For you guys recommending meditation, where do you recommend I begin? Is there a good website or book?
i’d half-heartedly looked for books/websites in the past and was always a bit overwhelmed by it, didn’t really “get” what it was all about and certainly didn’t have 30 minutes every morning and evening to practice or whatever they say. i’m sure there are some good resources but i just do what my doctor told me, which is i just sit (anywhere, in any position, don’t get hung up on needing to be in a particular place or pose or anything). breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth slowly, and just focus on what it feels like. just pay attention to the sensation of air going in your nose and out of your mouth. your mind will naturally start to wander, whenever you notice that it has, just send the thought away and re-focus on the breathing. do that for 5 minutes. if you don’t have 5 minutes, do it for 2 minutes. or 1 minute. that’s it.
that’s what i did to start, just to get used to the idea of noticing my thoughts and sending them away. your brain is a powerful tool, but even the best tools aren’t left running 24/7. you use them when you need to and you shut them off when you don’t. we don’t do that with our brains but we should, and this is how you practice doing that.
the other one i do is instead of (or in addition to) focusing on the breathing, i focus on three different things i can sense. maybe something i can hear, something i can see, and something i can feel. so like, maybe i hear the hum of the air conditioning, i see the pattern of daylight filtering through the blinds, and i feel my breath (or my legs resting on the chair, or the breeze from the ceiling fan, etc) same idea, just focus on those three things and when you notice your mind start to wander to anything else, refocus. don’t even need to be sitting for that, i do it randomly throughout the day, like if i’m standing at the sink washing dishes or whatever. there’s some pseudosciency thing like the mind can only focus on up to three different things at once so if you pick 3 to focus on your mind will stop stressing about other stuff. dunno if that’s accurate but it works for me, if nothing else it’s just a nice peaceful break in the day. again, can just do it for a minute, doesn’t need to be a big formal thing. the fewer barriers to starting the better. if you find something that helps, you can build from there.
