So many people have asked me to explain to them how to meditate that I have written this page for them!

There are usually two reasons why people meditate for spiritual enlightenment to relieve stress Whichever reason is yours, meditation can make you a much calmer person, able to deal better with all of life's situations. There are many meditation techniques. Two of the most popular ones are described here. A common misconception about meditation is that all you have to do is sit down and think about things, sort out your problems in your mind. While this is helpful, it is not meditation. One friend told me that he meditates while driving along in his car. Well, that would be a little dangerous, as the first thing you need to do is to close your eyes...

It is good to set aside a special place for meditation, so that by association you can more easily begin to meditate when you sit down there. It doesn't matter where you choose, so long as you can be confident that you won't be disturbed for 10 - 30 minutes. If possible, a quiet place is preferable to a noisy place. Once you have chosen your meditation spot, sit comfortably, either in a chair, on the floor, or on the bed - but don't lie down, as then you will probably go to sleep, and that is not the purpose of the exercise. Sit up straight, but not uncomfortably so. Close your eyes. With your eyes closed direct your gaze towards the centre of the eyebrows - this is where the third eye is located in Eastern mysticism. If it feels like too much of a strain at first, lower your gaze until it is comfortable - getting a headache is not the aim of meditation!

You now have a meditation spot and you are sitting in the correct posture with your eyes closed. Next, relax the whole body. Starting from the toes and working up throughout the body, tense each body part in turn, and then relax it. When you have finished think of how relaxed your body feels, and then forget about the body. (This step is not essential, although some form of exercise is recommended before you sit to meditate - this is so that the body will not become restless, especially if you have a sedentary job.)

Concentrate on your breath next. Watch (with your mind) your breath coming in, and going out. Breathe normally, don't take big breaths or try to make them even. Just watch the breath coming in to your body, and going out again, coming in, going out. After a few minutes you will notice that your breaths are calmer, shallower. This is good. Watching the breath is one meditation technique, and if you feel happy doing this, then continue to do this for your meditation period. A variation on watching the breath is counting the breath. Count mentally each incoming breath. If you lose your place, don't worry about it, just start again, or from where you thought you were up to. Sometimes it is helpful to start with counting the breath, as there is more structure to this method, and then you can move on to watching the breath when you feel comfortable with meditating.

When you learn a meditation technique you are often given a mantra. This is a sound, which can be of Sanskrit origin, that you concentrate on. First calm yourself as outlined above, and watch the breath until your breathing is relaxed. Then start concentrating on the sound of the mantra. Whenever you notice your mind has wandered away and is thinking about outside things, such as what you are going to have for dinner, then gently bring the mind back to the thought of the mantra. The same reasoning applies to watching the breath. When you notice that you are thinking of other things, just gently start watching the breath again. Don't get upset if your mind wanders. There is an old Indian saying, "The mind is like a drunken monkey". Calming the mind and clearing it of outside thoughts is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do!  So just relax when it happens. Notice what has happened, and go back to your mantra, or watching the breath, but don't get impatient - just accept that the thoughts have come, and then replace them with your mantra or watching the breath. Even when people have been meditating for years, those unwanted thoughts still keep on pushing themselves forward, saying "here we are again!"

If you want to use a mantra, you can choose something like the word "OM" which encompasses all sounds - it is "The Word" of Genesis. You can choose a positive emotion, such as "love" or "peace". Or you could find a sound that appeals to you but doesn't bring with it associations that will make you think of outside things. For instance, I wouldn't advise you to use "ice-cream" or "computer" or anything with special associations... The sound doesn't have to be a word with a literal meaning, and you should only use it when you are meditating. If you know some Sanskrit words, you could use one of those. Don't worry if you forget it. Once you are sitting quietly and beginning to meditate, the sound you have chosen will come back into your mind when you come to the meditative state.

The amount of time you spend meditating is your choice. Even 5 minutes is better than nothing. 10-30 minutes is good, as that gives you time to settle down and become calm, and also to enjoy the stillness before you finish. The best time to meditate is first thing in the morning, last thing at night, before meals, or two or more hours after a meal - a full stomach interferes with your efforts to calm your breath. Twice a day is recommended for good results. However, you should do whatever you feel comfortable with and have time for. When time is a problem, good results can still be obtained by meditating on the train or the bus, but don't try it while driving a car!

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When you finish, don't jump up and rush back to whatever you were doing. Take a few moments to fully savour the feeling of peace and well-being, and then take that feeling back with you to your activities. By regular meditation you will create a centre of peace within yourself. Over time, you will find that all your activities become easier to perform, and you will deal better with stressful situations. You will feel more at peace with yourself and with the world.

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