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Meditation Tips: 10 Simple Steps to Buddha Mind

Morgan Dix

Do you want to meditate like the Buddha?

First, lets imagine what it was like to be him. You are sitting quietly at dusk under the boddhi tree, enjoying the pure peace of being. Nothing is wrong. Everything is right. The silence and stillness is so deep you can hear the bells of a temple drif ting over the sof t breeze f rom miles away. A f eeling of peace and perf ection f ills the buzzing twilight air. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do. The whole universe f eels alive, close, vivid, and awake. You dont need or want anything at all.

Can you imagine that kind of deep joy and contentmentresting in the inf inite buddha mind? For me, this is what meditation is all about. So whats the catch? First, you dont need to be the Buddha to develop a meditation practice that gives you access to limitless inner peace and f reedom. However, there is a reason why so many people know about the benef its of meditation, but so f ew f ollow through. To put it simply, meditation isnt easy. It takes commitment, perseverance, and a lot of practice. To enjoy the peace that Buddha f ound in himself , we have do some inner work. In general, the kind of work Im talking about isnt so popular. But, let me tell you, f rom my own experience, its totally worth it! Over time, the ef f ort you invest to create a strong meditation practiceeven if its f or just 15 minutes a day will give you access to a part of yourself that is always f ree and at peace.

10 Meditation Tips (And a bonus! Read on)

So I want to share 10 meditation tips that will help you build your practice. Each one of these plays an important role in my own daily practice. Trust your intention Select a space to practice Choose a consistent time Get the right equipment Select a specif ic practice that works f or you Make a commitment Dont give up Be interested and Experiment! Spend time with other meditators Dont take your practice f or granted 1. Trust your intention

I cant underscore enough the power of your intention. You are reading this post because you want to meditate and you want to take your practice to a new level. I encourage you to trust the impulse that is driving you and never look back. That urge is stronger than any of us can ever imagine. If we are to believe many modern mystics and sages, that impulse is part of the universal march of evolution. Trust your intention and never doubt. I can tell you f rom my own f irst hand experience, if you trust your intention completely, you will f ind the peace and f reedom you seek. 2. Select a space to practice

First, f ind a place thats quiet. Try and meditate in the same place every day. Make it beautif ul. You may want to create a small alter and light a candle or put a f lower there. This is Your space to meditate, and you want it to ref lect your special intention. Designing this dedicated space will support your practice more than you know. Like your own little temple, church, mosque or dojo, it will start to have its own energy and a quality of stillness and silence you can return to. 3. Choose a consistent time

Try to meditate at the same time each day. Protect that time and draw a line around it. As you develop consistency, it will become a habit. Like your f irst cup of tea or cof f ee in the morning, it will become part of the natural rhythm of your day and you wont have to think about it or negotiate with yourself . This is how you start to create the conditions f or your success in meditation. 4. Get the right equipment

Make sure that you have a cushion, pillow, or chair that you f eel comf ortable sitting on. You need something that is going to allow you to be awake and relaxed, pref erably with a straight spine. I sit cross-legged on a round zaf u each morning. Thats what works f or me. Once you f ind the right equipment, stick with it. You want as f ew distractions as possible, so f ind something that really works f rom the beginning. 5. Select a specif ic practice that works f or you

There are lots of dif f erent kinds of meditation practices mantra, breath, visualization, chakra. These meditations f ocus on something. Then there is the kind of meditation like Zen or Advaita Vedanta, where you just pay attention to awareness itself and let everything be as it is. All of these are valid. Some are harder than others. For now, f ind one that you are comf ortable with. You may need to test a f ew to f ind out what works. Once you f ind the practice thats right f or you, give everything to that practice and make it your own. 6. Make a commitment

You have decided to meditate, and you are serious about it. The most powerf ul tool at your disposal is your intention to f ollow through on this decision. Make a commitment to yourself that you can stick to. Its f ine if you need to take breaks or if you miss a day here or there. More importantly, you want to keep a big picture view of your practice so that you can see steady improvement over the long term. Dont get lost in the details of your daily practicein the quality or quantity. Just stay f ocused on the big picture. For big results, you need to honor this commitment. For that, you need a big view and a big heart. 7. Dont give up

In addition to peace and ease and contentment, you are going to experience doubt, resistance, inertia and many thoughts and f eelings that dont support your desire to meditate. Dont worry about it. Its all part of the process. The number one rule is to keep going. Ignore the hype in your head. Expect unpleasant experiences. Its not a problem, even though it f eels like one. RememberBig Picture! Let it happen and let it go. Try not to draw any conclusions at all about your progress f rom any single experience, good or bad. Stick with it and dont give up. 8. Be interested and experiment of ten

Ask questions and be curious. Talk about your experiences with f riends. When you are f ollowing your meditation instructions, allow yourself the f lexibility to experiment. I have made the biggest strides in my practice through stepping outside the rules and connecting new dots f or myself . How does meditation relate to lif e? How does my desire f or peace and f reedom relate to experiences of psychological pain and contraction? Meditation can be transf ormative, but you have to be interested and engaged. You cant be passive. Being interested activates a dif f erent part of me than the one that f ollows the rules and perf orms the practice. We need both parts f or a f lourishing practice.

9.

Spend time with other meditators

We all need to talk with peers about our experiences. It helps build conf idence while opening our minds and hearts. Most importantly, it reinf orces the value of meditation when we talk with other people who share our interest in meditation. Of ten, a f riend with a strong intention can ignite your own practice with a f ew inspired words and help to spark a new insight. Friendship on the path is important. 10. Dont take your practice f or granted A stable meditation practice is a precious resource. It is also a like a plant that needs to be watered. Your practice will give back to you in measure to what you give. If you invest your time, energy, and commitment, you will see returns. If you dont invest, your meditation wont grow or yield the benef its you want. If you dont take it f or granted, and you nurture it with care, it will grow and bear f ruit f or you. 11. Bonus Tip: Your conf idence is everything In meditation, we ultimately discover that peace, f reedom, and joy are not just experiencesthey are the natural qualities of who we are at our core. As your practice develops, you will gain conf idence in this limitless part of yourself . As your conf idence develops, the part of you that is always at ease will grow stronger, and you will have spontaneous access to meditation. Why? Because that is who you are, and you no longer need any person or experience to prove that to you. Perhaps the greatest gif t I have received f rom meditation is this: an essential conviction that lif e is good beyond measure. I wouldnt trade that conf idence f or anything. I hope these meditation tips help you develop a powerf ul practice that builds your own f aith in the inf inite positivity of lif e and being. By Morgan Dix About the Author: Morgan had a lif e-changing spiritual experience when he was twenty. Af ter that, meditation became a preoccupying passion f or him. Since then, he has been practicing yoga and meditation on a daily basis. He has learned f rom and studied with a variety of teachers, including Chagdud Tulku, Paramahansa Yogananda, Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Chimnoy, and Andrew Cohen. Most recently, he spent thirteen years living and working in a residential spiritual ashram. He comes to About Meditation with a passion f or writing and sharing the depths of what he learns about meditation every day. You can read more of his work at www.aboutmeditation.com. What do you think?

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