All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination, Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth.- Napoleon Hill
One key to being successful at anything- riches, love, languages, strategy, politics- is to be able to think both generally and singularly; to be able to see the whole and make use of it’s parts. In order to truly use the mind, you have to learn how to both use it and not use it. Meditation helps break things down to simpler parts.
| • Speeds up your intuition | • Harnesses your imagination |
| • Creates a more dynamic personality | • Materializes the things you want |
| • Decreases anxiety and increases peace | • Improves self-esteem and confidence |
| • Improves capacity to overcome fear | • Clarifies your true wants and values |
Meditation Beginners (or those that attempt to begin) seem to get bogged down when they read things like “learn to act by not acting,” and “find your center” and “open up your chakras.” Many beginners quit. Truth is: meditation is incredibly easy, and when you start to do it, your life is changed forever.
You don’t have to understand why meditation works in order to experience meditation working. You just need to do it, and as always, I recommend taking the minimum effective dose.
The Minimum Effective Dose
The MED is the minimal amount of work required in order to solidify a habit, and why I recommend only starting with 3 minutes of meditation a day.
Not 20 minutes, not 10, and not 5 minutes. 3 minutes.
You’ll notice that after 2 minutes of concentrated breathing, the world inside you just tastes different. Again though, the important thing is to develop a gradual habit.
Recommended Reading:
- The Four Hour Body: Principle of the Minimum Effective Dose
- If You’re Too Busy to Meditate, Read This
- The Daily Habits of These Outrageously Successful People
- 7 Good Habits of Outrageously Successful People
Common Obstacles to Meditation
The great thing about meditation is that you don’t need to go out and buy any equipment or join any organization to do it, you can simply stop what you are doing (after reading this) and close your eyes and meditate. The only price of meditation is open-submission to your own breath.
Self-imposed obstacles do happen though. You may choose not to meditate because you have a looming deadline or your loved one is sick and you have to take care of them, etc. Some people give up meditation because they feel they don’t have the time- yet that person will watch 6 hours straight of their favorite TV shows.
The great news though is that you don’t have to meditate for 1 hour a day. All you need is 3 minutes for the first month to get actual benefit. And it’s simple to follow.
How to Meditate (Instead of Giving Up 2 Weeks Later.)
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” -Abraham Lincoln
Your brain (ability to solve problems and make connections) is the ax. The tree is the obstacle that needs to be overcome to move forward. Successful people realize this obstacle all too well and that is why they have good habits of success [link to good habits] in common. When you combine knowledge with meditation, you are able to see opportunities more clearly.
But how do you actually meditate? Do you need tibetan chanters, candles, and a mini-gong to strike between chants?
| Keep it Simple | Grab a pillow and sit with your back straight. Close your eyes and breath in deeply and exhale fully for 3 minutes. Do this for 30 days. |
It’s that simple, so simple, in fact, that your mind and ambition (after all, you have registered for the RSS[link] and read this blog) will temp you to add more time. Please don’t. Remember that Rome actually was built day by day, and on the 12th day there wasn’t some overly-ambitious fool prematurely deciding to try and create mortgage backed securities to trade internationally.
Wait? What? My point is: take things slowly and don’t try to jump the gun.
3 minutes for 30 days. You will at times want to add an extra minute or so, but don’t add or take away any time for at least 20 days.
In Closing: A Caveat about the Meditation Beginners’ Phase
I highly encourage reading as many books as you can get your hands on- BUT- don’t forget that meditation is something you learn from by experiencing it and reading will only help you more clearly understand what you are experiencing. Experiencing trumps reading when it comes to meditation.
That being said, you can still learn a lot from reading, especially as meditation beginners
on a journey of personal growth and bad assery.
So, grab a pillow and get started.
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