It somewhat amuses me that meditation is something that is popular in New Age circles and is often treated as just that, something new. But, according to Hindu scripture meditation in one form or another has been around since about 3000 BC.
The practice of meditation is more common in eastern type philosophies, which I guess explains why we tend to treat it as a new thing. A little over two hundred years ago there was no Unites States and most of our founding fathers were a little too concerned over survival to spend much time doing anything else. Now that life is a bit more stable here we have time to branch out and see many of the things we were missing out on while our country was in its infancy.
Throughout the ages meditation has been used for various things, from supposedly controlling the gods, to becoming one with the universe and everything in between. There are many different types or styles of meditation and perhaps some funny picture of monks in weird costumes chanting while holding some ridiculous pose enters your mind whenever someone mentions meditation. But really all you need to meditate is a few minutes to yourself and relative quiet.
If you have no intention of making the gods your puppets or even increasing your awareness to the level where you can see and feel everything around you, what good is meditation? I am glad you asked. In today's modern hectic world, meditation is the perfect way to take a little time out to recharge and de-stress before returning to your regular schedule. The following exercise is a little simple and may not be the most powerful form of meditation but it involves no chanting or funny hats.
Find a place where you can be alone for a few minutes, or at the very least where you will not be bothered by others. Then close your eyes and relax your body. Feel the tension in your muscles begin to drain away as you breathe slowly and deeply. Hold each breath for a slow three count before letting it back out.
After ten long slow deep breaths, completely empty your mind and focus on nothing for a few minutes. If you have a hard time emptying your mind completely, focus on an image of a playing card, perhaps the Jack of Diamonds. See the image of that card and exclude everything else from your mind. Continue breathing deeply and slowly and after each breath imagine a laser beam shoots across and removes an inch from the card in front of you. Keep holding that image in your mind. With each breath another inch disappears until the whole card is gone. Then hold that image of nothingness for a few minutes.
When you are ready, open your eyes, resume normal breathing and return to your day. If you make this practice a habit, I guarantee the overall level of stress in your life will go down tremendously and you will find less frustration as a result.
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