This is how I started meditating. I thought meditating was sitting for a long time being still and silent. I was pretty sure I couldn’t do that, at least not without a lot of practice. And how could practice if I couldn’t do it?
I was led to a book about meditating in 10 seconds. 10 Zen Seconds.
It was about breathing in for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds and having a phrase you repeated in your mind as you breathed in and then out.
For instance,
- as you breathe in for about 5 seconds while thinking “I am”
- then as you breath out for about 5 seconds think, “Completely stopping.”
- There you go. You just did a 10 second meditation!
This took so much stress out of the meditation thing. I had time to do 10 seconds. It wasn’t hard, I couldn’t mess it up. Even if I breathed in for 3 seconds and out for 4, it was OK!!
I am going to make it even easier for you. Can you commit to 8 seconds of meditation a day? If you say yes, by the end of the 40 days you will seamlessly have a daily meditation practice of 3-5 minutes. (OR longer if you want!)
Today:
Breathe in while thinking “I am”
Breathe Out while thinking “Completely Stopping”
If you have time, do this a few times in a row.
If you just do it once and that is GREAT! 8 seconds counts!