Meditation

Meditation is a mental activity that helps you cultivate relaxation, develop better control of your attention, and become more aware of your inner dialogue. There are four kinds of meditation

Concentration-based meditation involves focusing your mind on a particular thought or image. Some people liken this process to prayer or using a mantra.

Mindfulness Meditation requires you to pay attention to a particular aspect of your immediate experience, such as breathing or walking. Unlike other forms of meditation, you are not inducing a thought or mindset, but rather allowing yourself to become aware of what is happening around--or within--you.

Insight Meditation invites you to ponder philosophical questions or cultivate a particular way of approaching the world. In Zen Buddhism, for example, meditators can be asked to consider questions like “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” or “What was your face before you were born?”

Guided Imagery, also called visualization, involves following a specific script or set of instructions, like imagining yourself going for a walk on the beach.

Click on the descriptive titles above in order to download some instructions in PDF format. In the future, I hope to have some guided podcasts available as well. Ideally, you will try meditating at home in a quiet space or as part of a meditation group. However, there are times when the busyness of life might interfere with these plans. As a result, I’ve created a couple meditation practices that you can try while riding the subway.

Meditating in any public space can be a risky and challenging practice. You are more likely to be disturbed and find it difficult to focus your attention. In addition, it is important to maintain some level of vigilance for your own safety. Thus, you are encouraged to use common sense in determining when, where, and how to engage in the following meditations.

Here are two sets of instructions:

  1. Seated Subway Meditation: If you’re lucky enough to get a seat on the subway, then use these instructions. Your meditation can be rooted in mindfulness or simple concentration.

  2. Standing Subway Meditation: If you’re standing on the subway, then try this meditation. It guides you through mindful awareness of your physical body as the train accelerates, brakes, and moves side-to-side.