Meditation is hard to describe and better experienced, but loosely is a means of developing greater awareness of and kindness towards self and others. It has been practiced for over 2,500 years and not just by Buddhists. Anyone can do it if they are willing to put a bit of perseverance in. It is not about making your mind go blank - a common misconception! Mindfulness is about enjoying being in the moment rather than being in a robotic state and worrying about the past and future too much.
An excellent place to find out more about meditation and the style we do is Wildmind. The two practices we concentrate on are the Mindfulness of Breathing and the Metta Bhavana, which complement each other and are used in a wide range of Buddhist traditions. Practicing these meditations won't mean you are suddenly a buddhist (unless you want to be) and there is unlikely to be anything in them which will conflict with a particular faith.
It is important to prepare for meditation by setting up conditions which are right for you. We do this by considering our routine of when and where we are going to meditate, setting up a posture where we can be relaxed and alert and maybe doing a bodyscan when we start.
In the Mindfulness of Breathing meditation we focus our awareness on the natural sensations of the breath without trying to change it. When we are distracted we gently come back to the breath. You could say that the whole of meditation is a process of distraction and coming back followed by distraction!
In the Metta Bhavana or Loving Kindness practice we are developing "metta" towards ourselves, a friend, a netural peson, a person with whom we have difficulties and then towards all sentient beings. Metta translates roughly as a genuine friendliness, empathy and caring. In meditation we are taking responsbility for our emotional states. We'll often find we don't feel those things when we sit down to practice, but we don't need to judge ourselves! When meditating we learn to strike a balance between effort and watching.
Health and contraindications:
Mindfulness and meditation are increasingly being used in health care, including the NHS, for physical and mental health conditions as it helps in avoiding both pushing difficulties away or over focusing on them. For example, an excellent secular course is Breathworks which is about living well with pain, illness and/or stress. While meditation can be very helpful for mild to moderate depression, other mental health conditions and in preventing relapse, it is a good idea to monitor your condition, talk to your meditation teacher and seek advice from a health professional before starting or if you are not finding meditation beneficial. If you have severe depression or psychosis we feel that formal meditation may be best avoided. Some types of relaxation or mindful exercise are likely to be more beneficial. A great union society that we sometimes work with is Mind Matters.
It is important to prepare for meditation by setting up conditions which are right for you. We do this by considering our routine of when and where we are going to meditate, setting up a posture where we can be relaxed and alert and maybe doing a bodyscan when we start.