There are many different ways to meditate. Some people use meditation to clear their mind of all thoughts, while others use it to help solve problems. Either way is fine. If used regularly, you will see that meditation helps reduce stress and illness. It gives you a clearer perspective on things. Try it out and see how it works for you.

Find a position that is comfortable for you. You will want to make sure that your spinal cord is straight and not hunched over, so sitting in a chair with a straight back may be best for you. Breathing in meditation is very important. It should be deeper than regular breathing. The first few times you try meditation, you may want to just focus on this part. It's best to breathe through your nose and to let your tongue curl a little, touching the roof of your mouth. You may want to count the time you hold your breath, and then repeat it each time you breathe. For example, breathe in for 6 counts, hold for 3, breathe out 6, and then keep your lungs empty for 3. It may take a little experimenting for you to find what you like best. Feel your body's natural rhythm, and allow yourself to relax completely. Now there's the matter of what you're going to focus on during meditation. Try listening to your heart beat, or your breathing. Some people like visual objects to focus on, so you may try out a single candle or another point. You can also hold an image in your mind, like a circle or something that has significance to you. Maybe you'd like to count down from 10 to 1. This one is actually harder than it seems. You'd be surprised how many thoughts interfere while you're doing it. At first it may be hard for you to pay attention without straying from your focus. That's all right. Whenever you find yourself straying, just gently bring yourself back to the point of focus. It will start getting easier. Also, you may find it hard to concentrate at first, but after a while as you relax, it will take less effort. Try this until you feel you have mastered it.

In this meditation you are going to create your own personal place. This is a place that you can go to whenever you just need to spend some time by yourself and relax or think. Relax into basic meditation. This means that you should get in a comfortable position, breathe deeply, and relax your body. Listen to your breathing or something that will calm you for a little while. After you have completed that, visualize a stairway. Visualize it having anywhere from about 10 to 20 steps, however many you feel you need. Descend the stairway, each time feeling yourself going into a deeper relaxation. With each step you take, you may want to tell yourself mentally, "I'm going deeper into consciousness" to help you along. When you reach the bottom, you will see a hallway. Go down the hallway until you come to the end. Now you will see a door. The door can have any design you want, because this is your personal doorway. Give it designs or symbols that you feel represent you. Look in your hand, and you will see that you are holding a key. Unlock the door and walk in to the room. Let the room look like what you want it to look like. It can look like a forest, or an island, or even your own real room, if that is what you wish. Make it into a castle, or a log cabin, etc. Just let it be something you want. If there is something you don't like, change it. Explore you personal place. Do whatever you wish. Whenever you are done, just open the door, lock it, and go up the stairway. You can return whenever you want.

Relax into basic meditation. Now visualize a beautiful sea, seemingly endless. Pretend that the sea is your mind, and each ripple or wave represents the thoughts that are going through your mind. Every time a thought disturbs you, you will see a ripple in the sea, or a wave. Your goal is to try and make the sea, or your mind, as clear as possible, so that there are no waves or ripples moving across it. It helps me if I see myself as being at eye level with the sea, like it truly is my mind. It may be best for you to see it from above. Experiment and see what viewpoint you like to see the sea from. When a thought disturbs your concentration, allow the wave to die away and the sea to become peaceful again. After a while, you will notice that fewer and fewer thoughts disturb you, and you will find yourself in a sea of tranquility.

This is a truly powerful meditation. Relax into basic meditation. Then feel the energy that is you. That means that you shouldn't see yourself as just a body, but as a spirit, or soul. Feel how your energy extends past your physical body. See this energy as a golden or white light. At first, visualize it as a pinpoint of light in your head. Slowly, let the light expand until it fills your whole body. Once you have gotten this part, expand the light until it covers the whole room. Feel as if you are a part of this great energy. Then let it expand to the size of the whole house, then the neighborhood, then the city, and so on, until it expands to be as big as the world. Can you feel the power of the energy? Let's not stop here. Let the light expand until it covers the whole universe. This is where you stop. Realize that you are not just a physical body, but that you are part of the whole universe, a part of its great energy. Stay in this state for as long as you wish. See things from all angles, not just the limited point of view that most of us humans possess. Whenever you are ready, you can shrink the light, until it finally becomes the size of your house, then your room, and finally you. It may take a while for you to experience this as much as you would like, so keep practicing until you achieve the success you want.