s amazing how much time you’ll “find” to practice.

I could write more about this but…there’s not much more that we have to do to get started except…make the commitment to do so. Using tips and tools like those outlined above can be the key difference between our success and failure in learning how to meditate AND in maintaining a meditation practice.

For those not familiar with meditation practice, it may come as a surprise that EVEN SEASONED MEDITATORS can have challenges making the time to practice. The only difference between those who practice regularly and those who don’t are the tools that they use to maintain their practice. I hope that these tools help you to become, or to remain, successful in your practice. Enjoy!

How do these tips work for you? Please leave a comment below to let me and others know what works and what doesn’t.

For more information on how to meditate, please see the Related Posts below. Also, don’t forget to download the free ebook, Can Meditation Change the Way that You View Your World?, for help with getting started in you meditation practice, and download the ebook, How to Work with the Four Distractions to Meditation to learn how to deal with some of the obstacles to meditation.

ALSO, visit the Media, page where you can find articles, MP3 tracks for downloading, and videos on the subject of meditation.

As always, please feel free to share your comments. And, as always, please feel free to contact me if you’d like to see additional content or other discussions on this site.