All it takes is 5 minutes...

Sometimes meditation can seem completely intimidating. You mean you want me to sit still, by myself, with my eyes closed, thinking of nothing, with no gadgets to distract me?

Well, that's exactly the point.

We are always so busy, physically and mentally. Our lives are filled with distractions, messages, images and it can often feel like our brains are on overload. This busy-ness can stress us out, make us crazy and affect our sleep. Stillness, quietness, and meditation is the answer.

Now if you hit the bookstore shelves, you'll find a million books that talk about the different "methods" of meditation. "How to" books are wonderful, and if you are serious about learning a particular type of meditation, by all means help yourself. But here's what works for me... I sit down in a quiet spot, close my eyes, and breathe for 5 to 10 minutes. That's it. It's not complicated. I breathe in and out for five minutes, just listening to the air go in and out of my lungs. And if my mind gets a little nutty and I start thinking about the things I need to get done today or the jerky who cut me off in traffic, then I start counting in my mind. As I breathe in, I mentally count to 7 and as I breathe out, I do the same. It's that simple.

I'm not saying there are never days when I sit for five minutes and it doesn't work! Of course there are days when my brain feels so distracted that it's hard to quiet down. But here's what I've learned: if I get irritated when this happens, nothing good results. When I approach it differently, I focus much more easily. I once read that during meditation, if you start getting distracted, simply say the word "thinking." This non-judgemental word describes what is happening and then you can get back to business.

It's important to remember that every single person has at least five minutes in their day to practice this. Even the busiest human being can find five minutes to be still! Certainly we can give up five minutes from checking Facebook to make ourselves quiet. To be honest, the more I practice this, the more I want to get back to that place of stillness and the easier it gets. Give it a try!